Hey there faithful readers!
By now, it's certainly no secret that my new book A Moment in Time is available for purchase on Amazon!
Should you still wish to purchase a copy, here is the direct link:
Moving on . . . my first published book is now out-and-about and has just officially passed the 2 week mark of floating about in public domain!
What a wild ride it's been so far.
What they fail to tell you about writing a book is that once the content is written down on paper, and you've officially clicked "publish" you're only half of the way there...if that!
Given that I'm professionally experienced in the Marketing world, my skills (and psyche) have indeed been put to the ultimate test over this past month.
All jokes aside, this process has been so incredibly tough on my mental health, I must admit.
Along with that (plus everything else going on behind the scenes), it has been increasingly difficult to sit and wait for readers' reviews without driving myself absolutely bonkers.
You see, reviews are what make or break the future of your book(s) and your ultimate reputation as an author/writer, both in the present & the past. I'm not entirely sure how this is righteously fair, but nevertheless that is how the process seems to go!
However, with it having been just over only two full weeks since the release of A Moment in Time, I would never expect anyone to put aside everything in their lives they've been working on and walk up to them and say "Read my book now!".
Hell, there's so many people I love dearly to death that have never laid eyes on an inkling of my writing in their lifetime! If you know anything about me, you know that I would likely do the exact opposite, as I do not particularly enjoy existing anywhere near the center of attention. In fact, I usually steer as far away from it as possible.
Along with that, plus my down-to-earth genuine message (that I hope readers have been able to live by since picking up my collection) that I truly want my readers to soak in my ultimate vision (hence the verbatim title A Moment in Time) to ... well let me just quote directly from my foreword!
"My greatest urge for all readers while turning through pages of this collection would start with them putting this book down and absorbing the message of the value of each individual moment in life. That is why I wrote these pieces in the first place. If we can learn to view our daily issues and concerns as a possible opportunity for future success, rather than an unlucky and unfortunate mishap, our future will be plentiful with happiness."
In case you hadn't already noticed, friends, it's 100% accurate that my artistry portrayal in this book is a completely different style of writing from (pretty much anything) in my blog. Not to fret, though, that was always the plan!
While I enjoy the heck out of this blog format, it tends to veer towards very conversational and casual, versus this book and all of its heartfelt formalities and dramatics.
I wanted a platform that I could use to discuss real issues for a bit. Depression, anxiety, grief, heartbreak, etc. etc. etc. These are subjects that are quite often steered away from in the public eye because they are uncomfortable to address, and therefore tend to be more difficult for us to cope with.
But sometimes you need to re-enter that headspace for the benefits of others! That was my mission for this particular project.
While I've touched on that from time to time in Writing Rituals, it's nothing like A Moment in Time. The main difference being that sometimes, there is simply no end to the madness.
What do I mean by that?
Many times in this blog, I try to draw away from being too deep. After all, that's not why you've come to read this website, right?
I like to keep things fairly loosey-goosey and write to you (the person reading this) while I'm thinking simultaneously. No editing, no re-reading, no thought process, just words to paper & publish. BOOM.
Writing a book is not like that, though. Quite far from it, in fact.
Hell, this book is 100 pages and it took me over a year just to write it (not including formatting, marketing, figuring out the intricacies of how to actually publish, working on other writing projects, etc.)
It was never supposed to be simple like this blog! I wanted this to touch your soul, to evoke your emotions that you might've lost touch with, to make you really fall into the narrator's footsteps and think for a second.
If I was able to make you appreciate your life, if even just for one second in the slightest aspect, I've done my job!
Hell, you think I didn't know that this was incredibly depressing when I clicked "publish"?
"I'm anguished with particular distress of the theory that I'll likely only be able to feel like myself hereafter alongside the presence of a drink and a cigarette."
Or how about this?
"Here I am, still eagerly waiting for the opportunity to thank you for saying all the right words on that Autumn night that still feels like it was yesterday. Meanwhile, intoxication is rapidly somehow becoming more commonplace for me than the slightest breath of fresh air."
Even this might have struck a nerve or two:
"Meanwhile I'm struggling to cope with the thought of somebody else memorizing your Starbucks order, escaping an unconscious blur to take actual notice of a surprisingly excessive quantity of bodies fluctuating between you and my seemingly stoic skeleton."
Okay okay I'll stop now, but you get my point!
This first book of mine was meant to be a different writing style from my blog. One that will hopefully make readers ponder on the complexities of their own lives and feasibly allow them to look up from a page or two with a sudden appreciation for what they have (or may have always had), what they've experienced, and the relationships they've made along the way.
