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I finished the book proposal and sample chapters (about 1/3 of the book) in early 2018 and signed with Rachelle that April. It takes quite a while to negotiate and finalize book contracts, so it all became official in March 2019 (though I started writing the book again in January because my due date with baby boy was approaching). Most book proposals will have an overview of the book (a hook and longer summary), the market (the target audience, felt need, and comparison to similar titles), the author (why you are exactly the right person to write the book! ), a marketing plan (pre-launch, launch, post-launch), an outline of the whole book plus synopses for each chapter, and fully written sample chapters. Super helpful overviews of the book proposal process; maybe start with these if you’re not sure that writing a book proposal is your right next step, so you’re not ready to spend money on a book or a course yet.

I look at Selah as I explain, perhaps for the thousandth time, “I will miss it, baby, but I’m choosing to miss it and I’m okay with that. Say no if you don’t want to write this book anymore, but don’t say no to your lifelong dream because you happen to be having a baby. Don’t miss it because I’m scared. Don’t miss it because I think I’m not capable.

On a warm June evening one year into a fifteen-year mortgage, I put my seven-month-old daughter in the stroller. Walls of greenery are in bloom, and my daughter’s pudgy fingers reach out, trailing along emerald leaves and ruby petals. and I lift her into a swing, jabbering about how this is will be her school someday and how she’ll run out those doors after lunchtime, chase her friends, and climb the tower to the tallest slide. Gardeners divide plants for a wealth of reasons: the plants grow overcrowded and become stressed, or the soil lacks enough nutrients to sustain the growth.

Last year, I read 55 books (granted, I wasn’t pregnant and totally exhausted for most of that year), and I’m on track to read at least 50 this year. I’m also involved in two book groups at work, and I’m allowed to read those books on work time. When there’s a lull in my book groups, I usually pick up a book about faith or creativity to read on work time as professional development. I also read electronically for books I’m working on in my job, but the books I read for work-related book clubs are hard copy.