Well, it took me over three years to finish it.
It was the first quarter of 2018 when I was asked by my
mentor if I wanted to help a celebrity he knew. My role would be to create a
30-days juice cleanse program for this said celebrity. I agreed because ever
since I started juice cleansing and had lost over 30 pounds myself, I got to
being a real pro at it. I wanted to help others and I had been through my
Facebook group but being asked to do this meant a lot.
I worked hard and spent over two weeks coming up with
over 120 juice recipes and put together a game plan; breathing exercises, how
to start, preparation tips, etc.
The mission was a success and the said celebrity lost the
30 pounds he had set out to lose.
I felt accomplished at that and I wanted to help more
people. I could through my Facebook group but I wanted to do something more. I
wanted to have something solid. I wanted to have something that could be a
reference from people from all over the world should they want to try juice
cleansing. I wanted to put all my knowledge into a book and have it published!
I have always loved writing since I was a child. I
remember I used to write Beauty and the Beast fan fictions at the tender age of
about ten. I wish I had kept that journal! I write lots of blog posts about
anything and everything. However, I never thought I would want to write and
publish a book, one day, and that book would be something that could help
others in their journey to health and wellness.
At the end of 2018, I started putting things together. It
was more like notes of ideas, and information slapped together in a notepad. I
think I reached about 40 pages of scribbles of ideas and noted when I bowed out
because life got a little busy and stressful and thus distracted and I lost
focus.
Finally, at the start of 2021, after watching a dear
friend publish her first book, it inspired me to get off my butt and to
continue working on my dream.
I put together everything I had and I finally completed
the first draft of a health and wellness book, although I had struggled with
for years, I had just fallen in love with it.
That alone was a BIG achievement! The accomplishment was
the fact I sat down and wrote and put together a book. I know most of us who
write forget that accomplishment isn't the validation, awards or the money. The
accomplishment is the final completed book!
The big accomplishment for me is to be able to say, I
devoted hours and energy to this and turning my dream into a reality. Something
that only existed in my mind or day dreams is now on a computer and on print to
be looked through for a final edit!
I did it! I turned the nothing into something that that
feels damn wonderful!
May the second, twenty-twenty-one, my first book was
officially published!
I haven’t achieved everything I ever dreamed of (yet),
but I finished a book for the first time. That’s worth celebrating.
A year later, my book is placed at different library
branches around Singapore. And guess what? I am working on my second book!
Many people don't write a book because it's extremely
difficult. I had to force myself to sit down, brainstorm, write, edit, rewrite,
edit, cut, add, rewrite, and rewrite some more until I had somewhere between
15,000 and 25,000 words is grueling work. Most can't do it and when you're one
of the few who can, it really makes you feel good about yourself—an important
quality in a true warrior.
All the effort and time put into writing a chapter can
all go for nothing if it doesn't mesh just right in with the rest of your book.
It doesn’t matter if it's your part: If it's not right for your book then it's
not right for your book and has to be cut. Deleting your writing, especially
words you've sacrificed so much to create, can be incredibly painful but you do
it in spite of the pain because, deep down, you know your book will be better
off for it.
What were my rewards of being a published author?
First of all, it was the sense of accomplishment. There's
nothing in the world quite like seeing my goal of getting my book published
being made into reality. And to hold that book in my hands for the first time,
I felt all the energy and time, my struggle to find the right material was all
worth it!
I believe I have every right to be proud of myself. I am
officially a published author with a message to share.
What was more exciting was the fact I finally get the
chance to share my message with others. It proves my commitment to something
that I care strongly about and it to get across so I can help others and raise
awareness about their health. Sharing my message with the world and being to
help others with my knowledge is a very unique reward.
By publishing this 'advice book' or 'self-help' book, I
have immediately gained more professional recognition and credibility. As a
published author, I have become more visible and with that increased
credibility, more professional opportunities have become available to me.
I have learned that writing a book and publishing a book
are two very different accomplishments.
Writing provided me with a great personal satisfaction.
However, it’s when I shared my knowledge with others that my work took on a new
life.
So what truly motivated me to take the big leap into
publishing?
I wanted to show myself I could do it and I loved the
idea of even a few people successfully turning their lives around and getting
healthy after reading my book. Oh yeh! And I really wanted to walk into a
bookstore or a library to see my book on the shelf!
I believe that accomplishing a dream is rare and awesome.
Many people try to write a book but only a few ever
succeed. Whether it's because they didn't put it in time, make the difficult
sacrifices or were too scared they weren't good enough, they never did what was
needed to be done to make their goal a reality.
Anytime you've worked hard to accomplish a
difficult-to-achieve dream, you are, without a doubt, a badass and no one can
ever take that away from you.
I owe it all to Ed and especially my mother who had
always been my number one fan. My mum has always believed in me and without
that love and believes; I would not have accomplished this dream.
Thank you all who had purchased a copy of my book and I hope you're just as excited to read my second book as you were for my first.
