I’ll Take That Gift of Time!

Second Set Chances has officially entered its production stage. On Tuesday, June 18, I woke up and immediately checked my email. (This phone reaching in the AM is such a bad habit, I know, but the blue light wakes me up, I swear!) There it was, an email from my publishing director sent to me and my development editor, right on time according to my production schedule.

I’d been anticipating this step since I signed with Vine Leaves Press almost a year ago, the first in a long checklist of things to complete before Second Set Chance’s pub date in April. I’ve been worried (about everything my entire life) about balancing my teaching job with my writing job, especially since the latter now comes with deadlines, but was relieved to learn edits would begin during my summer break. I figured if I wrote full time during my teacher’s summer, I could begin the new school year with most of them complete. That goal eased my stress.

And then I read the email. The exciting, long anticipated email that moved the surreal into the real.

For months, I’ve been planning for my editor’s feedback, comments, and suggestions on June 18th, thinking I’d be able to get to rewriting right away. I thought wrong. The initial email merely connected all of us, and I was directed to send my manuscript to the editor so she could read it and work her feedback magic. Her follow up directed me to enjoy the easiest part of the process (for me) while she read through the manuscript, and to expect her feedback in about a month.  My “real” work, it seems, will begin just as I’m reporting back at work.

WHOMP WHOMP.

I’ve never published a book before and should have zero expectations, as I was reminded by my husband when STRESSING to him, but an anxiety sufferer can’t help but have some façade of control in a plan. Unfortunately, my plan wasn’t going to be, and I had zero control over it.

But while I’ve been failing my therapist’s instructions to avoid morning phone media, I have been making gains in dealing with my anxiety. So, after a day of worrying about the real editing timeline, I started to silverline it. I love my summer vacation; it is a tease at what retirement will be. I mooch on the front porch in the morning with my coffee and a book. Hike. Paddleboard. Concerts at Red Rocks. Visit my family in PA. Travel. And write. Had my publishing expectations lived up to reality, I would have had little time to do all the things I love best, save for the writing.

But I’ve been given the gift of time to relish in all of it, everything (!), without the constant worry or guilt that I shouldn’t be doing anything but working on Second Set Chances edits.  And though I’ve been writing a lot these last few weeks, it’s all on my own timeline and on projects I feel like working on, not those I have to be. Between all the words is plenty of outdoor adventure, music, and family time. The feedback is coming soon, and I guarantee the stress will be high, but until then, I am going to enjoy myself.

How about you? What is an unexpected but welcome gift you recently received?