Today I am excited to introduce you to my friend Kelly Exeter and officially launch her new book Your Best Year Yet –7 simple ways to shift your thinking and take charge of your life. Kelly is a fellow mum and Perth girl and to celebrate the launch of her book, I’ve invited her to guest post for me today. Here’s Kelly!
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Hey there! First of all I just want to say a huge thanks to Amy for inviting me on to her blog today. I’m so excited to be able to launch my book here, in the ‘home’ of a fellow Perthite!
Now …
As a rule, I try not to speak for ‘all mothers’ if I can help it.
But today, I can’t help it.
Today I’m going to stick my neck out a bit and say, “if there was an enemy common to all mothers, that enemy’s name would be time.”
Amiright?
Time is certainly my enemy.
In addition to managing a household, I’m mum to a four-year-old and a nine-month-old, wife to a very nice man … and a business owner. I’m a writer too and towards the end of last year I was getting frustrated because all my writing seemed to be getting squeezed into rushed half hour blocks here and there. If I wanted a longer block I had to get up before everyone in the house … or stay up once they’d all gone to sleep.
Boo hoo for me!
Then in December I took a long hard look in the mirror. And quickly realised the person staring back at me was busy … sure. But she was also an Olympic standard time waster.
I won’t go into the gory details (*cough* Facebook, *cough* Twitter) … but it quickly became apparent where I could pick up *cough* an hour or so each day.
An extra hour a day to write? Extravagance!
So I decided to put that hour a day to good use. I decided to write the book that had been rattling around in my head for a few months. There was just one problem. The nature of the book meant it had to be released in January. And it was already December.
How to write a book in 18 days
Logically, the very first thing I did was design a cover and tell everyone on my Facebook page they could expect a book in January. Because nothing gets one’s butt into gear faster than fear of looking stupid by not delivering on a promise.
The second thing I did was alert my editor that 12,000 words would be coming his way in early January. He said ‘I’m blocking out January 3rd and 4th for you’.
Woo. Now I had a first draft deadline.
Did I mention that at this stage it was December 16th and things were completely out of control at work? Good times!
Thankfully we shut down at work on December 23rd.
I wrote the book outline on December 24th and the outline decreed the book would have an introduction followed by seven chapters. So I decided to give myself Christmas Day off … and then write a chapter a day after that.
And I did.
Eight nights in a row, after everyone in my house went to sleep, I did the research for the next day’s chapter. Eight mornings in a row, starting December 26th, I woke up at 4.45am and wrote the chapter. By January 2nd I had my first draft ready. By January 3rd it was in the hands of my editor.
I will admit that by the time I sent it to my editor, I was pretty sure it was the worst book ever and he would be horrified.
Apparently this is pretty normal stuff for a writer to think at the end of a first draft though and thankfully my editor wasn’t horrified. Once I got it back from him I fell back in love with it again and was able to spend another week tweaking and refining with the help of select family and friends.
Finally, after letting the book sit for a couple of days without me looking at it (very important!), I pulled one more all-nighter to do the final edit.
On Sunday 12th January, 18 days after I wrote the first word, my book was finished.
Today, that book is on Amazon, ready to buy.
And now you’re all probably thinking, ‘Seriously? She’s expecting us to buy a book she wrote in 18 days?’
But I promise, I wouldn’t put it out there if I wasn’t proud of it. And proud of it I am.
Your Best Year Yet outlines seven simple strategies I’ve used myself over the last two years to:
- Do more with the time I have;
- Create healthier habits;
- Make better decisions;
- Smack down my fears; and
- Have my best years yet!
Best of all, it’s short enough to read in 30 minutes because honestly, who has time to read long books these days?!
As mums, we constantly have people telling us to be kind to ourselves. Reminding us we can’t do everything we might want to do. And this is true.
But sometimes, I think we actually need to push, to force ourselves to carve out the time we need to achieve the something we know we have in us. The something that will make us unbelievably happy if we can tick it off the list. The something that will give us that beautiful glow of satisfaction you get from achieving a long-time goal.
I know if you’re reading Amy’s blog, it’s because you’re a super-busy-trying-to-be-amazing-for-everyone-mum just like Amy. And just like me.
I’m hoping my words above and the words in my book will inspire you to take time out from being amazing for everyone, to do something amazing for you.
And I really hope this year is your best yet.
