A box

 

The box sat on the table for awhile....i was surprised by my reluctance to open it.  I knew what was inside I just wasn't ready to believe that finally I had achieved my dream of writing a book.

I've been waiting (im)patiently for this box to arrive, believing that once I actually held a copy of my book in my hands it would feel more real, rather than feeling like a dream. It took several attempts to capture a photo that wasn't blurry, those hands are still shaky and the butterflies are epic. For now it is with surprised disbelief that I look at this book in my hand, for so long it was a dream I wouldn't even acknowledge and now here we are....a book.
So grateful for all the kind, encouraging words so many of you shared last week when the ebook became available and for those of you who asked about the print version it's now available on Amazon.com

I shared the picture and post above on Facebook.

I have never seen him read a book, not even to our kids. He will help with any type of homework except for reading...and there he was reading my book.

purchasing my book on Amazon for my Kindle.  Coolest moment ever!

Cover designing and book preview.  It took countless times until everything was in order and ready for printing.

seriously took me days to get that picture to not be upside down.  I was learning Microsoft word and photo editing as I went.  Google become my best friend.

previewing the Kindle version...

uploading the manuscript for the first time.  I think my hands were shaking and my brain was on hyper-speed.

The stories that had been in my head, or scattered among different sources finally gathered into one place...the first time I read the preview online I held my breath as I saw everything come together into a book form.

You should write a book... I have heard versions of this for years, and chose to channel my most adult behavior and ignore those who dared utter such a thing.

I had been quietly working on this book for well over a year.  Pulling stories from my blog, Facebook, scrapbooks, writing more stories....slowly and steadily gathering them into one place. After researching publishing and determining the best route for me to take I decided on self publishing with Amazon direct publishing.  Next began the very lengthy process of editing and formatting my manuscript for both kindle and print versions.  I had foolishly believed writing the book would be the most challenging part...it was not.    Editing and formatting just about did me in.  After weeks of navigating the editing process I reached the point where a cover needed to be designed.  I shared a photo of that cover with my adult kids and a few others...still not ready to share with the world that I was writing a book.  I knew myself well and I knew if I had shared that I was writing a book with others, I would most likely talked myself out of finishing the book.  I had been doing it for years.  A few days later the Kindle version was ready to go live.  The email that arrived telling me this news was the most exciting email I have ever received.  It took a bit longer for the print version to go live, teaching yourself formatting and Microsoft word and countless other skills was at times overwhelming.  Finally it was ready and I placed an order on Amazon for the book I had been dreaming of for years, and working on for almost two years.  when that box arrived I stared at for the longest time, I knew what was inside but this moment of finally realizing a dream to completion was such a mix of emotions.  The moment when I paged through the book I had spent months writing was one I will never forget.  For so long I had been afraid to let myself believe in that dream.  One day I realized being afraid was pointless and it would be worse to not try.  Amazing things happen when you let yourself dream.

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