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The Last Six Months
The journey of publishing my first book and why I need your help now
The past six months have been filled with editing, revisions, and doubts. After submitting my first manuscript of my poetry collection Under Clouds & City Lights back in October, I thought the bulk of my book writing process was done. Little did I know, the next six months would be filled with more writing and heart poured into my book than ever before.
The Process
There were parts I expected to put more time into. One was working with my cover designer to create the best book cover possible (I am so excited for everyone to see it, by the way). Another was ensuring the layout was in the style that I wanted. In poetry, formatting is especially important, and I expected that this process would be a difficult one.
I did not expect myself to take second looks (actually more like a dozen looks) at some of my poems and not feel like they were my best work anymore. If my heart wasn’t tugged after reading it ten times, I refused to include it. If they weren’t saying anything deeper than initially appeared on the first read, I refused to include it. If they weren’t both great standalone and in their contribution to the entire book, I refused to include it.
