I don’t know about you, but once again my holiday shopping plans have taken a turn for the worse. My problem isn’t in finding what I want. It’s in making a decision.

Earlier this month, I set my sights on buying an e-reader. But with so many products, models, and styles to choose from, I got so overwhelmed that I eventually gave up and came home empty-handed. Maybe I should stick to paperbacks, after all.

My shopping experience may have been a bust for me. But if you’re a waiting adoptive parent in the process of writing a parent profile, here are three pointers from it that may be useful for you.

Do your research

An e-reader looked mighty appealing to me when I began my shopping adventure. But when it came time to pick one out, my indecision got the better of me. Writing a parent profile also takes a bit of planning. If you start the writing process too early, you could find yourself getting frustrated and, like me, throw in the towel.

Remember what your parents told you: do your homework. Find out what’s involved in writing a parent profile. Log on to any adoption networking website and see what other hopeful adoptive parents have written. As you read through their stories, find inspiration for your own. Get a feel for how a profile is structured and what goes into it before you write a single word.

Remind yourself why you’re writing a parent profile

One of the reasons I didn’t buy that e-reader is because, in the end, I realized I didn’t really need one. To write a successful parent profile, you have to know why you’re doing it and what its purpose is. After all, if it isn’t important to you, it won’t be important to the prospective birth mother reading it.

Long before you sit down and write, remind yourself what your goal is (creating a connection with a woman who’s considering adoption for her baby) and how you’re going to achieve it (by creating an honest, heartfelt portrait of yourself that includes stories she can relate to and that shows how you will provide a better future for her baby).

Invest the time

If I had put more time and effort into my shopping excursion, I might have had something to show for it. But instead, I got impatient and moved on to something else. Writing a parent profile also takes time and patience. Just about any hopeful adoptive parent can come up with 1,000-1,500 words about themselves.

But your goal is to find the right 1,000-1,500 words — and that’s not something that happens right away. (Sure, you might be able to nail down your profile in a single sitting. But if you do, you’d be one of the few people ever to earn that distinction).

Organizing your thoughts is one thing. But expressing them in a way that will catch — and hold — a birth mother’s attention is another. Do the work. Invest the time. Avoid short cuts. Nobody said this would be easy. But each time you feel like walking way, keep in mind the goal of your letter and what awaits you — parenthood! — at the end of your journey.

What was the hardest part about writing your parent profile? Did you find it difficult getting into yours? What tips do you have for other hopeful adoptive parents who are just starting to write their profile now? Share your comments in the section below and don’t forget to check out the parent profile writing tips on our website.

(Photo credit: dave416)