Guest blogger Dr. Monica DeBro has experienced an unexpected, yet inspiring journey from author to authorpreneur. Like other emerging authors, Monica discovered her unique voice in the self-publishing world and launched a platform that has led to not only book signings, but hosting events and guest speaking at seminars. But enough from me, here is Monica in her own words.
From Author to Authorpreneur
You ever think, “I’m going to do this one thing and be done.” We’ve all at one point decided to take action to meet a goal thinking that would be the end of it. That was me in 2014 while I was writing and preparing to publish Broken Believer No More. I wrote out of a longing to receive healing, forgiveness, and restoration within myself.
You see, I had lost sight of who I was and needed a deliverance from brokenness. Prior to writing, my life was in a completely dark and unhealthy place. There was no growth or prosperity. Only me stuck on a Ferris wheel of vicious cycles of insanity.
The initial thought to write my story came out of a conversation of pain I was having with someone several years before I wrote the first word. However, once I started writing, it didn’t take long for me to fill up the blank pages. During my dedicated time of writing, God poured words through my heart and onto the page.
In each stage of the writing process and each chapter, I remembered something about my past that I had buried in a locked mental memory storage box. However, as I continued to remember and continued to write, my healing became more and more relevant. The darkness that was surrounding me began to fade and the brokenness that was silently choking the life out of me began to lose its grip. Once I had completed the writing, I put the book aside because I’d received my healing and for me “I was good.” I could breathe and my life had begun again with a mental fresh start.
Within a few weeks, the Lord said to me, “You’ve received your healing—what about others? They need to read your story for their healing to begin so they can be restored.” At that point I knew that the book couldn’t sit within the confines of my computer and edited print pages. The words on the pages needed to be released. They needed to unfold into the hearts and minds of others to know that at some point in time, believers in Christ can become broken, but that God is a healer and cares deeply for them.
During my time of writing I sought advice from another self-published author who advised me to purchase a block of 10 ISBNs. My initial response was, “I’m only writing one book.” She politely replied, “No, there will be more books.” Thank goodness I listened, because little did I know that three years later I would publish my second book Love Yourself to Life. Even as I type this blog today, I am asked on a weekly basis, “What are you working on now? Are you writing your third book?”
Little did I know that becoming a published author would propel me into being considered an Authorpreneur. When I first heard the word I thought, “That’s pretty cool.” It’s a creative word to describe an author who has developed additional entrepreneur opportunities as a result of being an author.
I had to embrace that once I published my first book, that I had barely tapped into my purpose. Soon I found myself planning and hosting “The Elephant in the Room,” a seminar where we openly discuss topics that are often avoided, but absolutely necessary, such as domestic violence, suicide, and mental, physical, and financial health. This seminar led to developing, planning, and hosting several other annual seminars and women’s events including: “Love Yourself to Life” and “Always Wear Your Tiara.” As an Authorpreneur, my goal is to help others embrace the essence of who they are and not allow their past to interfere with their future.
Since publishing Love Yourself to Life in February, 2018, I’ve had the opportunity to further develop as an Authorpreneur by being interviewed twice for AZ Crisis TV, podcasts, Facebook live interviews, guest blog writings, and being a guest writer for an upcoming book of another author. In 2013, my goal was to simply publish Broken Believer No More to share my story. Here I am in 2018, with a new mindset to continuously seek ways to help others heal from brokenness and truly learn to love themselves to life!