What’s in a title?
I was sitting at my desk on Friday afternoon wondering whether I should clean out my inbox or work on my taxes when I saw the words My AI is being an A-hole pop up in the upper right corner of my screen and I laughed out loud.
This particular blogger is someone I see on Wednesdays over Zoom to, well, write. I'm part of her group titled the Almost Writers Club.
I mean…I can write anytime and I certainly don't have to pay someone for me to write…but I guess I do.
Because it’s hard to sit down and write. Just like it's hard to sit down and organize your 1099’s, 1095-C and my Schedule C and a whole host of forms that make my eyes want to glaze over. We find ways to not do the things we don't want to, or the things that we feel we aren’t good at. Some may call that procrastination. And others may call that self-sabotage but today I’m just going to call it being human.
Which reminds of what my friend-who-is-starting-a-blog said to me on Monday, “The thing that keeps tripping me up is that I don’t think I’m a good writer.” We were walking on the trails of the Presidio, stopping every hundred yards to marvel at the clear water, blue sky and bright sunshine. I had reached out to her over the weekend to go for a walk in an effort to connect. Well, maybe to procrastinate a little bit, too.
“Yeah, I get that,” I said, “but if you can talk, you can write. For example, you can talk into the notes section of your phone.”
She was listening intently so I went on, “You can write in 5-10 min spurts.”
I kept going. “I get it though—most of us associate writing with the dreaded red pen and school. That can stop us before we even get started.”
Then I told her about my Almost Writers Club. How I needed accountability and to create the space in my calendar to sit my butt in the chair. I think she appreciated hearing about my resistance to writing, especially because she reads my blogs and she knows I’ve written a mini-memoir.
“Almost Writers Club? I love that title!” she crowed.
So back to titles and what gets our attention, like A-holes.
Titles can jolt you or make you laugh out loud. They can capture something that we are feeling about ourselves, about the world, about each other. They can hit you at the exact right moment and make you feel understood.
We’ve been taught not to judge a book by its cover but we do care that the title is speaking to us.
So that’s why I’m deeply excited to share with you the title of my book:
Speaking to What Matters...My story of learning how to share what's inside
This mini-memoir has a prologue, eleven chapters, an epilogue and a simple framework for sharing your story. It takes about an hour or so to read. I wrote it as a storyteller. Actually, I wrote it as an Almost Writer!:) I dug as deep as I could to discover the message my life can teach others.
Speaking to What Matters doesn’t quite have the same zing as My AI is being an A-hole but that’s okay. I get to be me. She gets to be her. And frankly, you get to be you.
If you want to be inspired to share your story, if you have this suspicion that when you find, tell and own your story you will get more connected to yourself, and if want to connect more deeply with others, then Speaking to What Matters will matter to you.
"You'd expect Katherine to tell a great story because she is a storytelling coach. Even still, the unfolding of this story - the messages, the humor, the self-awareness and honesty - are wonderfully moving. This is a beautifully-crafted book, both at the story level and at the meta- level, because Katherine shows us how to tell our story and why." -- Kate Bonnycastle, founder of the Almost Writers Club
Every single one of us has deep wisdom to share from the hard-won lessons we’ve learned. In my story is the journey of learning how to connect more deeply and honestly with the people I love.
And yet all of us need support. I certainly wouldn't have been able to get to this point in sharing my story without the love and support of my family, friends, Almost Writers Club, and colleagues. I'd especially like to express my profound gratitude to my trusted coach, Cara Jones, who has helped me every step of the way.
I can’t wait to share this little book with a big heart with you! Lemme know if you want to be one of the first people to get your hands on it!