Okay, so whenever something "big" happens with my book, my husband sends out an email to all our family and friends. I like this for two reasons: 1. I don't feel like I'm bragging, and 2. He always says things better than I ever could.
He always sends me a copy of the email too, and then just tells me about the responses people send back. So the latest email went out, and it included some lines that really made me remember. And remember something important.
Here's what he said: Every day she gets more nervous, and more excited. I keep telling her that the goal was to see it on the shelf. Anything else is just gravy. I remind her about that year where we went to the bookstore almost every week to look at the place where her books would be on the shelf in the young adult section if they ever got published. Her dream was to see it there. No matter what happens, her dream is coming true.
And now I'm bawling. At work. I am such a baby.
But anyway, I had forgotten that. I'd forgotten that we used to drive to the bookstore and just stroke spines and finger covers and breathe in the smell of books and wander the aisles and dream about being in the J's of the YA section.
I remember now.
And I hope some of you will remind me of this as I only have FOUR MORE MONTHS before Possession comes out. And it's scary and exciting and overwhelming and I'm sure to forget the weekend trips to the bookstore.
Because it's so easy to get caught up in querying, selling, writing, blogging, twittering, emailing, dancing, reading, living.
What do you need to slow down and remember? I hope you'll do it. But don't cry...I can't have that on my conscience.
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84 comments:
I'm so excited for you! Try to relax and enjoy it. That's sweet how supportive your husband is. I'm not sure my husband gets all the dreaming about being published.
Can't wait to read your book.
I'm sure it's easy to forget. That's wonderful your dh is there for you! I'm sure the 4 months will fly by!
I had this same type of realization this weekend - just that I'd forgotten why I was doing certain things (like school, among other things). My mom reminded me why I was doing things the way I was and postponing a lot of my writerly goals. I'll get back to them though.
I'm glad you remember and that your dream is coming true. :)
What a wonderful husband you have! And what a great thing to remember! My husband go frequently to the bookstore (not every weekend, though) so I can imagine my book on the shelves, too.
What a great husband. It's good that you're able to remember, but even better that your day is actually coming around.
I can't wait to read your book.
Be still my heart. I'm all tingling inside. This was beautiful. Sharing that with your hubs is wonderful. I'm sure staying grounded is hard with all the work you've been doing and then the marketing, etc...You have a great hubby.
What a wonderful husband! We take weekly trips to the bookstore as well as part of our date night. How cute that he would point out the spot on the shelf where you book WILL now go. :) Congrats again. So excited for you. Just four short months to go!
Your hubbie is so sweet. :D
I've never gone to the bookstore to figure out where my books would go if I'm ever published. I'd probably get distracted if I try and end up buying a bunch of books near where my name would be.
Can't wait to read your book, Elana. I preordered it this weekend. Wow, four months seems so far away. :P
I wander through the MG and YA sections (since I write both) all the time, dreaming of one day finding my own book there. That's definitely my goal, too. Just remember you are achieving that goal, Elana. Congrats to you!
What your husband wrote was just lovely. Here's hoping all our spouses are as encouraging and excited!
I remember being nervous, although not obsessive. I rarely said anything about my upcoming book - like you, didn't want to appear I was bragging or a self-centered jerk!
Awwww, what a sweetie!!! All that hard work will pay off very, very soon...make sure to take a picture of THAT SHELF for us to see, will you? ;)
I, too, bawled my eyes out when I got the email. Justin was worried. I just couldn't help myself. This could not have happened to two better, more deserving people. AND, don't worry, I've already taken the lead on marketing your book in Texas. :)
I'm glad you remembered and you shared your remembering with the rest of us. It is all so exciting and I imagine, surreal.
awww I got all choked up :) I remind myself of the same thing...my book is out there...everything else is just icing on the cake :)
That was so sweet of your husband. I do the same thing, too. Whenever I'm at the bookstore I need to search the N's to see just where mine would go if I sold it. :)
I hope I remember that writing is fun when I'm in the midst of querying, getting rejected, etc. etc.
I love that you did that. It's a wonderful thing to dream. I can't wait for your book to come out. Right now I'm dreaming I'll finish my edits.
I love when memories like that just suddenly overtake you--it makes you see just how far you've come. Congratulations! And what a sweet husband!
awe, that is so wonderful. Go ahead and cry. You've almost got me going too. What an accomplishment! I can't imagine how excited you must be!
HAHA! I remember talking with you about seeing or books on the shelves. You have an AMAZING thin happening in four months - AMAZING! And so well deserved. Thanks for being a never-ending source of inspiration.
What a sweet hubby! Are we allowed to knock you over the head with Possesion, kidding. (so not messing up the pink hair) You did it, congrats! Glad I was there to share your journey :)
I've done that!
