3 Things I'm Doing Before My Book Launches
That I think you should do too!
Hey Troublemakers!
In exactly one week my new book releases into the world!!! There are notebooks filled with ideas, emails between me and my publisher (so. many. emails), and the general nervous excitement that often accompanies any creative project right before it’s made public. But I am so excited for you to read it and that makes me feel better every time I feel those nerves come closer. Plus, there is something slightly reassuring to this not being my first book rodeo. I’m realizing I have a sort of pre-launch personal checklist that keeps me grounded and since its so helpful to me, I want to share it with you!
Get excited!
We’re starting with…
1. Define Success
This one is number one for a reason. It’s always the first thing I do before I start any creative project, or teach a workshop, or speak at an event. I started doing this when I was about to co-lead my first racial justice workshop at a conference with my friend Jenny. We had finished talking through the elements of the workshop and decided to go check out the room the conference had prepared for us. It felt huge. And we started to get nervous.
What if no one shows up? What if they hate us? What if they already know everything we’ve come prepared to share? Everything suddenly felt out of control. Then we realized we couldn’t control those things. What we could control was whether or not we had fun. We decided in that moment to take any power back from strangers we were about to hand it to, and reclaim it for ourselves. We had a blast, therefore, the workshop was a success.
For this book, I could let those voices in again —What if no one buys it? What if people hate it? What if it feels uninspired? — or I could connect with people who message me saying they saw themselves in the book. I could be proud that I finished another book.
I could have fun.
2. Don’t miss the magic
I don’t think anyone would call me a control freak, but I definitely have expectations of how things will go. But the universe has its way of surprising us, so when things don’t go according to plan…
I embrace them. I delight in their magic. It has looked as big as Ashley Banks holding my book on Bel Air and as small as my baby holding my book on our rug. But I become a magic seeker. I never know what I’ll find.
3. Listen to my body
This one is newer for me. But I’m trying not to let anything come between me and… my naps
my huge water bottle
my time relaxing on the couch
my need to operate from a place of rest.
You probably aren’t counting down to a book launch (but please message me if you are!). Maybe you are counting down towards spring break, or retirement, or an important city council meeting. Whatever is on your plate, I hope these words offer a bit of encouragement.
A FEW MORE THINGS FOR YOU THIS WEEK…
I would be silly not to remind you that preorders are still open for my new book… and to share with you what you get as a thank you gift for pre-ordering!
SO CUTE, RIGHT??? All you have to do is preorder the book and head to this form and a paper doll kit will be mailed to you! oh yeah and you get a digital copy of a chapter from the new book!
BOOK EVENT! Oh and for anyone in the Grand Rapids area, I’ll be doing a book event on my book launch date at Schuler Books - all the details are here!
A WORD…
Stay wild and holy and free,
Austin