Writing About Writing

When I was in third grade, I wrote a book called “Mary and Jerry” about a rabbit couple and their many children. No one ever saw it but me. When I was in fourth grade I wrote my masterpiece, “The Z Sisters”, about 10 sisters who all had names that started with the letter Z. It was also illustrated, and I was damn proud of myself because each sister (glorified stick figures) was unique and pretty.

Until now, that was the end of my book writing “career”. I always kept a journal, and I’ve had a blog on and off since the days when you had to know HTML just to bold a word. For a year or two I wrote a weekly column for a drug treatment center’s

website, “The Parent’s Perspective”.

Now here I am writing a BOOK! My memoir as it relates to being Keven’s mom. It’s a journey into the unknown and I could not possibly have gotten this far without the encouragement and shared knowledge from my writing group (we meet M-F for an hour on Zoom).

I thought I knew how to write, but there’s been so much to learn, each sentence matters! It’s intense. I enjoy writing here because I don’t censor myself or pay too much attention to what I’m saying, so it’s easy and fun - maybe I should admit that! I can’t describe writing a book as fun but it’s inside me begging to be let out, so I won’t give up.

In a future post, I’ll share some helpful things I’ve learned in case anyone out there is thinking of writing a book. WE ALL HAVE STORIES! I believe each of us has something of value to share and some of us can’t help but get it out onto paper.

For starters, the first thing I discovered about writing a book is, unless you’re famous or already a well known bestselling author, your best bet is to self publish. It’s the best way to guarantee that your book will get out there.

The second thing I learned is that it’s going to cost thousands of dollars to self publish, so I’ve been saving every penny. I would be thrilled if I make enough sales to cover the cost of publishing, but if not...no big deal.

Through my writing group, I’ve met some exceptional authors and I will introduce you to their books soon. I don’t want anyone to miss out on their work, there’s something for everyone!

Have you ever considered writing a book? Have you written a book?