this one thing is sabotaging your writing
Last month, a friend asked me why I started my business.
(Remember those friends I mentioned who has no clue what a book coach is?)
I had all these canned answers that would sound great in a Business Insider article but just felt like fake orange cheese to me.
When really, the truth of it is, I started this business because I’m pissed.
And I’ve been pissed for decades.
It all started with my dad’s typewriter…
My dad had a ginormous mint green industrial typewriter in his basement office.
As a little kid, I had to pound the keys to get words on a page.
(A keyboard-ruining muscle memory that has lasted to this day.)
When I flipped the power switch the typewriter vibrated and made an ominous humming sound like it was about to open a portal to another world.
Which it did.
My parents would stand at the top of the stairs listening to me talk to myself as I pulled stories out of the story realm. I had some serious writing improv hybrid mash-up going on.
My dad would yell down, “Jocelyn, you having a party down there? Your friends sound like lots of fun.”
My imaginary friends were the best fun.
And thus was born my lifetime love of story.
Over the years I’ve had friends who dreamed of being published authors but whose fears of not knowing what to do or doing it wrong held them back from doing anything.
When it came time to talk about actually publishing, they’d say “someday” and “maybe.”
They hid their fears by convincing themselves their stories needed more refinement and their craft more perfection.
I was the person who made things happen, but I didn’t know how to help them.
Years passed.
To this day, all those stories that were never published and those friends who didn’t know how to make their dreams happen continue to haunt me.
And now I finally know how to do something about it.
I started this business because I’m pissed.
I’m pissed off from decades of watching talented writers feed their fears and leave their dreams behind while their stories fade into nothingness.
They rejected themselves.
Before they ever get to the stage where agents, publishers, and readers have an opportunity to reject them.
They haven’t finished their novels because they’ve been hijacked by their insecurity, overwhelm, and frustration.
Rejecting yourself is sabotaging your writing.
It’s killing your dreams.
And it’s bullshit that needs to stop.
Right now.
If you’re doing it, stop.
Okay, I get it’s not that easy to flip like a light switch.
Especially not when you’ve been doing it for years, decades, your whole life.
My mission is to help writers stop rejecting themselves and bring their stories into the world because I believe, in my heart and soul, that stories are the vehicle of creating a better world.
Rocky had Michael Goldmill. The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi. Luke had Yoda.
And I’m kicking ass and taking names.
If you take anything away from what I’m saying here, make it this:
You are writing a book that someone needs to read.
You are the author that someone wishes they’d had growing up.
You are the role model a stranger needs right now.
Your dreams are worth realizing.
Your story is worth fighting for.
Hello!
My name is Jocelyn.
Story warrior, book lover, day dreamer, gardener, and creative. I help serious writers roll up their sleeves, get their novel ready for publishing, and reach readers. When I’m not elbow-deep in the story trenches, I’m outside world-building in my garden and battling weeds with my three criminal mastermind cats.
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