Episode 26: Sharing Your Story in a Book: Jessica Freeman
Today on the show Jodi interviews Jessica Freeman, author of The Type 1 Life (2018) and the forthcoming The Type 1 Life for Adults (2020). Here are some highlights from their conversation:
Jodi and Jess discussed the origin of her book. Jess shared that the idea had a tendency to “word vomit” information anytime she found out someone had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Around the same time as a friend’s 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed, Jess was at a business retreat where she was asked, “If you could write a book about anything, what would it be?”
When Jess decided she wanted to educate parents dealing with a new diagnosis, she felt like an easily digestible book was a good format. No one would have the time for a course, but a quick, easy read was a tool that could impact them.
Jess noted that the writing was both her favorite and least favorite parts of the process. She used to blog a lot, so the writing came easily to her. She didn’t love organizing the writing and figuring out how much detail she needed in certain parts.
Jess shared a few cool things that have happened since publishing The Type 1 Life. Most important to her is the positive feedback and messages from people who’ve shared that the book helped them navigate their child’s diagnosis. The book is doing just what she hoped it would when she was writing! She’s gotten a few speaking opportunities, including an upcoming summit hosted by JDRF. A look at her account on Amazon revealed that she surpassed 1,000 book sales (which is AMAZING!).
Jess is active in a few online communities and has noticed more conversations around adults being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, so she’s written a second book to speak to that audience. There is some overlap between the two books, but the new book includes information about marriage, parenting, and the workplace.
Jess offered two pieces of advice for budding author-entrepreneurs:
Have a dedicated writing time (and honor it).
Don’t get caught up in how long you feel like your book “should” be and instead focus on your audience and what they need/want from your book.
Jess shared that she recently finished (and enjoyed) Company of One by Paul Jarvis.
Listen here or on your favorite podcast player, and let me know what you think!