Exactly a year ago, I set myself an ambitious goal; to write a book in 3 months. In my diary on the 28th December, 2017 I wrote, ‘Book has begun and have 7 weeks to deadline of 15 February!’
I did say it was ambitious. But I was determined to birth a book before heading off to California to give my first international presentation at the American Foundation for the Blind Leadership conference.
The advantage of having a deadline, even if it is an outrageous one, is that it makes you work towards the finish line. I had my heart set on reaching this goal but by the end of January, it became obvious that I had to nudge the goal a little.
In my journal I wrote,’Relax the deadline to end of February. I only have Part 1 and 7 to complete, the introduction, Dear Reader and Resource list left to do.’
Only?
My Journal Dated 27th February, 2018
I felt confident to reach the goal because my father, as a professional writer and editor, already had Parts 2,3,4,5 done and 6 in the process of editing. My writing mentor, Lyndel Caffrey was also on board to look through the manuscript, knowing I was still working to my own tight deadline.
‘I’ve finally been through the entire manuscript with new edits and re-writes. DONE! I’m exhausted but it feels great to make the finish line.’
Finish line – No No. It was then that everything changed. The ‘finish line’ brought me back to the beginning again.
Instead of proof-reading the manuscript, Lyndel suggested I consider a ‘structural edit’. This meant she would read the entire manuscript and provide a professional report on how the content flowed and came across to the reader.
It was now March and I knew I was not going to have a published book to take with me to America in April. Rather than be disappointed in ‘failing’ my goal, I let go of my original plan and allowed the next stage to unfold while away in the USA.
I wrote this to Lyndel with the manuscript attached to an email: ‘Sending my ‘baby’ over to you. She is a decent weight, at 165 pages, approx 61,700 words and still have introduction to complete. I hope she behaves herself and doesn’t keep you awake at night!’
Lyndel had my book-baby in her capable editor’s hands and within a short while, I had her 2,500 word report in my inbox. I read through her many suggestions and could see, with an objective viewpoint, my manuscript needed much more careful revision and a different structure.
Going back to move forward again was the best thing I could have done. It was going to take many more weeks and months, some of which were extremely hard to work through, but with my heart and eyes set on a new structure and revised content, it has finally come to fruition.
‘Each day is granted to us as a new opportunity to try again, to give strong support to our aspirations.’
Blindness for Beginners
I am so grateful to Lyndel Caffrey and two other editors, my father Brian Steel, and writing mentor, Hazel Edwards, who all took a turn in looking over the final 230 pages of the revised manuscript – version #8 no less. My devoted partner, Harry Williamson, was always there to pick me up when the going got tough and together, with my team of helpers, the book is quietly awaiting her launch.
As writers, it can be difficult to let go of so many of our concepts and ideas but when you can step back and let the process take its natural course, be willing to reshape and rewrite as many times as is necessary, you will deliver a book-baby you will be proud of for years to come. I know that I certainly am!
Eyes on Success
The hosts of a weekly podcast, Eyes on Success interviewed me about my book in early December while I was still awaiting its print delivery.
‘In her book “Blindness for Beginners”, Maribel Steel takes us along her journey of discovery where sight loss can become a renewed vision of the possible.
Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey
LISTEN HERE to EPISODE 1849 (takes you to an MP3 player)
Join My Book Journey
In my next post: I’ll take you behind the scenes where designing a book cover for a blind author is more challenging than you can imagine! Don’t miss the post with 3 tips for Indie authors when designing your next book cover… Please subscribe
If you would like a signed copy of my new book and you live in Australia, you can email me: maribel@springstudio.com.au . For vision-impaired readers, an audio book version will be coming in 2019!
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Tweetable Quotes from Blindness for Beginners