TRANSCRIPT

Hi, when I first decided that I wanted to write a picture book, back in 2018, I happened to be working with a coach setting 90-day goals. Now my 90-day goal for my book was to “come up with an idea for my book.” And my coach just laughed at me. He's like, “No. Your 90-day goal is to have a complete manuscript.”

And like I thought he was out of his mind. He wants me to write an entire book in 90 days? That’s impossible. But even though the deadline felt scary, uncomfortable and unreasonable even, I accepted it. And I am so glad that I did. Within those 90 days, I not only completely the manuscript for my first book, I had already started querying.

Deadlines, uncomfortable deadlines, are the push you need to move forward towards your dream of becoming a published picture book author. If you tell yourself, for example, “I’m going to complete my manuscript this weekend,” you won’t have time to watch Netflix or scroll through your phone. You may not like it. You may feel like you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. You may feel like the deadline is taking the fun out of writing.

But guess what. When Sunday night arrives and you have a completed manuscript (like regardless of how good or bad it is), you’ll feel great about yourself. You’ll feel proud of yourself. And most importantly, you’ll realize that you’re capable of accomplishing more than you thought you could. And this feeling empowers you, making the dream of becoming a published picture book author suddenly feel more possible.

In the next video, I’ll lay out the uncomfortable goal I recommend setting for yourself to help you become a traditionally published picture book author.