The Call of the Story For many authors, the desire to write is a lifelong companion. For Diana Colleen, it was a total shock. Despite being a voracious reader as a child and absorbing story structures early on, she never believed she had a book in her. That changed four years ago when a recurring idea began to “knock” during her daily meditation sessions—a story involving billionaires, psychedelics, and the climate crisis.

Taking the Leap of Faith At the time, Diana was working a job she hated. Encouraged by her partner, she took a massive leap of faith, quitting her job to dedicate eight to ten hours a day to writing. “It was terrifying to me because I’m super independent,” she notes, but the drive to bring this “divine intervention” to life was stronger than her fear.

Writing in the Dark. One of Diana’s most surprising insights is her belief that ignorance is bliss. She wrote her entire first draft without knowing anything about the publishing industry, query letters, or technical terms like “exposition.” She believes that if she had known the “rules” beforehand, she might never have finished the manuscript. Without the weight of expectations or the fear of “flat characters,” she allowed the story to flow directly from her meditations, effectively bypassing writer’s block entirely.

The Querying Marathon and the Pivot Once the draft was finished, Diana entered the “trenches” of traditional publishing. She sent out approximately 100 query letters, resulting in an impressive 30 requests for her manuscript. However, she hit a recurring wall: multiple agents told her the book was so topical and timely that it needed to be on shelves now, rather than waiting the typical two-year traditional publishing cycle.

This feedback sparked a pivot to self-publishing. Through the support of groups like Women in Publishing Summit and the “Book Launch in a Box” program, Diana learned the intricacies of the industry and founded her own imprint, PLH Press.

Defining “Billionairism” Diana’s book, Billionairism, is a work of near-future speculative fiction that asks a provocative question: What if the only way to save the planet is to kidnap the billionaires destroying it? Drawing from her real-life experience as a psychedelic facilitator, Diana frames extreme wealth not as a sign of success, but as a mental illness that can be treated with psychedelic-assisted therapy.

The Lessons of the Journey: Celebration and Feedback As she approached her launch, Diana realized that becoming an author requires more than just writing; it requires a mindset shift. She emphasizes the importance of celebrating small wins. “I have to actually tell myself: ‘Diana, you won a prestigious award… this is something to be celebrated,'” she explains, noting that many authors struggle to accept their own accolades.

Her final piece of advice for aspiring writers is to develop a thick skin. Influenced by her partner’s perspective that “feedback is a gift,” Diana encourages writers to learn how to hear that their work needs improvement without quitting. “Every writer sucks at the beginning,” she says, but the willingness to accept feedback and keep going is what separates those who dream from those who publish.