So over the last four or five years, I’ve had A LOT OF THOUGHTS as far as writing a book is concerned.
And of all those many thoughts, my most recurring one has been this: I don’t really have an imagination, and I’ve never had an idea for a book, so I’m pretty sure that book-writing is outside my wheelhouse.
Only I probably didn’t use the word “wheelhouse.” Because as far as I know that previous paragraph is the first time I’ve ever used it.
Anyway, writing fiction has never been a remote possibility for me since 1) the aforementioned lack-of-imagination thing and 2) just thinking about it makes me tired. I can barely keep up with the real people in my real life; quite frankly I’m just not that interested in creating some imaginary people and then being responsible for what happens to them. THAT IS A LOT OF WORK, Y’ALL.
Well.
About a year and a half ago I started writing every now and again for HomeLife magazine, and I found that I really enjoyed the longer essay format. Now granted, I still go way over the suggested article length EVERY SINGLE TIME, but it’s been fun – and I think it’s been good for me to stretch a little bit beyond the bloggy stuff that I typically post here.
(Because make no mistake: my usual brand of bloggy nonsense? IT IS MY COMFORT ZONE.)
(It’s ALL UP IN MY WHEELHOUSE, if you will.)
(And yes, that’s totally going to become my new favorite word.)
It was last summer, I guess, when I was cleaning my kitchen and minding my own business and OUT OF NOWHERE a book title popped in my head. I thought the title was sort of funny, so I told Melanie about it the next time we talked, and then we laughed about the fact that it was a shame to have a perfectly good title and no book to go with it. Then, a few months later, another title popped in my head. And then, a couple of months after that, Alex said something on the way to church one night that struck me as SO PROFOUND – and I thought Gosh, that would make a really neat book title.
But I still hadn’t had a single idea for a book. I couldn’t help but think that the whole random-thinking-of-book-titles thing was a little weird, so I started praying about WHAT, WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN back in January.
As a Christian I’ve wrestled a little bit about what kind of book I’d write if I ever, you know, wrote one. Since I don’t write devotional-y / Bible study stuff, I’ve always felt like there’s not really a place for me as far as books go. I mean, I don’t really have any perspective to offer anybody. I don’t have a lot of insight into the book of Habbakuk. I’ve never come up with any modern-day analogies that shed new light on the sinful heart of man. I don’t have any business trying to tell people how to be a better wife / be a more patient mama / run a more organized household / trim your grocery budget to $200 a month.
(I mean, I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this, but I’m just a little bit of a trainwreck.)
(In fact, I don’t have a system or a process for anything, really – except maybe for how to get some bacon off of a plate and INTO MY MOUTH.)
But back in February, through the combination of some prayer and a very odd scenario that involved about 15 or 20 birds walking down my driveway (oh, I am not kidding), I got a very loud and clear reminder that every once in awhile people just need to hear a cheerful voice. That reminder encouraged me more than I can tell you. And about a month ago – a couple of nights before the storms hit, in fact – one of those crazy, random book titles popped in my head. Within all of two minutes, I thought, Well, I believe there might be something I could do with that.
So I am.
This is not gonna be some big, major, official book-type production. AT ALL. I’m going to do an ebook – for several reasons. The first is that the prospect of writing a book proposal and query letters and all that stuff completely overwhelms me. Down the road I might not feel that way – but right now? YES. I feel that way. The second is that I would have to crawl under my bed and breathe into a paper sack if I thought any sort of self-promotion was going to be required of me (but I totally understand why self-promotion is necessary when you have a publisher and a contract and sales projections and all that – it’s part of the business).
The third is that there are some Deeply Southern stories that I’ve wanted to tell but haven’t because nobody really wants to read a 4,000-word blog post. The fourth is that I’ve never had a dream of seeing my name on a book cover – but the process of starting and FINISHING something longer than a blog post is very appealing to me. And the fifth is that – well, I don’t really have a fifth. But let’s all pretend that I do. And also smile.
I’ve been going back and forth about mentioning any of this on the blog, but when Melanie and I were talking about it the other day, she said, “I think you should say something – for accountability if nothing else.”
Oh, but she knows me well. As my favorite English professor Dr. Dazey used to say: “Sophie, you are a person who NEEDS A DEADLINE.”
So there you have it. An ebook in the works – for what it’s worth. I’m hoping to finish the first round of the writing part by the end of July, so feel free to bombard me with indignant emails if I don’t. And in the meantime, I’ll be keeping you posted.
Have a great Memorial Day, y’all.
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