LESSON TWO: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES
Can’t Find a Party? Have One Yourself.
NOTE: Throughout the month of July, I will be writing about and sharing a short list of five “lessons learned” from my mother (Mimi) and grandmother (her mother, Nana).
Lessons from Mimi & Nana:
Publishing Wisdom Before I Knew It Was Publishing Wisdom
One of the greatest lessons I learned from Mimi was simple:
“Can’t find a party? Have one yourself.”
Now, I don’t think they meant this as a business strategy. They were talking about life. If nobody was hosting a gathering, invite people over. If there wasn’t a celebration planned, create one. If something was worth celebrating, don’t wait for someone else’s permission.
Make it happen.
Looking back, I realize they were teaching me something much bigger than party planning. They were teaching me ownership. Initiative. Leadership . . . and, as it turns out, independent publishing.
For generations, aspiring authors believed there was only one path to becoming a published author: write the manuscript, submit it, wait, hope, cross your fingers, wait some more, and hope someone else decides your story is worthy.
Today, authors have choices.
Today, you don’t have to wait for an invitation to the publishing party. You can create your own. That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about helping authors become Author-As-Publishers™.
- Instead of waiting for someone else to decide whether your message matters, YOU decide.
- Instead of hoping someone else will invest in your vision, YOU invest in yourself.
- Instead of sitting outside the room wondering if you’ll ever be invited in, YOU open the door and welcome others to join you.
That’s exactly what happens with anthologies. One person has an idea, a vision, a topic worth exploring . . . and rather than waiting for someone else to create the opportunity, they become the curator / the compiler / the sponsor. The host of the party. They invite others to participate.
- I’ve watched business owners, coaches, trainers, nonprofit leaders, speakers, and professionals use anthologies to bring people together around important conversations.
- I’ve watched contributors gain confidence, visibility, credibility, and momentum.
- I’ve watched friendships and collaborations emerge that would never have happened otherwise.
All because someone decided not to wait and created their own opportunities.
The same thing is true of your solo book. Your book is more than a product; it’s an invitation, an invitation into your story, your expertise, your experiences, your perspective, your wisdom. I’ve seen people curate an anthology, quit their jobs, start their solo book, and start a new business (all within one year)!
Every book says, “Come sit at my table. Let’s have a conversation.”
That’s a beautiful thing, and it’s why I believe publishing is about so much more than printing words on paper. It’s about creating spaces where ideas can be shared, relationships can be built, and lives can be impacted. Mimi and Nana may not have known anything about ISBNs, Amazon categories, or author platforms. But they understood something timeless:
If you’re waiting for someone else to create the opportunity, you may be waiting forever.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is create it yourself. Host the event. Start the conversation. Launch the podcast. Build the community. Write the book. Create the anthology.
Have the party.
Because somewhere out there, people are waiting for exactly what you have to offer.
They just need someone to open the door.
What opportunity have you been waiting for someone else to create?
Maybe it’s time to host the party yourself.