Work + Projects

A Book

by erin |

Well, I’m writing a book.

I’ve been writing it for, oh, five months, and I have nearly one month to go, and whoa, that is soon, isn’t it?

I will not stop blogging. Writing in these wee hours of the morning is the best thing for me, it is just the best thing for me. It is personal, and therapeutic, and enjoyable, and it is hard, yes, but in the good way of hard, like when you swallow a big chunk of food you were choking on – an apple, a steak – and it hurts, but suddenly you can breathe again.

And if I grow a bit more silent here, it is not the workload. It is because I am a little bit terrified, and a lot bit excited, and a little bit terrified again.

The idea of printed matter, of a book, of a treatise, is quite literally, black and white. It is paper and ink, hard type and soft pages, and it is a format I am not well-versed in creating.

For the past decade, and longer, I have grown accustomed to the grey-ness of the screen. Even now, as I type this at roughly 5am, the backlit glow of my laptop screen makes these words lighter, more transient, as if they’re floating. There is nothing tangible here, nothing carved in stone, nothing that I cannot backspace and reinvent, or delete and forget. I know the Internet is forever, but it seems as if it’s not, as if it’s for today and will drift quietly into ether.

A book does not feel this way. It feels intimidating and complete, a period. A statement. An exercise in contrast. Black and white, it is simply that.

Black and white.

I want to write something I’m deeply proud of, that hopefully you’re deeply proud of, too. I want to write something that does not float away, something that is weighted with words I haven’t yet spoken and truths I haven’t yet shared.

And so, I am getting to work, and I will still meet you here each week, and if I am absent, it is because I am wordless, or a bit fragile, or perhaps because I am nursing a cold, or taking Bee to the park.

It is not a marketing strategy, and I will not save my best for something you must buy on Amazon. Stories and thoughts and perspectives, these things are not scarce, and so I will keep writing them down as best as I can, as often as I can.

This will be exhilarating.

It will be hard, and good, as most beautiful things are.

And so, I suppose I wanted to also say thank you.

Thank you for reading the grey, and thank you for those who will read the black and white, and for those of you won’t, because you’ll be wordless, or a bit fragile, or perhaps nursing a cold, or taking your child to the park.

Thank you for journeying, for soldiering, for forging your own path.

It will be exhilarating.

It will be hard, and good, as most beautiful things are.

    • Thank you so, so much, Janette! I hope you love it as much as I have loved the process! :)

  • YAY! This is such wonderful news. I’m excited for those who have yet to encounter your writing who will pick up your book somewhere along the way and find the connection they’ve been longing for. (And for those of us who already know what a gift you are, I’m excited for us too :))

    This is my favorite and I want to remember it for every time I feel like my words don’t matter because there are so many already out there – “Stories and thoughts and perspectives, these things are not scarce, and so I will keep writing them down as best as I can, as often as I can.”

    • Oh sweet Jackie, thank you for your kindness. You are such an encourager!

      And YES, YES, a hundred times YES. No two stories are the same, and all of them matter. I can’t wait to hear as many of yours as possible. :)

  • This is just the best news! On many occasions I have thought how I wish I had one of your books on my nightstand to pick up over and over again. You are a beautiful soul, Erin.

  • Hooray!!! Congratulations!! You are one of my favorite writers, and I can’t wait to read your book :)

  • Oh this excites me more than you know! You, girl, have a way with words that reaches down to the deepest of the deep of my soul, and I find myself nodding… yes, yes, yes…. And, now to have a book full of these wise words!! Oh hooray!!

  • I am so excited for this, Erin. Congrats!!! I can’t wait to read the black and white ;)

  • Erin – I can’t wait. i’m thrilled that there will more to read from you, and even more people will have the opportunity to enjoy your gift. Congratulations. .

  • ever since reading your story about hair i knew this day would & should come. no doubt your book is going to be terrific!

  • What an undertaking! Of course it’s terrifying. It will be so wonderful Erin and I absolutely cannot wait to read what I’m sure will be a masterpiece of our generation. Thank you for making art – we need it.

  • Hooray! I’m new to your blog; but your posts have been so timely for me these past few weeks…so I wil happily read your black and white words too. Press on, Author Mama.

  • so excited!!!! love the grey… can’t wait to experience the black and white!

  • Erin I am so excited for you!!!!!! And if you need your time – take it. We’ll be waiting for you when you return.
    Xo
    Dora

  • You’re great. You’ll do so well. The book will be more than you hoped for.

  • I will be one of the first to read your black and white. You will do great and I like others cannot wait! Virtual hug to you.

  • What a gift you’re giving yourself and those of us eager readers! Even letting others in on a secret-work-in-progress requires vulnerability and bravery. Good for you! I wanted to share some words that have resonated closely with me recently. Hopefully you can feel encouraged today by your readers. (Live Your Truth by Kamal Ravikant): “Creating something of value, expressing yourself to the world — it is risk. …If you’re about to take a risk, one that comes from within, that expresses your true nature, that brings up fear after fear after fear — you know what to do. One: do the work, create the value. Two: Draw the people that encourage you closer.”

  • Sincerely excited to read the words you put to paper. Thank you for always sharing and being transparent. It will be good.

  • Congratulations! I am so looking forward to what you have to say in book form (though, no pressure!). I never fail to find something inspirational, or just simply relevant in your blog posts and just know that the book will strike a chord of some kind. Enjoy the process!

    • Oh goodness, thank you so much, Heather!!! The process has been SO HARD, but SO GOOD! I’m really grateful for the work. :)

  • Sign my copy and ship it to me when it is available…or better yet bring it in person. You know where we are.

  • OH MY! This is wonderful, Erin! Congrats, and yes to it all, and it’s hard and wonderful and you’ll learn so much. And I’m cheering for you!

  • I admire your courage , beauty and gracefulnes , not only in your style of writing but in the way you portray yourself on this blog.
    You are fun , delicate , personal , awe inspiring and everything and anything wonderful in this world.
    We are all made of the same stuff and we all from time to time feel cracks starting to form in our shells, and we realise, well, we know that it’s no longer possible to overturn this world, not possible to reshape it, nor stop it from progressing, but we can appreciate the good stuff, laugh, feel empathy , be empathised , and work at our own pace for our own progression.
    This may sounds very strange coming from a character with only half a first name for identification , but all this is what makes you so different, so pure, original and entertaining. Encouragement and praise should be given when deserved, continually , because you deserve it.
    I am very excited for your book.

  • Of all the people who should write a book, it is you. I cannot wait to buy, to read, to read again. Your words are endlessly beautiful. So happy for this.

  • Why did this make me cry??? Haha! Silly me. I suppose I will miss you a bit here, but I am thrilled you are writing a book. Good luck and loads of inspiration for that, Erin!

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