I think I need to remember my original writeing wish list. I've seen so many cool things happen to writers online this year that I start thinking that just having a book out won't be enough. So I need to go back to my blog and read this:
http://msforster.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-writing-wish-list.html
Thanks for the reminder! :)
How sweet of your hubby! And remember to breathe.
What a great husband. I can't see mine doing that. Ever.
I'm beyond excited to see your book on that shelf. You definitely deserve it.
xoxo
I often wonder where my crazy brain would run off to if my wife wasn't around to pump the breaks from time-to-time.
It's a forest for the trees thing, and unfortunately we writers seem to be nature lovers who are always mucking around in the thicket. I think it's simply a matter of perspective being something that has to be found--something searched for--not merely granted. If that makes sense?
Oh my goodness, this is just so exciting! What a great husband you have too! I love his mindset and the fact he wants to brag on you to the family.
What a wonderful hubby. Enjoy it and thanks for the reminder to write things down to remember in our future. ;)
Argh.
You made my mascara run woman. That's what I get for not buying the waterproof version this time.
That goal. That's what I need to remember. THAT ONE.
I need to start taking this one step at a time again and stop thinking SO BIG because it's messing with my brain, man.
LOVE this post. I need to remember me. Why am I the only one in my house not dressed all cute, with my hair not done all cute, and not eating SITTING DOWN? I need to remember to take care of me, something there never seems enough time for.
Hugs!
I love this Elana! So excited for you!!!
Woo hooo hoooo!!! Four more months! Sweet!
Your husband is so encouraging!
Am looking forward -- four months will fly by!
(Hey, do you have any magic powers to appeal to submissions?)
What a great reminder. And it's SO true. The goal is to see your book on the shelf and the rest is just gravy. YAY for dreams being realized! June is just around the corner!!! :)
That whether Scott and the Naughty Boy Factory gets published or not, my son Scott will always have his story. It was my husband who reminded me of that. :-)
Maybe...when I look back, I'll remember this year. Or this two years, or whatever. Not ready to cry yet, but maybe in a year or two I will be. *shrugs*
Remembering is good. I'm glad you remember.
I'm thinking you're gonna need to ramp up those Valentine's Day plans. :)
Yay, you!
Awwwwwwwwwww!!!! 'Nuff said. :)
Your post got me all tingly, just imagining that bookstore-shelf moment. It's coming true for you!!
How wonderful that your husband can help you slow down and remember! Yay!
I get choked up walking past the YA shelves at my bookstore, too. And I do a little dance every time I see a friend's book sitting there. Not even embarassed by it (though my kids totally are)!
Aw what a beautiful post, Elana! What a precious Hubby.
Aw, what a wonderful supportive husband you have! :)
What a sweet husband you have. I love that you would go to bookstores together to dream. My husband is very supportive too, luckily. I think we should do more dreaming or visualizing like that. I'm so deliriously excited for your book to come out! Can't wait to see you at LTUE.
Your husband sounds like a doll. Good for him for supporting his wife in this way. So many, too many men can't. Bravo, Mr. Johnson! And kudos to you, Elana. Your dream is coming true!
Well, you already know where I am on this. I need to remember that I love to write, that I love words and for me, it's not about seeing my book on the shelf, it's about writing a story I'm proud of with all the right words. So I need to remember to slow down, take my time with the writing and trust that once I've done those things success WILL come.
Can't wait for FOUR MONTHS to come and go so *I* can go into that bookstore with YOU and see your lovely book on the shelf. Right there in the J's. :)
Ahh. So cool, both the emails and the trips to the bookstore.
Great post! Your hubs sounds like such a keeper. These next four months will fly by...it'll be here before you know it.
As for me, I need to slow down and remember to enjoy the journey - every step - because I will never be here again.
Four months. Wow, it will be here before you know it, so savor every moment.
Love this post! Enjoy every minute of this time: you have earned it and in four months all of us will be able to go browse the shelves, run our fingers over the Js and grab your book (quick! before the next Elana fan runs off with it!).
The further you go on the path, the more fondly you'll look back on the moments that felt like a struggle at the time. I can look back now at the long hours spent writing, especially my first two books, and it was actually a happy time. I was still excited and had so much time to write.
Your husband is officially FREAKING AWESOME! How cool that he sends those emails. How cool that you two went to the bookstore every week for a YEAR! How cool that he's got your back. That's a man!
That's just beautiful. Your hubs is a doll and he needs to email my hubs and tell him he has to do this exact thing if I ever get published. I like that not bragging bit. I really hope these last few months you will sit back and breath in your success instead of worrying! I mean, what can you do from this point? JUST ENJOY!
