Imagine a room of 70+ people from all ages and stages of your life. Imagine a moment you’ve been waiting for all your life. And imagine it being as heart-expanding and smile-inducing as you hoped it would.
That was my book launch last weekend. A truly glorious occasion.
Instead of rehashing what I said in my speech, I thought I may as well share the speech with you.
You can watch the video or read the transcript below. Either way, I suppose this is not necessarily how to launch a book per se but how I did it.
And yes, there was some event planning, which took a bit of work and included my first visit to Costco - that in itself, was an experience!
But the real work was internal not external. And there were no hacks or short cuts. There was intent and commitment and love, a lot of love.
Here’s what I mean…
00:00:00):
I really procrastinated about writing this speech, which is not normal for me. I think it's because the minute I wrote the speech, it would make all of this, everything that's happening right now, real.
And it actually feels quite surreal.
Because I've wanted to be standing here as a fiction writer for my entire life. My inner teen certainly wanted me to be a fiction writer.
But even younger than that, much younger, the times when I was reading voraciously as a very young person. The time that I had a teacher who named me as a writer, and this is way before I ever imagined that I could do that for myself. And even at uni, when I was writing poetry and short stories and studying literature,
So all of these younger parts that wanted this day to happen.
But I got to a point where I was like, oh, being a fiction writer, you can't do that. That's not a very sensible career choice. And so I just kind of put it to one side.
I didn't put writing to one side. I did basically every other kind of writing you could possibly do. I wrote five non-fiction books. I did academic writing. I did freelance writing.
Everything but fiction.
Then I had a significant birthday. And it was now or never, really. But if you told me that I'd be writing teen fiction, I would have gone, I don't think so. Yeah, nah.
But it was like this book chose me. And I actually had no choice but to write it.
The writing process itself was so different to any other writing I've done before. With my non-fiction books, there was lots of thinking, planning, mapping.
This book was an experience of deep receivership, receiving and listening. That's how this book got written. So, so different.
And then, of course, the writing was only the first stage. Then you've got to publish it. Initially I did think I wanted to traditionally publish and then you're pitching and you're waiting and you're getting rejected and you're questioning and you're doubting.
Then I decided to self-publish. And then of course you need to be across all the stages of publishing, finding the editorial team, the designer, printing, distribution, everything.
So as Kathryn mentioned, there was a lot of outer work, heaps, lots and lots of work.
But what was really happening alongside that was all of this inner work, all of this internal work. And in fact, that was much more difficult and much more important, really.
Because this was a process of trusting, of trusting the process, of trusting myself, of trusting my book.
And it's been a process of becoming, becoming the person who can actually write and publish this book.
Not waiting until I was the person and then doing it. But actually by doing it, you become the person. That's what this has been, this process of becoming.
This book has really grown me. It's forced me to grow as a person. And I feel like if that's all that this book achieves in the world, that actually already feels monumental.
But of course, I would also love it if it connects to other readers and helps them in whatever way, even if it's just through entertaining them.
So now I actually know why I'm writing teen fiction. Because your teen years, you know what it's like, it's a very vulnerable time in our lives. It's a time of many firsts.
But it's also a time when our hearts are more exposed, more open. Because you can't not be vulnerable. You can't not go through those firsts without that happening.
Of course, this is before we've become adults and we've put on all these protective layers around our hearts.
So for me, I think writing this book has been about opening my heart back up again.
And I hope that that's also something that the book will offer readers. Because this has really been about writing the most heart expanding book I could.
People have asked me, how long it took to write, and I have two answers. The first answer is that it took three and a half months to write the first draft, then I put it aside, and I came back to it and spent about two months editing, and then it was ready for the editorial process from there.
But the second answer is that it's really taken me 50 plus years. That's why today, right now, feels so surreal.
But you all being here - and we really have almost all of my life represented in this room, including people who knew me when I was a tiny, tiny person, people who knew me as a teenager, friends and family and colleagues.
We've got everyone represented here so you all being here is making this very, very real.
So I thank you because I know there's many other places that you could be right now, doing other things.
But I really, really deeply appreciate you being here to help support me and the book and for making this very, very real, thank you.
*
And thank you, dear reader…
For being here, for reading, for doing your becoming alongside me. I deeply appreciate you too.
xxx Jodie
How to launch a book