When global events affected her travel and business plans, Gaiti Rabbani thought it was the perfect time to channel her energy into writing a business book. She enrolled in the Write a Business Book course at the Australian Writers' Centre – and just one year later, she not only wrote the book, but secured a publishing deal as well. Gaiti’s book Curious About Culture is out now with Major Street Publishing.
“I never thought I would write a business book on culture,” Gaiti says. “I didn't know I had it in me.”
Drawing on her unique cultural experiences to help others Gaiti has long understood the power of cultural diversity and was keen to share her insights. Of British-Asian heritage, she has lived and worked on three continents, and designs learning and development programs for business and government leaders. But turning that experience into a book felt like a daunting task. Fortunately, the Write a Business Book course took her through the process step by step.
“I love that the course was structured as a project and spoke a language that a business or project person such as myself can relate to,” Gaiti says. “There's an accountability of sorts that comes with signing up for it and mostly the daily targets were easier than I had expected.”
Curious About Culture takes readers on a journey to understand the different cultural influences that shape their world – and how to use that knowledge to foster better communication and understanding. As a business professional, Gaiti was used to writing, but nothing like on this scale. Fortunately, the bonus Build Your Book: 30-day Bootcamp helped her to approach the book in manageable chunks.
“The 30-day Writing Bootcamp was great and I can see how it would be the perfect support mechanism for a busy professional,” Gaiti says. “Suggesting that you can write a business book by tackling a chapter of say 1,000 words, similar to that of a magazine article, certainly made it less daunting and saved me from the overwhelm of wondering how I would ever find 30,000 to write a book.”
Taking her writing even further Publishing a book is a major achievement, and of course Gaiti’s friends and family were proud of her. But it was the endorsement of colleagues and other professionals that was the icing on the cake.
“Signing the contract with my publisher was a milestone moment but my most fulfilling experience was receiving an endorsement from a leader in the field who is both an academic and an author of several successful books on the topic,” Gaiti says. “His words were so authentic and I was absolutely thrilled when his email arrived in my inbox!”
Now that the book is out, Gaiti is working hard to promote it and make sure it receives a wide audience. The skills she learned in Write a Business Book have proved useful for getting the word out.
“I'm now writing several articles for the media as my book has generated interest,” Gaiti says. “I've never had formal training so the content in this course was applicable in many ways.”
The 12 months leading up to the publication of Gaiti’s first book have been a rollercoaster, but she’s pleased she made the decision to commit to herself, her experience, and her writing.
“For someone who's a practical learner, I was skeptical about signing up for an online course,” Gaiti says. “It was so well structured, the videos were great, and the facilitator had my attention throughout – that's saying something. As much as I wanted to rush through it, I tried to pace myself. I have done three courses at AWC and this was by far the best and most productive and hey – I have a published book launching in bookstores next month to show for it!”
“Signing the contract with my publisher was a milestone moment but my most fulfilling experience was receiving an endorsement from a leader in the field who is both an academic and an author of several successful books on the topic,” Gaiti says. “His words were so authentic and I was absolutely thrilled when his email arrived in my inbox!”
