Everyone has a story and writing a book is a great way to share that story. For me, writing a book was always a big dream. Never did I think it would be something I would do in my lifetime. My hope in writing this book was that families struggling with infertility, embracing adoption, or feeling ignored by God know that we have been there and come out on the other side with more than we could have ever hoped for. Our journey through loss to love is one that has shaped my life forever. To be honest my blog was a big part of how I wrote and chronicled my story.
This January will mark the second anniversary of my site. Since launch, my life has evolved into a busy, calling-driven journey. I now write more than I ever have before. Since the launch of the book, I have seen single-handedly how our story impacted the lives of so many others. What I didn’t know was that many of those very stories were already on my blog. That's when I came across a great article that made mention of how smart bloggers are perfectly positioned to become successful authors! That article changed my entire perspective. Could I do it? Could I write a book using a year's worth of content I had already developed?
The New York Times claims that 81 percent of Americans have a book they want to write, but only 3 percent of those people ever write it and of that 3 percent, only 30 percent ever have their book published. If I’m being honest, I wanted to be in the 30 percent that published but what would I write about? When you love to write, there are so many things you want to say. Which story would I share with the world in deep detail?
After researching and using Squarespace analytics to guide me, the answer was easy…our adoption story. I would write the hardest and most beautiful story of my life. At the time many people know how our journey unfolded but far too few knew of the dark days before our adoption. Even fewer know the toll infertility took on my body and soul. I wanted to write an authentic piece about the true struggles of infertility, adoption, and hope in a way that helps others feel validated and heard, while also pointing to the beauty and loss that is adoption.
I’m often asked why I finally decided to go live with my intimate life stories about loss, adoption, infertility, and our multiracial family experiences. It wasn’t an easy decision. It put me in an extremely vulnerable space. It put my family in that same space. However, I have learned that I grow the most when I am genuinely uncomfortable. Writing this book was very uncomfortable and every second was worth it.
This book is about the hardest moments in the life of my family and the biggest lessons we learned along the way. It's the true story of how God stepped into my mess and made it perfect in its time. I hope that our story will help another couple or family step into their purpose of adoption. I’ve been asked by several people to share how I wrote a book so quickly. I smile at this a bit as it wasn’t that quick and started over a year before when I started the blog. However, writing online did allow me to have a great shell that would assist in writing our whole story out. So how did I take my blog and turn it into a book in 90 days?
Here are the top five things I did that helped:
Content is Queen: If you are already a blogger, you already have many stories written out so it's a great place to start. I went on a journey through my blog reading story after story of how we became the family we are today. I dug into the stories that needed to be fleshed out and added the difficult details that weren’t already captured. Those led me to larger stories that needed to be included in the book. Many are personal, powerful, and beautiful. I’m excited to have all of you read it! If I’m being honest, there were many nights I had to stop writing to cry and process what I was putting on paper. I hope that as you read it, you are moved as well. As I mentioned previously, my analytics on Squarespace tracked my most viewed blog posts and they revealed that my readers resonated with our adoption story.
Family First: When I finally decided what to write my first book about, I sat down with my husband and son. You see, I was about to share some really difficult stories about our past with the world. Some of the adoption stories our son didn’t even know himself. What I loved most about writing this book is that it made me intentional about sharing stories with him that he wasn’t aware of but was ready to hear. Boy, did he ask some tough questions! It gave me time to ask his permission before I shared his life story with the world. I think we made good decisions in what was made public and what remained private.
Book Design: I knew the design, layout, and cover of the book needed to resonate with my audience but also spoke to me. I knew I couldn’t trust anyone but Heath Cushman, my brilliant designer husband to bring my vision to life. One of the best parts about writing this book is that it’s a labor of love for our son that we both got to take part in creating. The last several months before the book launch, hubby and I sat in our loft at our respective desks and deliberated over what fonts, layout choices, and the cover would look like. We were intentional about blocking off time each week for writing and designing. He focused on every detail. It wasn’t until our trip to California in April 2018 when we visited my brother Alex Medina that I grabbed my iPhone and snapped one simple image of our boy facing the Pacific Ocean. I knew then that it was the book cover. The minute I shared it with Heath he said, “This is it!” When it came to the font, we knew we wanted something new, clean, and modern. We finally landed on the beauty that is Bison. Purchasing this font was a great investment. Not only were we able to use it throughout the book, but we have also been able to reuse it for other projects. Once the font was purchased we were off to work on designing the layout. I know I’m biased but visually the book is a beauty.
Promoting: The biggest lesson I learned while pouring my life into this book was about marketing. I'm still new at promoting my book but I find myself growing in this area every day. Did you know that the best time to promote your book is before it's even written? Yup! I called my good friend Alison Little of Visual Uprising for some advice. Alison is a brilliant creative and has a strong social media presence. I wanted to share my vision was for the book and pick her brain a bit. While chatting for over an hour about our kids and her life in her beautiful country home in Virginia she told me “Decide where you want to take your audience and then take them there.” Those words still guide how I write and connect with my readers today. Once the book launched I knew my network of creatives, family and curators would share the book… and that changed everything. I truly believe that having a strong support system makes all the difference when self-publishing your book. My network not only read my book, bought it, and reviewed it but they also shared it on their social media platforms. It was a great way for others to find my book. Who knew that just 12 months later my book would be named one of the Best New Adoption Books To Read In 2020 by Book Authority!
Editing: I knew I needed a professional editor that would take the time to review my written work, give constructive feedback and respond promptly. After much research, I decided to partner with Upwork. “Upwork is the leading freelancing website where businesses find and work with top freelance marketers, designers, developers, editors, and other professionals.” The process was simple. I posted the job and waited for editing freelancers to reach out. After just two days, I found the person I wanted to work with and the results were great! After I had been so careful, what I didn’t expect is that he would find a duplicate chapter in my book! I took a 2-week hiatus from writing to clear my head. Where would I get more content from? What would I share in a whole new chapter? It took me a couple of weeks, but I regrouped and got back to writing. This motivated me to write a whole new chapter on where we are now and how our story changed my profession.
This project is a personal account of our journey for our son. Every word honestly connects our pain and joy. It's stitched together by my sweet husband as a love letter to our son. Although I was nervous to put my story into the world I'm so glad that I did! I'm encouraged every time a family struggling with infertility, embracing adoption, or feeling ignored by God reaches out after having read the book to tell me “This is the book I was waiting for.” Our journey through the loss to get to love is one that has shaped my life forever. I hope it will do the same for you.
Order your copy today on Amazon. Our story is waiting.
