You Have Three Months and No Pressure

Today marks the first day of the last quarter of the year, and I want to say something to you before your email inbox fills up with countdown clocks and pressure to finish everything by December 31. Three months is still a real amount of time. Also, there’s no pressure coming from me. 

When I talk with a prospective client, I tell him or her at the beginning of the call, “There is absolutely no pressure. If I get excited, that’s because I am just excited. I love books and writers and know I can help you.” 

You may be tired of reading about my hiking goals, but my quest to hike all 848 trail miles is the perfect analogy for writing a book. Remember the SAT? My mother was the queen of analogy prep. Let’s try one:

Jody, age 52 and NOT a CrossFit athlete, is to climbing steep, rocky ascents as a first-time author is to writing and publishing a book: capable, committed, and occasionally wondering what the hell she got herself into. 

Do you ever ask yourself, “Why did I give myself this giant assignment that, for now, only I care about?” I do. A couple of weeks ago, my hiking buddy Sara and I finished a section of Bote Mountain Trail. She left with 40 chigger bites. I bragged that I had only two, then a monstrous poison ivy rash appeared. I quoted Scripture, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). 

Ah, the power of the written word and Word, right?

What’s my point? Well, I have a few points.

First,  yes, give yourself the big assignment. The brain and body need goals. Often, these goals are delivered by the divine. If God asks you to write, He will give you the resources (time, energy, and money) that you need to accomplish your goal. 

Second, there will be steep climbs and occasional bug bites and rashes, but there will also be sandy pathways out of nowhere, old-growth shade trees, education, awesome views/viewpoints, and joyful descents. Bring snacks. Make this journey fun. I can teach you how.

Third, you HAVE TIME to make significant progress this year and can tell a different story (one of a published author) sooner than you think, and definitely sooner than I’ll hike my 848th mile in the Smokies.

I am taking one hollow, one ridge, one climb, and sometimes one old-lady plantar fasciitis step at a time. Writing a book works the same way, and so does building a business or hitting a publishing deadline you set for yourself back in January.

If you are looking at your manuscript or your goals for this year and feeling behind, hear this from someone who has watched hundreds of writers finish. The last three months of the year are not a countdown. They are three more real chances to move the story forward, at whatever pace that takes. I think October is the IDEAL time to double down on your goals so that you start January with a headstart compared to all those who delay, delay, delay, and…don’t ever do whatever thing they are delaying. Now, BEGINNING or doubling down does not mean hustling and stressing. Remember, we have a “no pressure policy” at Crippled Beagle Publishing and Story Mountain Media. That policy is internal, too, since many of my team members are also writers. 

If you want to talk through where your current or next project actually stands and land on a realistic next step, schedule a Publishing Pathway Call with our team. This is a fun, encouraging conversation about where you are and where you are headed, and we love helping people with goals.

Schedule the Publishing Pathway Call HERE.

Books live forever,

Jody Dyer
Founder and CEO, Crippled Beagle Publishing and Story Mountain Media