What Happens Next?
What
a whirlwind the last month has been. I never thought publishing a book would change my
life. Well, let me clarify that thought-I never thought how publishing a book
would change my life. My life will never be the same. The world will never be the
same.
Of
course, my day to day life has not changed. I still get up in the morning, feed
the cats, go to work, come home, feed the cats, watch some television or a
movie, and go to bed. I have not quit my day job. I have not purchased my home
overlooking the ocean in Malibu just yet. Nothing has changed in my daily life.
Yet I am changed forever.
It
is a true sense of accomplishment to reach your goal, to make your dream come
true. There is nothing that compares to that feeling. The only time I have felt
anything similar was when I graduated college. My mother told me,
“You
earned this. No one can take this away from you.”
That
is exactly how I feel about publishing my book. I earned this. No one can take
this away from me.
Since
I published my book, I have sold close to forty copies. It has been interesting
hear reactions from those who have read the book, to read reviews of my
readers. One person said, “Your book is deep!” Another remarked, “I felt what
you were feeling in that poem.” Yet another person told me, “Your book left me
wanting more. I cannot wait to find out what happens next!”
Many
people are asking me that question, “What happens next?” I am delighted by the interest. It
is a wonderful feeling to know that your writing has resonated with someone,
that they loved what you wrote and cannot wait to read more.
While
it might seem like publishing a book is an easy thing to do, it is far from it. That
being said, now that I have published my first book, the second book will come
more easily. Yet, it is still a process.
Publishing
a book is like any other art form. Be it a painting, sculpture, a symphony, a quilt, a stained glass window, a ballet, a musical or theatrical production, with any creation of art there is a process that happens,
from the initial thought to the final product. And, as I have learned, it can
take years to get it right.
Many
artists have likened creating a piece of art to the birthing process. The
project progresses on its own time, a time of maturation, or gestation if you
will. Once the piece of art has been created, the artist has given birth to their artistic creation.
Like giving birth, creating a piece of art is a life changing, completely life altering event. Before I published my book I could not understand that comparison, or know what that
meant, how that would feel, how it would change my life forever. Publishing my book was a complete labor of love. It is an entirely accurate comparison. Creating a piece of art is the closest I will ever
come to motherhood.
In
that vein, to answer the question, I have just had this baby. I want to savor
every moment with this new baby before I have another one. However I am eager to
have a large family, and I do not want to not wait too long before I have my second.
Metaphors of motherhood aside, to
truly answer the question, the next step is to publish my book in Kindle
format. After that, I would like to publish this collection of poetry in
Spanish. On my first blog,
I wrote poetry in English and Spanish. Now, with
this blog, the computer translates the poetry for me. Since I have the poetry
written in Spanish, I should publish it.
After that, I will publish the next
collection of poetry in English, called “The Bigger Picture”, and then the third collection, “Symphonies.”
I have not added titles to the next collection of poetry. Perhaps I will do a
complete collection of my work at that time. Perhaps I will continue releasing
smaller collections. I have not decided yet.
Whatever
the future holds, I look forward to my journey on the path I have chosen. I, like you, am curious to find out what happens next.
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Esperanza Habla All Rights Reserved
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