I have worked a number of jobs over the years: furniture stainer, Blockbuster employee, Salem haunted house actor, rat torture victim #2 on a History Channel special, theatrical day camp counselor, Money Matters Radio intern, WFNX intern, WAAF/Mike-FM intern, board-op at WAAF, thrift store manager, West Elm backroom, and finally as a custodian in a nursing home...this is the first time I have ever held a check in my hand for my art. My wife wouldn't stop harassing me until I opened it as she called it a "very BIG moment." Now look, I am not doing Bob Woodrow or Mary Trump numbers and I am no closer to owning a yacht than I was making eight dollars an hour staining furniture in a poorly ventilated warehouse in subzero temperatures and heatwaves, but this was really special.
I don't expect the checks to get bigger or the number of sales to soar, but as a stay at home parent who is desperately failing to land a job and a writer who has just wanted to feel validated in any way, I will take it. So, what happens now? There is still the Book Reading/Q&A scheduled for Friday, October 30th at 7 p.m. on ZOOM (I am still not quite sure how I plan to announce that link, at this point I think I'm just going to post it here and on Instagram the day before the event) and a few opportunities to do podcasts or do a local paper may be on the table. After that? I don't know...I guess that's what makes this both very exciting and absolutely terrifying. I mailed out some donated copies to libraries, I reached out to a local book store today but was asked to call back early next week, and I just keep trying to remain visible on the gram. Really, the best part about putting a book out? I'm putting myself out there again, and people have been really sweet and so fucking compassionate about the material or the things that led to the creation of the material. I am still very self conscious (more so because of my kids) about being so honest or candid about my life, my past, and the work I am creating. That really is the most rewarding part of all of this, all I wanted from this book? It wasn't the money and it wasn't to become a New York Times Best Selling Author (sure, I wouldn't exactly hate those things) but it was to be read and subsequently asked to talk about what I wrote. To connect with people either completely new in my life, faces from a past I felt too shy addressing, or old friends checking in? It is cool to see where everyone is at and get a chance to assure them that it all worked out. How are all of you doing? Is everyone safe? Healthy? How are you all holding up mentally? I hope this writing finds you well and I really hope that we are able to make it out of this waking nightmare together and completely renewed.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
September 2021
Categories |