From time to time in this space, Balboa Press publishes articles written by our authors in which they share some aspect of their self-publishing journeys. These are the words of Susan Elizabeth Girard, author of “In the Light of the Full Cold Moon”. For more information about Susan, check out her Website, Facebook. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and her about.me page. Download the Balboa Press free publishing guide to receive more information on self-publishing your book with Balboa Press.

My Journey in Self-Publishing with Balboa Press began from a sick bed.

Though the premise of the book was always present in the back of my mind and I had on occasion spoken to Balboa about seriously heading in that direction, nothing to this point had been seriously attempted.They knew of me and I of them.

My story had long been hidden deep in my soul. The time came when it needed to be told.

From my initial connection with my publishing consultant in August of 2014, I was spiritually ready to enter into a relationship with Balboa Press. I fell ill and was bed ridden for much of a whole year. The journey brought me into the Spiritual Realm, which the book, though a fiction/novel, mirrored in many ways. Therefore, writing the book was both therapeutic and healing.

I built an altar on my bedside table very similar to the one Wayne Dyer had by his bed and I prayed and meditated day and night for Heavenly intervention, both for my health issues and for assistance in the writing of the book. Both were answered in the most profound and ethereal way. I have met, conversed and journeyed with many ascended beings in so many transcendental, mystical ways on this pilgrimage to personal growth and enlightenment. Side by side and running parallel to the story was my own personal life story. The story behind the story so to speak.

The culmination and final chapter is that this author walked the royal path to wellness through this amazing process. It basically took me a year to write the book. There is no doubt that I was Divinely guided along the way as it poured from me like a Rainforest Waterfall.

I frantically filled notebooks in a flurry of long handed scrawling trying to put down on paper what was bubbling out of me. I couldn’t get it down fast enough. There was no such thing as writer’s block in producing this book. I carried a recorder and cell phone with me everywhere I went and spoke, wrote, sang my way onto the pages. In the middle of the night I would wake up, click on the bedside lamp, grab my ever ready notebook, pen and glasses quickly scribbling page after page in near illegible script into the wee hours of the morning in an attempt not to lose any of the thoughts swimming around my brain. I went from wondering how I could produce a novel; feeling intimidated by the fact that I would need to write around 60,000 words to beginning to believe that I may just be writing the next ‘War and Peace’. It was magical.

Most importantly through this whole process, I learned and gained confidence in the fact that I could edit, write, re-write, cut, paste, copy, size photos, re-word, choose a cover photo and finally write and create my own book. Who knew, right?

It has been an incredible journey of self discovery. I have met and worked with a team of people along the way at Balboa who have walked with me every step of the way through the process of self publishing and birthing this novel. Sometimes it was painful and I threw a few ‘hissy fits’ along the way, which were always met with compassion, understanding and spiritual kindness from my publishing cohorts. We can all be very proud of our accomplishments. We have worked together as Partners and delivered what I believe to be a polished, professional piece of work. Congratulations to us all!!

Balboa Press authors who’d like to share a 350-600 word experience related to the self-publishing of their books, are invited to do so by sending a message through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BalboaPress, by tweeting us @BalboaPress, or by emailing dghosh@ balboapress.com. We may not be able to use every story, but we will read and consider them. Balboa Press reserves the right to edit stories for content, grammar and punctuation accuracy; as well as for space.