Book Deal Day (and my journey to get here!)
Yesterday started out like a normal mum/working day. Well normal for our crazy household. I didn’t get to bed until 1am, not the kids that kept me up, I was checking over all the orders in the last couple of weeks to make sure nothing had been missed. Juggling business work, teaching and research means business work is often (cough, always, at the moment) done in the wee hours – there is just never enough time in the day!
At some point our big boy woke up, he gets scared of the dark at the moment and his night light bulb has needed replacing, it’s been on my to-do list for about 4 days. I was really kicking myself at 3am or whenever it was (didn’t check the time), as I didn’t even try and settle him, in my exhausted state I just crawled in beside him, prayed his brother didn’t wake up. I couldn’t sleep though and my mind was already on the meeting with the publishers ahead. I was also thinking how I would be able to function on like no sleep…luckily after a while in my arms, he fell back asleep and I crept back into bed for a few more hours.
Morning, or some definition of 6am morning, both my husband and I were bolted awake by loud protesting from the boys rooms. And so the chaos began. I didn’t even bother getting changed initially, and I am pretty sure all I managed was to shove down half a piece of toast for breakfast myself. Eventually Vijay managed to take both boys off so I could get ready. Two minutes after he left an insulation team turned up, I had totally forgotten they were scheduled to arrive. I inwardly groaned and literally had to ask them to wait outside so I could get myself half decent (no shower of course).
Triple checking we had everything we made it out the door and off to our meeting. If someone had asked me before having children how I would have envisioned preparing for a meeting such as this one, I can tell you it would not have been the above…but that’s true #mumlife for you! When we got to the café, my heart was thumping in my chest and I was so nervous I almost could not drink my coffee (a first for me) while I waited for the publishers to arrive.
We self-published my cook book (Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums) this year. It was hands down one of the hardest business ventures I have done to date. And we have made sooooo many mistakes with it. Not the book itself but in the process of finishing it, getting published, available to sell and out there. In January we just released it, no publicist, no media coverage, no official book launch even set up at that stage, and barely enough funds to get it printed in the first place – but I was desperate to get it out, to get to available to help other mums. I don’t regret how we did this. I learnt so much in a short space of time. I also knew we needed to get a publisher on board to really fulfill my dreams and we have been seeking this for about the last six months.
See I don’t just want to write a book.
I want to empower mums and families around the globe to eat well, to nourish themselves and their families, to be able to thrive in what is fundamentally very challenging yet important years.
I want to be a New York Times best seller.
Not for any monetary gain (don’t tell my husband that)…but to me that would be a true sign I have been able to touch many, many lives.
It might take me another 10 years and 10 more books but that’s a dream I am willing to strive for.
At this meeting with the publishers, we came armed with all my work to date, including my thesis. Most of all we came with my dream that I just shared with you. I didn’t know what to expect, I was terrified that I would be laughed at and told I had no hope – one day I will tell you of all the times I have actually been told this. But they didn’t, they believed in me and wanted to work with me.
It’s all still sinking in to be honest. There is still a lot to work out. And the next six months plus are not going to be easy, we know that. We know the raw reality of writing a book, with young children AND running a business AND holding down various research and teaching contracts. I can tell you that it’s not all glamour, lap top up, sitting in the sun, fresh hot coffee being enjoyed.
But do you know what, despite not knowing all the ‘how’s’, I am going to do this. If I could do this with my thesis in the same year I gave birth to our second baby, I can do this now. Because this is not for me - it’s for you, it’s for all the beautiful mums and mums-to-be, it’s for this global community we are creating and most of all it’s for our babies.
I could not do this without all of you, and I am (and always will be), so grateful for your love, encouragement and support.
#watchthispace
Xxx Dr Julie Bhosale
At some point our big boy woke up, he gets scared of the dark at the moment and his night light bulb has needed replacing, it’s been on my to-do list for about 4 days. I was really kicking myself at 3am or whenever it was (didn’t check the time), as I didn’t even try and settle him, in my exhausted state I just crawled in beside him, prayed his brother didn’t wake up. I couldn’t sleep though and my mind was already on the meeting with the publishers ahead. I was also thinking how I would be able to function on like no sleep…luckily after a while in my arms, he fell back asleep and I crept back into bed for a few more hours.
Morning, or some definition of 6am morning, both my husband and I were bolted awake by loud protesting from the boys rooms. And so the chaos began. I didn’t even bother getting changed initially, and I am pretty sure all I managed was to shove down half a piece of toast for breakfast myself. Eventually Vijay managed to take both boys off so I could get ready. Two minutes after he left an insulation team turned up, I had totally forgotten they were scheduled to arrive. I inwardly groaned and literally had to ask them to wait outside so I could get myself half decent (no shower of course).
Triple checking we had everything we made it out the door and off to our meeting. If someone had asked me before having children how I would have envisioned preparing for a meeting such as this one, I can tell you it would not have been the above…but that’s true #mumlife for you! When we got to the café, my heart was thumping in my chest and I was so nervous I almost could not drink my coffee (a first for me) while I waited for the publishers to arrive.
We self-published my cook book (Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums) this year. It was hands down one of the hardest business ventures I have done to date. And we have made sooooo many mistakes with it. Not the book itself but in the process of finishing it, getting published, available to sell and out there. In January we just released it, no publicist, no media coverage, no official book launch even set up at that stage, and barely enough funds to get it printed in the first place – but I was desperate to get it out, to get to available to help other mums. I don’t regret how we did this. I learnt so much in a short space of time. I also knew we needed to get a publisher on board to really fulfill my dreams and we have been seeking this for about the last six months.
See I don’t just want to write a book.
I want to empower mums and families around the globe to eat well, to nourish themselves and their families, to be able to thrive in what is fundamentally very challenging yet important years.
I want to be a New York Times best seller.
Not for any monetary gain (don’t tell my husband that)…but to me that would be a true sign I have been able to touch many, many lives.
It might take me another 10 years and 10 more books but that’s a dream I am willing to strive for.
At this meeting with the publishers, we came armed with all my work to date, including my thesis. Most of all we came with my dream that I just shared with you. I didn’t know what to expect, I was terrified that I would be laughed at and told I had no hope – one day I will tell you of all the times I have actually been told this. But they didn’t, they believed in me and wanted to work with me.
It’s all still sinking in to be honest. There is still a lot to work out. And the next six months plus are not going to be easy, we know that. We know the raw reality of writing a book, with young children AND running a business AND holding down various research and teaching contracts. I can tell you that it’s not all glamour, lap top up, sitting in the sun, fresh hot coffee being enjoyed.
But do you know what, despite not knowing all the ‘how’s’, I am going to do this. If I could do this with my thesis in the same year I gave birth to our second baby, I can do this now. Because this is not for me - it’s for you, it’s for all the beautiful mums and mums-to-be, it’s for this global community we are creating and most of all it’s for our babies.
I could not do this without all of you, and I am (and always will be), so grateful for your love, encouragement and support.
#watchthispace
Xxx Dr Julie Bhosale