It was also my first portrayal of a public form of serious writing. And while there is an ode to a cheeseburger and a Dr. Seuss poem tribute, along with many other fun & colorful tidbits throughout, the vast majority is most definitely on the side of dramatic effect.
But like I said, A Moment in Time was a genuine piece of my heart.
As you get older in life, you experience more.
Sometimes those experiences are filled with bliss and sometimes they're filled with anguish. Hell, sometimes they're both. Go ahead and see A Glimpse of Inner Crisis within a Glance of Perfection for more information (page 31).
My point is that through more experiences as you continue to age, you learn more of both the good and the bad that the world has to offer.
Yes, this is my blog (not my book), so I won't go too far in depth this time around. But what I will say is that writer's tend to draw from experiences of their own. Shouldn't that mean that you become a better writer as you grow older?
As a human being, you will naturally endure heartbreak just as often as bliss. You will always meet genuinely beautiful souls that make you feel more alive than ever, but eventually have to say goodbye to each of them from time to time. It is a part of human life that I believe a writer must draw upon, in order to be ultimately successful in both their own vulnerable eyes, along with eyes of their prospective readers.
Friendships will sometimes end unexpectedly. Relationships will sometimes end in agony rather than a happily ever after. Sometimes you won't sail off into the sunset hand-in-hand with that person that you've envisioned a script & still image of so pristinely clearly. These are facts of life.
But this does not mean that you should ever give up.
That is the exact point of A Moment in Time!
I wanted it to be relatable. I wanted it to be something that readers could instantaneously connect with an instance, memory, or feeling of their own.
Sure, some of these pieces correlate directly with my life and its circumstances at one point or another. But I can guarantee you most certainly not every single one! Hell, not even half of them!
I told you this book was for you, reader, and I damn well meant it.
What I didn't expect, though, was how it would help me along the way just as much.
The most amazing part of this entire process, other than listening to the praise of those few who have come out publicly to say how much of an impact my writing has made on their lives (if you're reading this thank you thank you thank you for sharing), has to be the surprising effect it has had on me just as much.
I have somehow accidentally found myself seeking advice from the words I have written on paper in the past. The weirdest part being that it has actually worked in the most positive manners.
Helping myself was never the intention. Not even for a second. I wanted to help that person who felt broken & alone. Or maybe the person who had taken everything for granted all this time. Or maybe the person who was grieving a loved one or a lost experience that they couldn't find the right words to express themselves. But to stumble into my own vulnerability along the way has been the finest and most touching blessing in disguise.
This entire process has been anything but easy. Yes I've been made fun of. Yes I've been criticized. Yes, I've listened to others opinions and proceeded to call myself nasty names afterward.
But that's not going to last forever.
Because the practices of vulnerability will ultimately lead to a better life for each and every one of us! If I was able to help you along with that message at all (even in the slightest), then my mission has been accomplished.
There is certainly writing in my future, oh absolutely!
But have you seen tick, tick... BOOM!? If you haven't here's a quick snippet:
The realest scene for a writer (quite possibly ever) can be seen when Andrew Garfield's character (Jonathan Larson) is speaking to his agent after his first grand success and he hopelessly asks:
"So what am I supposed to do now?"
And she responds with the most horrific statement a writer could ever hear:
"You start writing the next one...And after you finish that one, you start writing the next. And on and on and on and that's what it is to be a writer..."
Believe me, I've got stuff in the works! I've got lists and lists and paragraphs and pages!
But I wouldn't expect to see it anytime soon!
In the meantime, this blog will be (hopefully) hectically active, along with more and more marketing and an eventual hardcover version of A Moment in Time to accompany the paperback (aiming for April 2022).
I also plan to be posting an A Moment in Time: The Playlist blog post very shortly, discussing some of the many musical inspirations behind some of these pieces throughout my first book.
In short, things are definitely happening, but things of quality also take time!
Go ahead and ask my good friend Elias Kerr all about it! (Check him out on all streaming music platforms if you enjoy hip-hop! @elias if only)
All in all, I'm proud of everything that has come, along with everything that is to come!
And also to those of you who have shared my book in any form at all, (reviews, social media, word of mouth, etc.) I appreciate the absolute hell out of you! (Seriously, it means the world to small artists, you have no idea!)
And if you haven't had a chance just yet, here is a quick glimpse of some of the digital marketing for this project that I've created along the way of this (extreme) learning curve:
Should you like to see more, click here!
Or perhaps you'd like to see a full feature article and/or the first in-depth book review on A Moment in Time from my alma mater Gannon University?
Soon, there will be more and more. But for now, I hope you will be content in knowing that any of you that have read this until the very end have my most sincere and endless appreciation and wholehearted gratitude.
Until next time,
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