I have been asked many times about how the Mompowerment book became an idea and then an actual book. I wanted to share more of my why on creating this book on this launch day.
Some Background on My Part-time Story
Before becoming a mom, I worked for more than 12 years in the marketing world at large marketing agencies. The agency world is a very fast-paced, competitive environment, no matter what you see on TV and in the movies. About 5 years into my career, I realized I wanted my life back and my journey for work-life balance began. I took two years away from Corporate America to get an MBA, but I wouldn’t consider that time a break. It was an intense and fun two years, but it allowed for the next stage of my journey.
After grad school, I worked for a large engineering firm and then spent 5.5 years at a large marketing agency in Austin, TX in a full-time role. When I became a mom, I transitioned to a part time role for that same company. About a year after our older son was born, I became a mompreneur. I had done the side hustle for about 7 years at that point.
Why Write a Book?
While working part time at the marketing agency and for about a year after becoming an entrepreneur, I was asked regularly by other working moms about how I made the part-time thing happen, work, keep working, etc. Over coffee with a friend who was working part time at the time, we talked about how she was getting the same types of questions. So I searched for a resource to send these mamas with questions. And then searched some more. I found an article here or there or a post on someone’s blog. I generally had to do a lot of digging to find anything related to being a professional part-time mom (or really any kind of part-time info for professionals). I didn’t find a consistent resource, though, in the endlessnouse that is the internet. And the concept of Mompowerment was born.
I started interviewing other part-time working moms to create a resource. I wasn’t sure what I was creating initially, but eventually I figured out a book was the right way to go because it could include everything I learned from my own expeirence, research, and interviews about being a professional part-time working mom. It’s all wrapped up in a bow. OK, not exactly a bow, but the Mompowerment book has a bright red cover. Really, though it’s 270 pages of insights, advice, stories, tips, tricks, and ideas to help you find more work-life balance (even if you don’t want to work part time). And that way you continue to excel in your career AND be the mom you want to be.
The Journey to Writing the Mompowerment Book
As I mentioned, I interviewed other part-time working moms. I interviewed more than 110. It took time to find those working mamas and time to talk to them (at least 30 minutes each and in one case up to 2 hours).
It’s amazing when I look back and realize what these successful professional part-time working moms shared. They opened up their lives to me and didn’t really hold back. I am forever grateful for these amazing women who peeled back the layers to reveal the reality of how it all works. This book wouldn’t be the resource that it is without them.
And while having those conversations, I did a lot of research (it’s part of what I do in my marketing business). There is some amazing research out there that I include in the book (check out the end notes if you want to find out about specific resources).
Between the first idea and conservation to actually writing the book has been a 4-year journey. I would say the research took about 3 years, then there was a talk at TEDxSMU Women in there, and then about 6 months to write the book and then a few months of dealing with the logistics of book writing (e.g., interior design, editing, etc.).
And, yes, I did this all while being an entrepreneur and servicing clients and building new business, having a second child (our younger son is almost 4), being the primary caregiver for our two young boys, and staying active in the community. I don’t say that for your kudos. I say that because you can accomplish all sorts of things, even with everything you have going on, when you are passionate about something. I found that passion drove me to keep going. I didn’t get to sit down and spend hours each day, but I found bits of time where I could make it happen. And some weeks were very book centric and some weeks had absolutely no book time in them because I had deadlines for clients. And, if you’re a working mom, you know that summer presents a whole different set of challenges and that was my case in years 1-3 of the book journey.
A Book is Born
Many people describe writing a book like having a baby. I’m not sure I could carry a baby for 4 years. I feel like the Mompowerment book is more about the creative process than having a baby. And I was surprised by that creative process. I worked in a highly creative field for more than a decade, but I’m more of an analytics and strategy kind of girl. Creating something outright is an interesting endeavor for me. I’m really excited about how the Mompowerment book turned out.
No question I feel a bit vulnerable putting 4 years of work into a single book and now sharing that with the world. I’m thrilled with the end result, though. I hope this book helps moms with their work-life balance challenges and keeps more moms in the workforce. I also hope it’s helps bring more moms back to the workforce. I would love to see more working moms in senior leadership, which will only help other women and working moms along the way with their own work-life balance journeys.
Who Helped with this Book?
You can’t write a book alone (maybe you can, but I can’t). In my case, more than 110 professional part-time working moms shared their stories, insights, and advice. Since the book is anonymous, I can’t name them all, but they know who they are (you can see a few of them on this very website as I feature one mom a month who is OK with me sharing her story).
I had help from a core group. In addition to all that information from those amazing moms who I had conversations with, Holly Edger Emily Kapit, and Valerie Anderson gave initial feedback to make sure I was on the right track with the book. I also had the expertise of an amazing designer, Lilah Higgins, and a fellow author and book publishing guru, Alexa Bigwarfe.
I am so thankful to the two women who reviewed this book and their thoughts are included on the back cover: Lauren Brody and Stacey Rudnick. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read the book and share your thoughts.
During this whole endeavor, I’ve had some really supportive friends. I’ve also made some amazing new friends. The support from my in-person and online tribe means more to me than words can express.
Along this whole journey I’ve had three people in my corner cheering me on and giving me inspiration along the way: my husband, Robert, and our two young boys. My husband also happens to be my IT superstar. I literally couldn’t have done this without his technical support. I’m forever grateful that my amazing husband and your active boys are my motivation for striving for greater work-life balance.
