I Did It - I Jumped Off the Cliff

If you've read many posts on this blog, you know that I've been writing a book for a long time now--the nine-year anniversary is coming up next spring. That doesn't mean I've been writing it for nine years; for most of that time, I've been editing and trying to find something to do with it once it is "finished." I've submitted to carefully-targeted audiences--publishing companies, large and small, as well as agents--with no real success (although some people wrote very nice rejection letters mixed in among the great number of people who simply didn't respond). I finally decided if this book is ever going to see the outside of my flash drive, I'll have to publish it myself.

Even knowing that truth, I procrastinated. "I don't know enough." "I'm not sure the book is good enough." "I don't want to take money away from the family to do this." And the big one--"I just don't have time." But some events have come together in the past month that are wiping out my excuses. Someone in the publishing industry read the manuscript recently and advised me that she believes the book is "good enough" and people will actually want it. I ended up with a small stipend for some work I did this summer that was twice what I had expected, and, oddly enough, is just enough to cover the costs of getting the book out to the public. I've ended up with an unusually small speech class this semester, which means grading time is cut in half.

I think Someone is trying to tell me something.

So....I just jumped off the cliff. I bought ISBNs. Ten of them.