2020 is here! We made it.

One of my favorite quotes is: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” It’s attributed to Bill Gates.

Ten years ago, I was working a corporate job I hated with no idea how to break away from it. So much of my identity was tied up in my job title and the number of zeroes in my annual salary. I continued to slog away and moved roles in my company several times, trying to find the best fit, but I always grew restless. I hadn’t yet found that thing that would light me up.

Fast forward 5 years…2015 was a pivotal year because I got laid off and faced a crisis of sorts. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Rather than go pound the pavement and find a job exactly like my old one, I took time off and that resulted in discovering my passion for writing and publishing my first book, Layoff Reboot.

But the voices of doubt in my head were strong! They said:

  • You can’t make it as an author. You’re not good enough.
  • Who do you think you are, Elizabeth Gilbert?
  • Go and get a REAL job.

And so I did. In 2016, I landed an awesome job with an amazing, growing company. I loved my new coworkers; the clients were pretty great too.

But something wasn’t right! The new job was demanding and left little time to write. I wanted to work on my own schedule. I wanted the freedom that came with working for myself. An opportunity came up that I couldn’t resist, so I resigned from the corporate job and set up shop as a book launch consultant & project manager.

Over the last 3 years, I’ve worked with over a dozen clients and have helped authors launch their books into the world. Some of those books were runaway bestsellers, instantly landing on the top bestseller lists.

Controlling my schedule offered me time to write and venture into territory I’ve always been passionate about—science fiction. Starting with NaNoWriMo in 2015, I wrote my first novel, then kept going, despite not really knowing what I was doing. I’m working on novel number 9!

That, plus my 5 non-fiction books is a total of 14 books, plus there are short stories out there too. The most amazing thing about the decade is that I found my purpose. That thing that lights me up is writing as it turns out.

It’s the first thing I do when I wake up, and it’s the last thing on my head when I fall asleep. I cannot wait for what the next decade has to bring.

If you’re a writer too, NEVER GIVE UP. It sounds so corny to say if I can do it so can you, but you CAN and you WILL.

What’s in store for 2020?

I’m committed to blogging more about my author journey. My sci-fi fiction (under a pen name) is going extremely well!  I’m writing at the pace of one book every 2 months. My plan is to share more about my experience and the things I’ve been doing to stay productive.

I continue to work as a book launch strategist and 2019 was one of my best years yet. My clients are successful online entrepreneurs who have traditional publishing deals and staff. In 2020, I’ll also be sharing more practical book launch and book marketing tips that you can apply to your author career.

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