I’m taking a bite out of a bottle of good bourbon. I’m alone, it’s 9pm on a Wednesday and I don’t feel an ounce of shame (obviously) for any of that.
Why? Because I sold my first book today.
I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
My friend Hugh said something profoundly moving and I’m going to share it with you. The fact that he had this to say so near my own moment of similar triumph is just a fun coincidence.
When I was a kid, I used to say “Someday, I want to be able to have the right to call people like David Eddings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, and C.S. Lewis peers.”
I would have chosen a different array, and despite the risk of turning this into a name drop tournament, I’ll share. Because the sentiment is equivalent. Barker, Palahniuk, Herbert, Hofstadter, and I’ll stop at four.
Being a writer is at the core of my being. Today I think I achieved it.
I say the following not to demean myself or create false modesty but I want to share my terms and my previous accomplishments in this regard.
I was paid 100$ by Macmillan of Brazil for the rights to an essay I wrote, but this didn’t count because they only wanted it as an example of English and they opted not to publish it after all.
I was paid 10 bitcoins to ghost write an essay on church and state. (I only asked one but I was tipped an additional nine a day or so later.)
I self published a book briefly on lulu.com but it had no title and it was very very short.
I wrote this blog and have received a few donations.
But none of that felt like this.
Right there I am now on amazon. And in some ways it still doesn’t count. No bibliography, no index, no real cover, no ISBN, no professional help of any kind. But none the less it is my soul in print and at least one stranger bought it, despite my offer to provide it for free.
I *am* now an author. That is my job. The pay sucks, and may always suck but I am free and I feel vindicated. I have felt it all day, and my recent celebratory self indulgence only and deliciously sharpens that feeling.
I’m going to go enjoy it now, rather than trying to share it.
Imagine me smiling because that’s how I feel. Thank you all for being my readers, even if you never comment, and even if you never buy.
