Not too long ago I announced some big news. I was coming out with a book, Creative Journaling. It’ll be released on January 14, 2020 and it’s available for preorder.  All preorders receive freebies too!

Order Creative Journaling now and receive Chunky Lettering Calligraphy, a 30+ page (PDF) all about lettering (click here for another preview).  Simply email the proof-of-purchase to hello@thediyday.com.

Creative Journaling is available from these retailers (please check Amazon if a particular region isn’t listed):

US –

UK–

Canada–

Australia –

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Here’s the back story on my love for journaling and the process on how this book came to be, from the beginning til now.

My love for journaling stems back to when I was a kid. I’d collect notebooks, journals, and diaries but I’d never use them – I had a fear of ruining them. Eventually, as I got older I didn’t care about ruining them and all I wanted was to use them.

Throughout the years, my journaling style has evolved significantly and I journal using all sorts of methods. My book Creative Journaling covers all of my favorite styles and includes: dot grid journaling, travel journaling, junk journaling, and mixed media journaling.

Since I announced the book, I have received many wonderful well wishes. Thank you so much for all the love and support.

I’ve also received questions about how my book came to be and the steps it took/is taking. Before I had this opportunity, I too wondered about the process. Although every author’s story and process differs, here is mine.

In October 2018, I received a message on Facebook from the Editorial Director at Quarto Publishing. The message asked if I was interested in creating a book about journaling. I’ll be honest. I was super excited and totally skeptical. Excited for obvious reasons and skeptical because, well, spam mail (I’m still waiting on the 500 million from my great-uncle).

I didn’t respond to the message at first. I needed to do research to make sure this was actually legit. After doing my own research, I shared the news with my husband James and asked him to research this opportunity too.

Everything looked legit so I responded. I really didn’t believe I’d get a response back for weeks or months if at all, but there in my inbox, less than 24 hours later was a response. I was completely nervous, so I took a deep breath (several actually) and opened the email.

The email was exactly what I had hoped. We were both interested in working together to create a book. We set-up a couple of phone calls and emails to brainstorm ideas and after that the editorial director worked her magic. She did a wonderful job staying in touch with me and keeping me in the loop during the approval processes. Then, the day before my birthday I received the email.

This email had the answer. Will my ideas be made into a book or not? Seriously, I had no idea if this email said approved or denied but I was more excited about seeing this one email in my inbox than I was to see my Master’s Degree in the mailbox. When I finally opened the email it was a total OMG moment, one of the biggest opportunities in my life. The book was approved.

A couple of weeks later, right before Thanksgiving, I received the contract.

Now, I’ve kept this entire opportunity a secret from my parents, my siblings, and my friends. I’m not a fan of sharing maybes and possibilities. I hate the feeling of being let down and having to explain why it didn’t work out. But now that I had a contract, it was real. But…I didn’t want to share the wonderful news with my family over the phone. The majority of my family are in California and I was living in Texas at the time. I just had to wait two more weeks to share and celebrate the news with all of my family.

Thinking I’d start creating the book upon our return to Texas, we ended up moving to Michigan (two out-of-state moves in less than six months). At the beginning of January, after settling in Michigan I created the book. I’d create a page or two every single day, perfecting each page. I just submitted the pages for the book this past June and currently it’s in the editor’s hands.

During the time since I’ve submitted the book, I’ve had the opportunity to learn all about promoting the book with the marketing manager. She is just a wealth of knowledge and I’m learning so much.

I can’t even explain how lucky I’ve been to work with a wonderful group of people over at Quarto.

I’ll continue updating the process as time progresses.