Vitality Stories
Biggest Surprise Ever
Dear Friend,
Right now, the above video isn’t going to make any sense because in a completely bizarre chain of events–and while I was writing this newsletter to send out–I received surprising news that the hardcover of Tiger Drive is available for shipping/delivery by January 11th via Amazon and Barnes & Noble!!! My head is spinning. I’m adding links here and sending this to you today because you deserve to know first, however, I thought you might get a kick out of my original message below because, just like that–I’m published. All my careful planning and now there’s nothing I can do about it! I have to laugh!!
Note: hardcover is $27 compared to the ~$11 paperback sales price Amazon and B&N are offering.
The Ugliest Baby (originally intended newsletter)
Happy New Year, my friend!
I missed emailing you this past month–really I missed hearing from you. Whenever I send a newsletter, several of you respond with the most interesting stories and experiences. I’ve learned so much from you in 2017, and I hope to return the favor in 2018.
This was the first holiday since I started writing full-time three years ago (yes, I know, three years and I’m just now publishing Tiger Drive–Egads!) that I unplugged and took the holiday off. Writing is no different than running your own business. It sounds romantic going into it–this idea that you will work for yourself–and then you quickly realize that you need to work 24/7 to support yourself, keep the business alive, and get everything done. It’s important to realize that just like any job, one needs a vacation from time to time. A vacation where you give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing or catch up on your non-business life. Work life balance!
So I tried to shut my brain off and stop thinking about everything that should or could be done before Tiger Drive flies out into the world on Valentine’s Day. I talked to my author friend, Cathey Graham Nickell, about it. I was telling her how I couldn’t stop worrying about everything that needed to be done. I’m a process-oriented person, and so I get a bit obsessed with checking boxes (similar to Carrie in Tiger Drive) and if I don’t check all those boxes, Tiger Drive might suffer for it. I’ve put so much of my life into this book. What if I don’t catch any final typos? Making changes and ordering proofs takes time (even though I’ve already gone through two proofs and feel pretty good about it). What if I take vacation when I could save one more typo from assaulting my readers (I’ve hired editors and proofreaders to avoid this, but I still worry)? Cathey and I have talked a lot in the past about letting the project go, that we can’t control what happens once we release our books. But this time she said,
“Now you sort of know what it feels like to have a baby.” Continue reading