It’s Here!

Did we do it? Did I do it? Did I actually write and publish a book?!

Yesterday was crazy busy. Between doctors appointments, an actual day job, therapy, and book release things, I may not have been able to manage well without coffee and snacks, but I made it! And we have a book!

This has been a long time coming, and I’ve struggled a lot over the years with what this book could (and should) be, but I didn’t give up on it (even when I was exhausted and scared). I am so proud of how this book turned out, yall!

That’s it, that’s the tweet. I’ve been finding myself saying this a lot lately, lol.

I’m having a Zoom party on the 13th to celebrate. Visit our book page to purchase a copy of the book and register for the party. Those who register and attend, will be entered to win a gift box from me.

What’s in the box? Check it out (my annoying need to make other people happy may dictate more goes into this box, but I’m trying to keep her in check, so what you see is definitely what the winner will be getting):

I hope you all love it!

Happy Reading!

Proof

I have proof I wrote a book!

Writing this book has been on my mind for several years, but it wasn’t until my short story “Makers of Men” was accepted for publication in midnight & indigo last year that I truly committed to publishing a collection of my own. I’d been writing Discovering My Outside Voice in pieces and parts for a long time before I knew what the collection would be, and I’ve spent the last year forming it into something that should look like a book.

One of the things I’ve learned about writing a book is it doesn’t even register that you’re writing a book until you have a physical copy in your hands. Well, that’s how it worked for me, anyway.

I’d been staring at Word documents for so long, telling myself and other people I was writing a book, but receiving my proof copy was the thing that solidified in me that I have really written a book. It’s still surreal to me, especially because I had very low expectations for this book for a long time. I kept telling myself it was just another one of my fun little projects to exercise my gifts and that it was just for me. The more real it becomes, though, the more hope I have for it. I even wrote a note on the inside cover of my proof copy as it is, literally, the first printed copy of my book. I imagine it being sold at auction for millions of dollars one day in the future as a testament to the abundant life I lived once I started walking in my gifts.

That’s a lot of vision, I know.

Honestly, there’s just something about putting our gifts to work that makes the days brighter and our happy… happier. Or maybe that’s just me?

I’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern the past couple of weeks because of bank account stuff keeping me from finishing the KDP publishing process, but I’ve needed the mental break.

November 1st is publishing day! Discovering My Outside Voice will be available in print on Amazon and eBook in several places. I may decide to make it available to purchase here through NINE & TWO Press, but that’s to be decided later.

What are you accomplishing that you are super excited about? Whether it’s releasing some form of art, a major purchase, or making it out of bed and into the shower, I want to know what’s got you excited this week.

Happy Writing!

Book Update

I try to do a book review at the end of each month, but I haven’t finished Parable of the Sower yet. I’m about halfway done because I’m not speeding through it and also because some days I’m not reading at all to be quite honest. So let’s talk about my book.

I’m shopping for an editor right now. It took a bit longer to get feedback from people I already know who are in my target audience than I’d anticipated. And yes, that was partially because I took forever to actually ask these people to read it because I was uncertain and untrusting. But the girls did good and made me feel really excited about what I’d created.

That being said, I won’t get it completed and published by the end of the year like I’d hoped. I didn’t plan well with timing, but it’s my first book and I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m totally winging it here. However! I’m hoping the publishing process will go smoothly once the professional edit and my inevitable rewrite is complete and I can get it out before my half-birthday in March. Are half-birthdays a thing?

I’ve already got a cover designed based on a dream I had about receiving the proof copy of my book and so I’m likely to go with what I have, but I feel like I should probably create a couple more options and get some feedback on the cover art before formatting it for publishing.

Aside from the editing, this book is all DIM (do-it-myself) because I’ve been on a super tight budget this year getting my car paid off (which I did last week, yay!) and getting some additional things paid in December. And then of course January continues my debt-free journey with saving to pay off the student loans that I’ve been pretending don’t exist for eight years.

All that being said, I still have a surprise next month that I mentioned a while ago. It’s just taking some time to get there, but I’ll definitely let you in on it in a few weeks.

I’ll keep you updated on book progress, and may even post cover options over on our IG page (@ninentwo) for you to vote on. Who knows.

Once I’m done with Parable of the Sower I’ll let you know if my thoughts/feelings about it have changed since I first read it years ago. I also want to watch/listen to the 4-part discussion of the book done by the Smart Brown Girl Book Club on YouTube. I’ll probably do that first before I come talk about it here.

In the meantime…

Happy Reading!