my book: one year later

Last September, which feels like a lifetime ago, I published my debut book, Water the Plants While I’m Away (WTPWIA).

Now, twelve months later, I want to reflect on what it was like to write, create, publish, and distribute that work, and what the future may hold for my writing.

Most poems in WTWIA were written in late 2017—early 2018, when I had been going through a break up and found comfort in comparing my experiences and vulnerabilities to nature. I felt a shift during that time that has continued to evolve, even up until now. That same year I went sober and made a handful of lifestyle changes in order to better my mental health. Most of the latter half of the book was written a year later, roughly around the same month, in 2019. I found, while the circumstances had changed, the need to compare my highs and lows to the nature around me did not.

It was then I decided to make this a collection of poems, in dedication to my journey and the love I was able to find. It was a collection near and dear to my heart.

The writing process was probably the easiest part of this project. It’s what came after that seemed most difficult. I had never created a book before, much less marketed, designed, and sold a product I made. Luckily, at the time, I was working in the publishing industry and was able to get solid SP advice as a result. I used KDP (for Amazon) and IngramSpark (for everywhere else) as my wholesale printer/distributor. I was also fortunate enough to be friends with a phenomenal artist, Artur Dabrowski, who designed the artwork for the book. I used InDesign and Photoshop in order to put all the pieces together into one coherent book. I put out the book on September 17, 2019, and the rest is history.

To this day, I receive messages from strangers or notifications about people buying the book and it warms my heart that I have had the privilege to hold space for others, as well have people hold space for me.
Like so many of us, 2020 threw me for a loop and writing plans I did have were pushed aside for more practical and important issues at hand, but I am still writing and shifting my focus on submitting to various publications and journals. I can’t say when my next collection will come out and if I will opt to self publish or instead go down the traditional publishing route, but I do know WTPWIA, while a beautiful project for its time, is only a small fragment on what’s to come. 🌿