The Gap Between Dreaming of a Book and Actually Writing One
How a Candle Shop Illuminated Me Why I Do This Work
You’re here because you have a lot of material and no table of contents. You know something is in there, but you just can’t see its shape from where you’re standing. So let me tell you about a birthday, my college roommate, and a candle shop.
A few years ago, my best friend from college came to town for my birthday. We had plans — brunch at the beach, a walk through our old campus, past the little chapel and the duck pond, and an afternoon making candles. It felt festive and joyful for a milestone birthday.
We showed up and discovered we were the only two people booked for a pouring.
What happened next will surprise exactly no one who knows me. I started asking the owner questions about her business, her customers, her promotion, and some of her pain points. And somewhere between choosing scents and pouring wax, I was offering her input.
My friend looked at me and just laughed. “Oh, Val, you just can’t help it,” she said. (Important note: she is the only one who can call me Val. If you try it, you will be immediately unfriended.)
She was right. I can’t.
People have been asking me what to do next for as long as I can remember. In conference rooms, in crisis situations, over coffee, and at birthday candle-making sessions apparently.
I listen, ask questions, understand the situation, and I tell them what I think — directly and honestly.
I spent thirty years doing this in communications and public affairs. Complex situations with real consequences. My job was always the same: take the complicated thing, understand it clearly, and figure out what happens next.
When I found book coaching, something clicked.
The women I work with don’t need permission. She needs a thinking partner who can look at everything she has, sift through the ideas, and tell her what she’s actually building.
You have the experience. I help you see the book it becomes.
One of my clients, Claire, put it better than I ever could: “I had a book inside of me for years. I knew the book. It lived inside of me. I just didn’t know how to get it out. Valerie’s strength is structure and strategy. Working with her gave me a way to move from one step to the next. And for the first time, I can actually see it being completed.”
That’s the work. It’s why I’m here.
If you have a story that keeps showing up and you’re not sure what to do with it, I’d love to hear about it.
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