I wrote a book but was scared to PR myself...

I remember standing in my kitchen looking out of the window. It was October 2016 and I had butterflies. In short, I was scared.

I'd made the decision to self-publish my first children's picture book and I felt clueless about how to let people know what I'd created.

All of those 'what if' questions were whirling around my head. What if no one liked it, what if it didn't sell, but more importantly what if I couldn't find a publicist to help me with PR?

I know, right? There's me with eight years of experience at the time, experience of promoting and raising awareness for brands, but something felt strange about publicising myself and my little book.

So you see, I get it. I really do. It can feel strange to publicise yourself.

And after spending the best part of £2k for a few short weeks on a publicist, I had little to show in the way of awareness or coverage.

So I did what I always do, and I rolled my sleeves up and started reaching out to everyone I knew; Journalists, bloggers, celebrities.

I made it my mission to get James and the Amazing Gift out there and nothing was going to hold me back.

After all, this had been my dream for as long as I could remember. All I'd ever wanted to be was a writer and I wanted my little boy to know that anything is possible.

And slowly but surely things started to change and happen.

First, I became a Huffington Post blogger. Then I secured a feature in my local paper, and was interviewed on my local radio station.

Then came a feature piece in Woman and Home magazine and in the Daily Mirror. And with my sights firmly set on raising awareness about loneliness for the elderly around Christmas time, I soon became unstoppable.

Now I had celebrities talking about my book, and bloggers writing rave reviews, and giveaways that all helped my little story about spreading kindness through the power of a smile, become well, powerful.

So I get it if you're thinking how can I do this. Because not long ago I felt the same way. I thought because I hadn't worked in publishing before, I wouldn't be able to secure any publicity for my book.

But the thing is, what you have to remember is that it all starts with a story.

And your story is as brilliant and unique as you.

So what's yours?

Surely your ideal clients need to hear it - because it's rarely about you - but very much about them.

And who knows? You could really impact someone's life just by putting yourself out there with some PR.

Nicola x