For as long as I could remember, I’ve dreamt of writing a book. When I was in high school I wrote tons of poetry from a very depressing time in my life. One year, I put it all together and turned it into a poetry book for special family members. When my father died in 2011, I found the book amongst my dad’s closet of books. I also found something I wrote in 1998 (Click here to see what I wrote). A spark ignited.

#TheSpark

I don’t know what it was about finding those things, but something inside me knew that seeing those writings had a much deeper meaning. In August 2011, I enrolled in college. My passion for writing began flooding back. I loved every chance I got to write, and in the school I attended, I wrote A LOT. By the time I got my degree, I couldn’t stop. That’s when I started this blog. With each piece I wrote I could feel a calling inside me to write a whole book.

A friend of mine, who has been a published author in the fiction world for well over a decade, was helping me edit a piece I was writing for another website. She discovered I was someone who loved constructive criticism. Growing up a drama kid, I was used to it. I knew that constructive criticism makes whatever I’m doing better. Even if it just means me taking the information and realizing how strong I am in my conviction to make a point. Other times, as I got used to it my college courses, constructive criticism showed me where I was missing a step or my words weren’t making a clear statement. I’m so grateful my head was in that place when she edited my piece. It made for a positive working experience for us both.

#ConstructiveCriticism

In the midst of all of that, she was having a meeting with her agent who was telling her what a good agent she would be. She wasn’t interested in being an agent in the genre she wrote, yet the thought of being a literary agent for self-help, personal transformation, and inspired living gave her chills. She thought of me and how positive our experience was while working on my little project. After some thought, she jumped in. Now, this is a woman who knows how to research. I remember walking into her office while she was writing a book and seeing all these elaborate charts. Through our conversations, I remember being in absolute awe of the way she would research things for her book and in her personal life. I knew she would make an amazing agent.

#Tingles

We talked about the process of writing a book and a proposal for the book. Wow! I really didn’t know how much there was to the process. I’m not in a place, even today, where I have a giant following. In non-fiction, subscribers, followers, and engagement are all factors. I also didn’t have extra money to be spending on developing my on-line presence, yet I knew I was meant to be writing. So, I wrote.

My first attempt didn’t go over well, only a couple of passes due to my writing or content, the rest SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM! Ugh, ok so I worked a little on platform and a new idea that a publisher could feel passionate enough about that my lack of platform might not matter as much. Ok, here we go: Attempt two. I started writing a book about the transformation from the victim of an emotionally abusive situation to developing personal value and self-worth to be the heroine of your own story. This book was flowing out of me. Then, all the sudden, the flow stopped. As I wrote, I realized this was one of those books where platform, would really matter. I started praying. Fortunately for me, I was about to go on a spiritual outing to Sedona, AZ with my agent/soul sister.

#Sedona

Side note: Here’s a piece I wrote after that trip.

Sedona is a place I go to get clarity. For a brief time, I lived and worked in the Phoenix area writing and developing sales materials and training programs. The work environment I was in wasn’t the right fit. So, I went to Sedona to open myself up to see the next move—One miracle after another led me on a grand adventure. Going back to Sedona was just what I needed. Sparks and tingles permeated my body as my agent and I started to talk about a book I could write on empowering women. Now, we’ve discussed this before, but for some reason in Sedona the book started taking shape in my mind. I could do this! So over 100 pages into the book I was writing, I changed directions.

The words were flowing and I saw a clear path for the messages to come through. Ok, two chapters and a proposal complete. I turned it over to my agent. Not the response I expected, but constructive criticism galore. Something was missing, time to re-format. Once I re-formatted the sample chapters, I re-submitted to my agent—tingles. That was the response I wanted. The proposal goes out to publishers. I kept writing. As the feedback started to come back, I realized there weren’t enough sample chapters to see the complete vision of the book, so I wrote and I wrote adding more chapters to the proposal. Then, before I knew it, the book was complete. I wrote a 241-page book.

My dream realized. As I read through the book I kept getting chills and feeling inspired. I really don’t know what is going to come of writing the book. The journey itself has been magical and fulfilling. I felt guided throughout the whole process and I just kept following my heart. I know that if a publisher picks up the book, they will feel the power of the book standing alone…the tingle. I don’t have the social media platform many are looking for. I don’t have the credentials after my name. What I do have is the heart, passion, and knowing that the tools I use work. I know this because they were the same tools and knowledge that transformed my life. I know whoever is meant to read the book will get access to read it when the time is right. For now, I have my blogs, which I will lovingly get back to writing.

#DreamRealized

I had to take some time off as I completed the book so that I made sure my full focus went into completing the work in my heart. Now, I can give the blogs the full attention they deserve. I hope you will follow along with me as I continue to find A Better Me From a Loving Place (click links to explore more and check out the entire From A Loving Place blog).

#AmazingJourney

With Love and Extreme Gratitude,

Rachael Wolff ©2018

Sending a giant thank you out to my rock star agent and soul sister, Tina Wainscott (Tina Wainscott-Seymour Agency)! Thank you for continuing to go on this amazing ride with me. Our journey has been full of magic, transformation, and miracles. I enjoy every turn on this road with you.