Kelly x
Do you have something in you that’s dying to get out? Are you going to have a crack at getting it out this year?
We’d love you to share it in the comments below!
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Kelly I am so super proud of you for writing this book! I have my copy and plan on putting myself to bed early one night very soon so I can enjoy it in peace and solitude – and really take it all in. You’re an inspiration to me and have taught me so much. I hope the ebook is rip roaring success!
Sonia from Sonia Styling recently posted…How to Create Beachy Waves
Thank you lovely Son. I can’t wait to hear if it helps!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Huge congrats Kel. I’ve bought it — and will be reading about how you manage to do it with your very busy life.
Thank you Jenny! I think you will get a smile out of it!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
I look forward to purchasing and reading. I have also signed up to receive your emails. Congratulations on this huge achievement. Vicki x
Vicki recently posted…how to wear WHITE JEANS
Thank you so much Vicki!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
I was about to head into the newsagent to pick up a magazine for my hair appointment tonight, but instead I have bought this fabulous book and for a fraction of the price of a magazine!!
Can’t wait to get my teeth in it!!!!!!! So inspiring to see women like yourself Kelly! Congrats! And thanks Amy for having another fabulous woman on your blog!
Aw Kylie that’s awesome – I hope you enjoy it!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
As a fellow West Australian it’s so great to see wonderful things getting done by lovely people I know through blogging. Well done Kelly and well done Amy for inviting her to guest post. I loved every word of this post and I’m sure it’s given lots of people hope (including me!).
Johanna recently posted…What Shall I Wear Today? Summer Dresses.
Thank you Jo – GO THE WA GIRLS!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Woah, up at 4.45, working every night, in amongst the festive season?? I hope you/re enjoying some down time now Kel. And you have a baby??? Fantastic achievement, well done.
Kirsty Rice recently posted…Ordinary Days
I know Kirst! But thankfully the baby is a good sleeper and I am not an all night rager!!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Congratulations on the release Kelly! I’m working on an eBook too – it’s amazing what a bit of structure does to kick your butt into writing!
Vanessa recently posted…Bright Monday: Belated Christmas
it really does make a huge difference Vanessa!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Kelly, I absolutely LOVE the book. I downloaded it the other day, read it in 30 mins and was blown away. It really resonated with me. I loved the simple advice and suggestions, wrapped up in your personal experiences. A very authentic read and one which was easy to connect with as a reader. I am also writing an eBook and an eCourse this year to help parents navigate young children’s digital world. I have been waiting for the ‘perfect’ time to carve out some writing and creation time, but realise after reading this post that as a Mum of two and a business owner that isn’t going to eventuate. Thanks for the gentle nudge to just carve out small pockets of time to write and create.
Kristy recently posted…Five things most parents don’t know about kids and technology
Thank you so much Kirsty – it means so much to hear that. And yes – the word is definitely CARVE! It’s hard to do it, and harder to ‘justify’ in our minds, but we NEED to do it!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Congratulations Kelly!, will definately have to get myself a copy, already nodding my head at several points in the post. As a mother of two, I work on my writing often in the window of 8.00 to midnight which appears to be the only ‘free time’ personally and mentally. I have recently been given a deadline for my book of November 2014, so its time to really make this my year! At least I have more than eighteen days 🙂
Good luck Sioban! I like your book deadline much more than mine!!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Woohoo to you Miss Kelly … love your work and have bought and shared!
Nikki @ Styling You recently posted…How to change hairdressers
Thank you so much Nikki – you are the best xx
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Congratulations Kelly! What a wonderful achievement. It sounds like a fabulously relevant topic for me and well, pretty much everyone I know. I look forward to reading it. Well done! V x
Vanessa from StyleandShenanigans.com recently posted…Style Update: Study Nook & Tech Accessories
Thank you so much V. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it – good or bad!!
Kelly Exeter recently posted…Your Best Year Yet is finally here
Hi Kelly, I’m very interested in reading your book. Is there are print version or just available on the Kindle?
Looking forward to reading it.
Regards
Carissa
Kel, you are crazy, and I love that you are! The book is excellent. Anything that helps mums like me find that little bit extra to tackle our hectic lifestyles is hugely welcome. Now to make that lifestyle a little less hectic!
Can’t wait to get my little mittens on this one, anything that makes us mums feel good about ourselves and what we do is a winner in my eyes.
Congrats Kelly xx
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