SheChanges Book #2: Powered by Women


My name is Lael Couper Jepson and I am the woman that lives at the red-hot, fiery center of SheChanges , a Portland, Maine-based business that's all about change powered by women. 

This campaign is to support the publishing of my second book—the first one being Unscripted: A Woman's Living Prayer , published in 2015. 

I am very proud of that first book, and it was wonderfully received, but this next book? It feels super-charged—like I've pulled out all the stops and am not holding anything back. 

The book is called It Seems I’m Not Alone: Lighting The Leader Fire, and I've felt it coming in me for years. I have coached executives, senior-level women and entrepreneurs all over the county for the past thirteen years in my business, so at the core of this book is a call for more women to lead us forward...but not just any way. THEIR way. Embedded in this book is an invitation for women to to bring MORE of who they are to HOW they show up—everywhere.

This is a book about women NOT waiting one minute longer.
This is a book about women being BORN ready + MORE than enough.
This is a book about going rogue from "the way it's done".
This is a book about women bringing everything they've got to bear...
Embodying who they are naturally, creatively, resourcefully and wholly.

And this is, ultimately, a book that not only DEBUNKS our stories we tell ourselves about the women we admire, but also shows us how we ARE the women we admire—and what happens when more women decide to assume the responsibility for the full-throttle power that lives inside them as one of our greatest sustainable resources. 

Because I've had the good fortune of being a midwife to countless badass women over the years who go on to do some pretty epic maneuvers in their personal and professional lives, I've gotten to witness what happens when no one is looking—the stuff that goes on behind the veil that she either doesn't talk about at social gatherings or has tried to tell you but you won't hear of it—because that would mean she's not much different or more special than you, right? 

Could you tolerate being that woman you admire? 

Over the years, I've gathered (and lived) loads of stories and illustrations—enough so to see a pattern (not a formula or a how-to...) emerge. I've designed this book with that pattern in mind, organizing the stories around FIVE sections that each have their own governing question: 

Roots: What's Happening To Me?
Hunger: Can I Really Want This?
Opening: What the Hell Am I Doing? 
Movement: Am I Willing To Make An Ass Of Myself? 
Perspective: Can We Be Done Yet? 

You can hear a bit more about why I feel so strongly about this book and where it comes from in my video. Or, if you want to get a flavor for how I write and what you'll find inside the book, I've recorded 5 five different excerpts  of me reading from the manuscript via SoundCloud. 

This book is how I am contributing to the conversation about women leading in the world. This book is my fiery missive I'm sending into the nighttime sky through the vast web of women's networks. And as a result, this book will be powered by and for women. Period.

Which is why I need your help to get it published. It's more than just mine this time around. I've proven myself as a published author on my own, and that was important to me, but this is different. This is bigger. This is about more than just me. And (happily) it's now OUT of me. 

Why I'm Self-Publishing (in case you were wondering...):
I want to spend my time/energy actually writing what's pouring into my soul, not creating proposals, pitching my stories, and shopping myself around hoping someone I don't know will notice me
I self-published my first book . It got my book to you 6 mos after I finished the manuscript, not 2 yrs 
I want a high degree of creative control over my own art—I know what I want
I actually want to get paid for my art after it's released—not when the advance has been met
I know how to do me well—I am messy,  wild, and completely immersed when I create, so answering to others or thinking about my "market audience" will sour or staunch my creative juices fast
It's fast(er) than traditional publishing, and I'm wildly impatient 
I have at least two other books cued up to write inside me...and I want to get to them

What This Campaign Will Cover (see links for the amazing people on my team so far):
First round  of editing (developmental: overall structure, ensuring clarity and flow of concepts)
Second round  of editing (line editing: catching and correcting grammar, tense, tone, voice, clarity)
Cover photography
Interior design/layout to make it all perdy 
Cover design to make it all pop and pull you in 
Final round  of editing (technical: proofing with the lice comb to get out all the tiny nits)
Upload to KDP...formerly CreateSpace  (so people can actually BUY it)
Kindle conversion (so people can have an electronic version) 
Misc stuff like ISBN number, marketing channels, website promotion

So if you see yourself (or someone you know) in my words here or feel connected to this community launch in anyway, I would welcome your gift of support. If you'd like to make a donation to honor a girl or woman in your life, then please make it in her name. If you believe in me and want to see this book reach others beyond the SheChanges community, please consider connecting me with your web of women by sharing this campaign and showing your support of it—the more the merrier.

You're welcome to ride shotgun on this journey with me, or just hitch your wagon to our caravan, but we're headed to a publishing date of summer 2019, which means this party is going to get started pretty soon in the publishing pipeline! 

Here are some reward levels if that's something that gets your motor running: 

$15 (Hermiones) If you're just dipping your toe in this pool for the first time and want to see what it's like, I'll give you a warm shout out by name in the acknowledgement pages of my book!

$25 (Vixens) Way to step up, there hot stuff! For your fleet feet and sure-footedness on that show of support, not only will I acknowledge you by name in my book, but I will also welcome you to this level with a hand-written (yes, I am an old-school fan) thank you note with lots of Lael-love. I'm good at gratitude. Go ahead, test me. 

$50 (Spitfires) Ah, you sassy number! Way to lay it down for something you feel passionate about! For your moxie and pluck, I will name you in my book for your support, sure, but will also welcome you to this level with a hand-written Lael-love note and also a signed copy of my new book! 

$100 (Badasses) Well now, you DO mean business, doncha!? High five and chest bump on that gift, you! For that show of amazing support, I will name you in my book, give you an extra special Lael-love old-school thank you note, and signed copies of my first book as well as this second one! 

$250 (High Priestesses) And.....WHOMP! There it is! (insert sounds of bells and whistles here and explode the confetti capsules). I am honored by your generosity and bow deeply to your commitment to this cause. For your awesome show of support at this level, I will name you in my book, give you a juicy good Lael-love-old-school thank you note, two signed copies of my book (first and newest) AND one 45-minute badass coaching session to be scheduled by you at your leisure. 

Thank you!