Here’s the thing about competitions and challenges: they are super-motivating (to most people – I get that it’s not everyone’s bag) and someone will be utterly delighted at the end. But the thing about having a winner is that it means you have to have people who are NOT winners, and that – to borrow a phrase from across the pond – kinda sucks.
Which means two reasons for me to cry in my last Facebook Live of the #bizbookchallenge today – and I just about barely held it together when the winners started reacting in the comments (‘No way’, ‘Omgoodness’, ‘I am crying in my office!’) and then everyone else started congratulating them – let’s just say I don’t think anyone was still listening to me by the end, so maybe it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d just given up and blubbed.
So to all the not-winners of the 10-day Business Book Proposal Challenge: I am truly sorry. I hope that you forgive me, and I hope you feel that you totally ARE a winner because you turned a twinkle in your eye into a rock-solid book proposal in just 10 days. Here’s what one happy not-winner just wrote in a message: ‘I’ve had 25 people who have enquired about my training over the last two days because I am much clearer on what it contains now, which is thanks to the challenge.’ Which is exactly my point about how even THINKING about your book can impact on your business.
But to the winners, because, yes, just like last time I couldn’t bear to narrow it down to just one in the end – HUGE congratulations. I cannot wait to begin working with you on these superb books.
And I can say who they are now, because it’s been announced in the group – get these on your reading list now:
Nicola Huelin, The Invisible Revolution: How Mumpreneurs are changing the world (Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2017)
Fabienne Vailes, Emotional resilience for students: How to promote and embed mental health and wellbeing in HE settings (Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2017)
I can’t wait to work on these two great book concepts with two such extraordinary women.
(And if you fancy being in with a chance of winning next time round, you can sign up for the January challenge here: https://alisonjones.leadpages.co/proposal-challenge/)
EDIT: here’s Nicola on hearing the news…
