I need a Book Coach!
I have been practising law since 1999, when I was propelled from Bar School into the 'deep end of the swimming pool’ (court rooms) and it literally felt like the options I had were either to sink or swim! Fast forward 19 years on, 17 of these years have been spent mainly in litigation in the Gibraltar Magistrates Court, Juvenile Court, Supreme Court and Industrial Tribunal. I spent 2000-02 as a Legal Adviser of the Founding Team that set up Gibraltar’s Public Services Ombudsman Office and 2002-03 reading my Masters Degree at Bristol University.
My clients have no doubt been my greatest teachers. I am grateful for their trust and confidence in me to support them through their legal processes, always keeping them and their families' best interests at heart. I am honoured that they have shared their vulnerability with me at what has been for many, one of the most traumatic times of their lives.
Creating a Holistic Law model of practising law came very naturally to me from the start. My clients who were open to engaging in this process (and when appropriate), have happily reaped the benefits of a Holistic approach. They are the living proof that Holistic Law practice works. For this reason, I wish to start writing and sharing the value of what I have learned together with my clients, with others.
Some of the challenges I am facing though, include: the overwhelm of information I have accumulated over almost 2 decades and how to organise it? Where to start? What style to write in? Who is my audience? Do I have more than one book in me? How do I get published? How do you market a book? And so on… I have been taught that when stuck, always seek advice from someone who has already achieved where you want to get to, as they have already ‘blazed the trail’. I therefore telephoned my good friend and published author Asia Dimitrova who recommended I spend a day with her Book Coach, Collette Mason.
We agreed to meet at the British Library in London which was the perfect space and context to learn the answers to my questions. Investing in professional support was definitely the right action. I learned a lot from Collette, including processes on how to write the book, to drop the idea of ‘perfection’ and I actually wrote out my contents page! By the end of the day, I learned that there is more than one book in me to write, how important it is to, 'keep it simple' and importantly that I ought to enjoy the process at a pace that allows for gentle unfolding and creativity.