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Sharing My Story by Colleen Haggerty |
Have you ever faced a looming project and felt completely overwhelmed? Wondered where and how to start?
That's how I felt eighteen months ago after I brought my just-finished book to a "hybrid" publishing house. They gave me the printing and distribution advantages of a big publishing house, yet the content and visual aspects of the book were in my control. It also meant I was in charge of my own marketing.
A friend, my sounding board while I was developing my marketing plan, loaned me her book Hiring the Heavens by Jean Slatter. In it, Slatter talks about how to recruit a specialized committee of angels to help us realize our goals and dreams.
In my spiritual view of the world, angels and Neters share many of the same qualities: they are guides, allies and challengers as we walk through life. (SoulCollage� uses the ancient word "Neter" to mean a specific energy, presence, guide, ally, or challenger - within oneself, or a person or situation one encounters.)
SoulCollage� had been in my life for eleven years by then, so I knew I could directly access my Neters anytime, but Slatter's idea was intriguing. As the marketer of my book, I was going to have to access a set of skills outside my comfort zone. So I decided to recruit a specialized team of Neters whose jobs would be directly tailored for my marketing project.
When considering who might be on my team, I thought about everything I had to do before my book was released. I had to write and submit articles to magazines, so I wrote down "Writer" and "Editor."
I needed to make calls to bookstores and various groups for book readings and there would be a lot to keep track of financially, so I jotted down "Marketer" and "Financier."
My publisher had warned me that there were multiple tasks assigned to me and many decisions to be made, so I wrote "Multi-Tasker."
And, knowing that I can get lost in the details, I added "Timekeeper."
But there was someone else wanting to be a part of this team. I closed my eyes and allowed this last angel to emerge.
You see, my book is a memoir about my walk into motherhood as an amputee (I lost my leg in a car accident when I was seventeen years old). A part of that journey was the two abortions I had when was in my twenties. In this initial marketing phase, I was still feeling the shame that had kept me silent about these abortions for thirty years. I had kept them a secret from most of my family and friends. My husband certainly knew, but my teenage children did not.
In my weaker moments, when shame tried to silence me, I considered cutting these chapters from my book. But ultimately I knew that I couldn't tell my story with any integrity or authenticity if I didn't show how my first two pregnancies were as important to my journey as my second two pregnancies were, the two that came to full-term.
With a shaky hand and tears in my eyes, I added another angel for my team: "Shame Tamer."
My list felt complete, but the exercise left me feeling a little empty and vacant. So I set out to create SoulCollage� cards for these angels. I had ripped and filed hundreds of images and quickly found one for each team member; it was as if they'd been waiting patiently in their folders for this moment. And with my affinity for angels, I had an abundance of angel images to choose from.
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Writer Angel, Colleen Haggerty |
Though these are simple cards, each with the angel in the background and the team member in the foreground, I finally felt complete with my Marketing Team.
Each morning I had a team meeting. "Okay, Writer, I have an article to write today; I'd like your support." Or "Today I have to get organized. I'm feeling jumbled and confused by my next steps. Multi-Tasker and Time Keeper, I need you two to step up to the plate today." I was the project manager and my angels were at my beck and call.
Sometimes I asked my Neters questions before I began working. For instance, when I had to write an article, I posed a question to my Writer Angel: "What do I need to keep in mind while writing this article today?"
And my Writer Angel answered,
"I Am One Who holds the truth of your wisdom in my heart. As you write, I am the keeper of this wisdom. I hold a gentle, safe, relaxing space for this wisdom to emerge. Trust whatever comes."
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Marketer Angel, Colleen Haggerty |
When I had to make calls to bookstores, I ask my Marketer Angel, "How can I best approach these calls today?"
And my Marketer Angel answered,
"I Am One Who shouts to the world the importance of your message. I Am One Who has your back. I unabashedly have confidence about this book."
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Shame Tamer, Colleen Haggerty |
And, every now and then my shame re-emerged. "Who do you think you are, sharing the stories of your abortions? People will think you are a terrible person, a lowlife, scum of the earth." At those times, I pulled my Shame Tamer card, who said,
"I Am One Who sings you home to your purity and goodness. I walk you through the winter of your grief and your shame and offer courage as you step into the spring of your awakening."
When I first started the marketing process, I felt incompetent and scared. I didn't fully believe that I had what it took to get my book out into the world. As I actively used my Marketing Team, these Neters kept me tethered to the larger story, reminding me, each step of the way, that my personal story, with its universal themes, is not just about me; it's about all of us. My fear shifted to a sense of connection with everyone who has ever felt the sting of shame and the pain of isolation. I understood, on a deeper level, that simply sharing my story meant healing.