And cue the tears and big lump in my throat. Seriously, best hubs ever! Congrats to you on your dreams coming true. :)
I need to remember the dishes. They tend to sit in the sink and pile up.
I'm so excited for your sake!
As for what I should remember:
Breathe. And remember that you do love your beast of an epic.
It's giving me trouble again.
:-)
That's so sweet of your husband!
Only 4 months--wow. I'm so excited for you!
ahh... that's me. I want to see it on the shelf with a beautiful cover! :D And now with the rise of these silly ereaders, I'm getting nervous!!!
but your husband's a keeper. :o) <3
That is so sweet how supportive your husband is!
And WOW! I love the James Dashner's quote on your book!!!!
You deserve to enjoy this wonderful, wild ride! We've been here celebrating with you every step of the way and I love that. You're an inspiration.
Elana,
Thank you for sharing this. How wonderful and warm that feeling of support can be. And yes, there is crying in writing. I don't care what anyone says.
Maybe I will think of this post sometime in the future (perhaps when I find myself in similar shoes?) and maybe I will cry. But I won't blame you, Elana, I'll thank you!
Enjoy it all :)
Margo
I'm in the touching-spines-in-the-bookstore-stage and my husband comes along, too. I thought I was alone in my madness. Enjoy the ride Elana, you've earned it!
Your blurb is BEAUTIFUL! Congrats. I'm so excited to read Possession, Elana. What a ride this has been.
Every now and then I have to remind myself to be patient. Lethal Inheritance will be ready when it's ready and the right publisher will pick it up when the time is right. Since I don't know when that time is, what's the hurry?
I too have wondered how my book would look in the local bookstore. I'm excited for you. That will be a wonderful day.
Too late! I'm already all teary-eyed at work. Trying to read what I'm typing through my watery eyes is not easy. That was so sweet and wonderful. I can't wait to get my very own copy of Possession. Yay!
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover
That is so darn sweet.
That is so sweet! Your hubby sounds like a wonderful guy.
This is the first I've seen of that fantastic blurb by James Dashner, and it is SO exciting! Congratulations!
Your hubby is a keeper - what a sweetie!! :) Treasure him and these moments - they'll be some of the most special of your life!
So excited for you!!! And me to be able to read it!!
And I need to slow down and remember I write for the love of it...and nothing else.
Ok, a lot else but mainly for the love of it.
That's really sweet! Congratulations, Elana. And I just saw the awesome book blurb you got... SCORE!!! :)
I need to slow down and remember my sister, who passed away in November. And yes, I will cry, but that's not your fault. It will be a good thing.
That is a lovely story, Elana. How cool and supportive is your husband?
Right now, I can't imagine the moments that I'll look back on that will make me well up. From where I am, it feels too out of reach.
I'll let you know when I get there.
4 more months and Dashner - wow!
Oh my gosh... ahh.. now I'm tearing up too because I'm so happy for you (your husband is such a sweetie), and I know EXACTLY what you mean. Every time I'm in the bookstore I think to myself, "Imagine seeing MY novel in here too".
4 more months! I can't wait :)
So excited for you!
You have such a sweet husband! Four months is going to fly by so quickly. I'm excited for you! Hope to be in your shoes someday. :)
Aw, that's the sweetest story I've heard in weeks, months maybe. Your man is a keeper. And your book is going to be on LOTS of shelves!
Oh Elana, that's an amazing, sweet story! I'm excited to see your book on the shelves soon too, and um, congrats on that glowing review I see there at the top. VERY COOL. :D
Thanks for sharing this, Elana. How exciting for you and your family! Because this writing thing is a family affair. What I want to remember forever are the things my kids say, and how little they are now. Sometimes I'm so busy working on my stories, that I worry I don't pay them all the attention I should. I do feed them, and clean and help with homework, but you know what I mean.
I need to slow down my aging process or pretty soon I won't be able to remember anything!
Aww! That got me *pounds chest* right here. I may have to start going to B&N to stroke spines in the L section.
You have a super sweet husband, and I'm glad he's there to remind you how far you've come. That's just awesome.
Aw, we do that too! Only I stand in the aisle and say, "I know her! I talked to her on Twitter! We interviewed her!" Can't wait to point to yours and brag! :)
Your hubs had me tearing up too! I'm such a mush.
Sometimes I want to just remember how much I enjoy the process of writing. Especially when it's hard. Like today. :)
Aw! You totally DID make me cry! Your husband is a sweetie. And I can't wait to see your book in the Js, too!
That is so adorable that he does that for you and is so supportive. I think that is wonderful. Can't wait to see it on the shelf as well.
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