Time to Pull the Plug

The last two weeks have been a tug of war for me regarding my first published book Wake Up! The seven year contract will shortly expire. I had to decide if I wanted to renew it or pull the plug. Even though the sales have not met my expectations my first thought was to renew the contract. After much contemplation I changed my mind a week later.

Any author will probably agree that their first published book contains their heart. Wake Up! didn’t sell because it was bad writing or the contents sucked. It didn’t sell because I simply didn’t have the resources for promotion and the print on demand publisher couldn’t have cared less. Since making the decision to dissolve the contract I now know it was the right thing to do.

I thought holding on to it was keeping me grounded, well I was wrong. Holding on to it was acting as an anchor keeping me from moving on. When I realized I didn’t need a published book to validate the fact that I am a good writer letting go was easy.

This book is unique because it was written in two parts. Part one shares my spiritual journey, beginning with my desire to end a 40 year addiction to nicotine. Although everything I wrote is true, according to me, it is no longer pertinent. The events and relationships are in the past and need not be referred to again. I have moved way beyond where I was when I wrote part one.

Part two shares 30 life stories of residents of our little western town of Grants, NM. Writing these stories is what helped me become a proficient writer. I loved doing the interviews. I loved the fact that the people I wrote about trusted me to present their lives in a positive manner. I had no clue what I was doing when I began, I just followed my intuition. I am proud that every story was approved by the person before it was published and there were very few corrections.

Although Wake Up! will officially be out of print on 9/16/10 I have decided to gradually share the individual life stories on my blog. Some of course, will need to be upgraded and possibly shortened a bit to fit the space. I truly believe the stories deserve another chance. These people are my friends and neighbors and their lives are important.

As I have shared with others, if anyone desires to purchase a signed copy of Wake Up! I have some available. Please email me so we can exchange information.
begunn37@q.com

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the upcoming
Friday Feature- Spirits of Cibola County