Alison approached me about mentoring when she had almost half of her first draft. That in itself was nothing unusual, having set a self imposed deadline of six months to get the book finished and published, however was.
To make the process that bit more challenging, while writing and learning about publishing, Alison was also in the middle of rebranding her business. Including a complete new name, logo, and website.
Which meant my being part of a larger team for the first time in years, as we negotiated how the book would fit into the website and a new email list.
In normal circumstances I wouldn’t have recommended a total newbie to consider doing both at the same time, or with such a short deadline. But in Alison’s case the need to publish in March was a real one, her mission was to write a book to help students through their exams nerves, and guide teachers and caregivers to support their pupils and children.
Having been an exam invigilator, hypnotherapist and an Institute for Integrative Nutrition health coach, Alison has had extensive first hand experience of people struggling with panic, and the physical effects of prolonged anxiety. That desire to help, and the steely determination that lay under that desire gave me total faith that together we could pull it off.
Alison found writing the drafts the easier part of the process, and I never had to remind her to stick to our agreed writing sessions. But the process also had some tricky elements, like many writers Alison found editing was sometimes uncomfortable. In my first read through there were a couple of sections that had to be removed all together as they covered areas that weren’t suitable for young adult readers. Like the uses of essential oils and dietary changes (despite both being useful tools for fighting anxiety).
Even though these things were hard to hear, Alison trusted my knowledge, took my advice and created a book that we are both incredibly proud of.
But don’t assume for one moment that I things all my own way, we didn’t agree on the cover straight away. I suggested a crisp white background, but Alison felt it was too stark, wanting to keep more of what she had originally envisioned. She wanted (and kept) her blue background, which just happens to be the blue of her new branding.
It was fun to have a client with such strong ideas, and I learnt a lot from working with her, about myself, as well as her business and her book. Which I hope will be the first of a series, as Alison has a lot to share.
So you have heard what it was like from my side, but what did Alison have to say about the experience?
“I chose to work with Eden as she could give me one to one support and knew she would be brutally honest with me and really importantly, could help me achieve a rather ambitious task of publishing a book within a very tight deadline. Literally within six months. When I contacted her in September 23 I hadn’t written my book, now in March 24 I am a published author.
I have to pinch myself to believe that together we have made that happen, I would not have achieved that without Eden’s guidance and support.
It has been a real journey of learning and have appreciated her wealth of knowledge of the book industry and all it’s nuances. It is one thing to actually write the book but understanding the industry and publishing aspect a whole world I knew nothing about and Eden’s knowledge and experience is invaluable.
I also appreciated her honesty and not being afraid to be direct and put me right on a thing or two! She has rightly challenged me. At times there have been things I’ve not wanted to hear but had to and I appreciate her for her calmness and perseverance.
Thank you Eden for being authentic and helping achieve one of my goals!”