Original collage by Helen Sword
We raise them, we nurture them, and then we let them go. There's nothing harder -- or more exciting! -- than watching our darlings head out into the big wide world to make their own way.
Maybe the book that you wrote for an academic audience will get picked up and read by a dog trainer, a preacher, or an engineer. Maybe your daughter will write home to let you know that he is now your son. Who knows what will happen next?
This month, I have let several of my darlings go. Now I've got that familiar pit-in-the-stomach feeling: How will they fare on their own? What surprises do they have in store for me? What will I learn from them?
The book: In early September, I pushed a book manuscript out the door -- a major research and creative project that I've been working on for at least four years, now in the hands of anonymous referees. Optimistically titled Writing with Pleasure, my book aspires to surprise and delight. But have I got the tone and content right? Will my readers hand me brickbats or bouquets? Patience, patience. . . .
The artwork: I've started heading up my blog posts with my own handmade paper collages, another scary but exciting prospect. I've long resisted using the kinds of stock images that you find on most writing websites -- laptop computers artfully arranged on improbably uncluttered desks, good-looking people with designer glasses writing in poses of deep concentration -- but can I do better? Watch this space. . . .
The website: I'm in the midst of a major website renovation, which means that every minor tweak (or error!) immediately goes public. I hope that you'll like the results of my home improvement, which includes streamlined navigation, this new blog creamed from my newsletter posts, and a calendar that you can use to find the dates and times of events in your own time zone.
What darlings do you have lined up, just waiting for you to gently push them out the door? It's terrifying -- but it's worth it.
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