This may be a rant of sorts, but I have something on my mind.
We all have dreams.
Dreams to own our own home. Raise a family. Live a life of travel and excitement. Some dreams may be more specific such as open a restaurant, buy season tickets to the New Orleans Pelicans, or live on a wooden houseboat in Sausalito, CA. You get the picture. Your dreams are your dreams. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
But, if you have a dream of writing a cookbook, or a blog, or a newsletter for your audience, you have to get practical at some point.
Practical, not in the sense, that “you-can’t-write-a-cookbook-because-you’re-not-a-celebrity” practical (I don’t buy into that one. You’re looking at a four-time cookbook author who is not a TV star), or, “no-one-is-reading-your-blog-anyway” practical, but practical in the sense that “you-have-to-write” practical. “The-words-have-to-get-on-the-page” practical. or “Talk-your-book-and-have-it-transcribed” practical.
Here’s what I mean.
This blog post didn’t write itself. My cookbooks didn’t write themselves. And, my weekly newsletter isn’t produced by a content creator other than me.
I’m sitting here at my computer, in my office, writing these words.
My fingers are typing on a black keyboard. There’s a load of laundry in the dryer, the dog is barking at people lined up at my neighbor’s house for an estate sale, and my college-aged daughter just texted me about moving out of her dorm. This is called LIFE – all the things and people and stuff we do in between the time when we write our cookbooks and our blog posts and newsletters.
Truth be told, I created the space and energy to be sitting here. I’m not too busy, too tired, too overwhelmed, or too exhausted, to sit here with my fingers on my keyboard and write. For this is what writers do. We write whether we “feel” like it or not. We show up for ourselves. We create content. We write books. We get them published. We send newsletters. And, deep down we know that if we don’t write, none of the books, blogs, or newsletters happen.
Here’s the upshot: dream all you want. I love dreams. I love living dreams. I adore watching my clients speak their dreams and make them come true. But, like I tell them: if you dream of a cookbook, or a regularly updated blog, or a newsletter for your audience – you have to sit down and write.
No matter how busy you think you are, no matter how much time you don’t think you have, no matter how overwhelmed you feel, no matter the design of your blog, or your logo, or your Instagram feed. If you want to produce a piece written content, you have to put your fingers on your proverbial black keyboard, or your pen to the notebook, and WRITE.
Writing takes time.
Writing takes up space in your day, or your evening, or your morning, or your night.
Writing means we’re not doing other things like Facebooking, Instagramming, pinning, shopping, or overwhelming about “not having time” to write. (Hint: if you’re reading this, you have time to write.)
Writing is more about routine than is it about degrees, diplomas, or …. (quick someone please think of a word that starts with d).
Writing is a requirement if you want to write anything.
This is where the rubber meets the road.
Do you dream of writing a cookbook?
Sit down and write.
Do you dream of posting regular content on your blog?
Sit down and write.
Do you dream of emailing a newsletter to your email list every week?
Sit down and write.
Or stand up and write. I don’t care. Just write.
I used to say discomfort was the currency of your dreams.
Today I say that if you’re still with me: writing is probably the currency of your dreams.
Why aren’t you writing?
Cookbook author, editor, and Culinary Dietitian Maggie Green, RDN, LD coaches first-time cookbook authors during the pre-publication phase of writing a cookbook.
Would you like to write a cookbook, but feel alone in the pre-publication phase of writing?
Are you stuck thinking about your cookbook idea or has you project fizzled?
Do you feel overwhelmed with publishing options and the recipes, photography, and publishing process?
I’ve been there. I know first-hand that there’s not a lot of support for first-time cookbook authors who don’t have an agent or a publisher yet. That’s why I started my work as a cookbook writing coach.
Here are a few resources for you as you venture into the world of cookbook writing:
Checklist
An 11-point checklist that helps you answer the question, “Am I Ready to Write a Cookbook?”