Not nearly as often as I should, I stop pinning and tweeting. I stop worrying about what the faces are doing and turn off my wireless to actually write a book. It's hard - much harder than blogging. Blogging is snapshots and stream of consciousness. I can write about whatever I'm thinking at the moment, wrap it up in tidy, clever phrases and some fun photos, and hit publish. Tada! There is a quick payoff. There are likes and comments and pageviews to give me immediate feedback, and prove that someone actually reads what I write.
For me, writing a book is the opposite of that. If blogging is sprinting, writing a book is running a marathon. It is messy and lonely. It is outlines and awful first drafts and one chapter at a time. It is characters that need dialogue and a plot line that needs rearranging. So, when I'm not here blogging, and I'm not procrastinating, I'm working on a children's book. Now, I don't have an agent, a book deal, or an advance, but I do have Maydit - an amazing community of other people who want to write children's books and eventually change the way they are published.
Let me back up a bit. In May, Mr. Ladd was casually talking to our friend Brent at a party. He is a professor at ASU and works in the area of innovation and entrepreneurial start ups. It came up in their conversation, that I was going to be taking a break from teaching to pursue a writing career, and I was particularly interested in writing children's books. In talking further, Brent mentioned that he too wanted to write children's books and was actually working on a children's book start up focused on collaboration between aspiring children's book authors and illustrators in creating, marketing, and publishing.
Brent invited me to join them, and it seemed too good to be true. Once I took the step to pursue this full time, here is this lovely group of people waiting to help push each other's projects forward, illustrate them, and get them out there for the world to see. I couldn't believe it.
I walked into Maydit's first Author and Illustrator's Cafe meeting held in a bright room literally named Imagination (What?!?!) At the time, I only had an idea for a book based on a poem I wrote in sixth grade that has always stuck with me. I was barely able to contain my excitement as we discussed all kinds of creative ideas and steps to bring them to life. I left that afternoon with validation, a plan to turn my idea into an actual book, and a team of people who had an expressed interest in me doing so.
That first meeting was at the very end of July, and since then I have met another talented author, and talked through the process in another meeting and lots of emails. I've got a very rough 6 chapters done, so I'm about halfway there with the ugly first draft of the manuscript. It is invaluable to have this kind of support, and I am so grateful for it as I keep plugging away, one grueling chapter at a time.
For me, writing a book is the opposite of that. If blogging is sprinting, writing a book is running a marathon. It is messy and lonely. It is outlines and awful first drafts and one chapter at a time. It is characters that need dialogue and a plot line that needs rearranging. So, when I'm not here blogging, and I'm not procrastinating, I'm working on a children's book. Now, I don't have an agent, a book deal, or an advance, but I do have Maydit - an amazing community of other people who want to write children's books and eventually change the way they are published.
Let me back up a bit. In May, Mr. Ladd was casually talking to our friend Brent at a party. He is a professor at ASU and works in the area of innovation and entrepreneurial start ups. It came up in their conversation, that I was going to be taking a break from teaching to pursue a writing career, and I was particularly interested in writing children's books. In talking further, Brent mentioned that he too wanted to write children's books and was actually working on a children's book start up focused on collaboration between aspiring children's book authors and illustrators in creating, marketing, and publishing.
Brent invited me to join them, and it seemed too good to be true. Once I took the step to pursue this full time, here is this lovely group of people waiting to help push each other's projects forward, illustrate them, and get them out there for the world to see. I couldn't believe it.
I walked into Maydit's first Author and Illustrator's Cafe meeting held in a bright room literally named Imagination (What?!?!) At the time, I only had an idea for a book based on a poem I wrote in sixth grade that has always stuck with me. I was barely able to contain my excitement as we discussed all kinds of creative ideas and steps to bring them to life. I left that afternoon with validation, a plan to turn my idea into an actual book, and a team of people who had an expressed interest in me doing so.
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| Vince, our technical expert describing his own fabulous idea for a children's book |
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| Mapping out possibilities for MY BOOK! |
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| From Left to Right: Coach Chris as I like to call him, me, and Brent (giving the very encouraging thumbs up!) Photos courtesy of Megan, Brent's wife |
