I don't think anyone understands how much of a relief I feel taking Read With Me: The Author's Cut off of my plate.
This is such an amazing series, and it is so fun to read and play with video effects and additive photos and sounds, but I was drowning in concerns, burnout, and the idea of holding myself back.
Not to mention, the video editing was taking up way too much of my family time. I have a three-year-old and an amazing husband who has supported me through all of this, but the video series took up so much. Saturdays became an entire video editing day. Even if I had already completed the video and its editing, I was thinking about it the entire day before and the day of its release. Writing and doing cute little character art on the side fit well into nap times and after my daughter went to bed… but recording, editing, and posting? It’s an entirely new beast.
Now, I feel an entire weight coming off my shoulders, and I feel happy to get back into writing instead of thinking, “omg, I should be recording, editing, and posting.” Now, I can think fully about BOOK 2! This is where I feel like my head needs to be.
Speaking of which—the first draft of book 2 is 100% completed! And I am on Chapter 1 of edits. My method of writing is “keep going!” I always want to reread and reread, but I’m most productive if I just keep word/idea-vomiting onto the screen. I sometimes catch myself rereading and reviewing the same chapter or paragraph over and over, and I literally have to force myself back into, “I’ll get back to it, leave a note for myself, and keep the f going.”
My husband and I have also started talking about preschool. Because again, I need more time for writing. If I have the time, I can put it on the page and get it out faster. Now… preschool is expensive, and I’m a stay-at-home mom, and while my husband makes a decent paycheck, it’s still a lot of money. But I know I have to invest in myself, and my supportive-as-ever husband is all gung-ho for it. (We love a supportive book husband.)
So yes, I may have stopped a series that I had just started only five videos ago… but it means more to me—and to my readers (I think)—that I get Book 2 out. And I’m already excited to write Book 3, hahah, so I need to get Book 2 done and out and have your brains blown away by where the story goes!
Have a wonderful day, and see y’all on my socials <3
0 comments