This is the continuation of the previous post “God has a sense of humor”.
Since that positive pregnancy test, we were blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a precious little girl in 2017, followed by another healthy pregnancy and another beautiful baby girl. Our second was born right before the COVID implosion of 2020. Despite how brutal 2020 was, she was such a welcome addition to our family; such a happy baby!
We knew we wanted more children, so we agreed that when she turned a year old, we’d start trying again. This meant that because of my PCOS, I would have to contact my doctor and get a prescription for a specific type of drug that would help me ovulate properly.
Well, it’s also important to mention that my writing project had really picked up steam over the course of my pregnancy with Baby #2 and after she was born. I had even invested in having an editor review the manuscript for “Persist”.
As 2020 was winding down, I learned more about self-publishing and what went into it. Years ago, self-publishing sort of had a negative stigma attached to it, but in recent years, that wasn’t really the case anymore. As I learned more and more about self-publishing, I thought “I can do this”.
Prior to this, I had hoped that I could find an agent who actually liked my work and would then find a publisher who would publish it. But when I learned more about self-publishing, I became attracted to the freedom and autonomy I would be able to maintain over my work by being my own publisher, because in the world of traditional publishing, you often have to bend over for them. No thank you. I’ll be damned if I worked my ass off on this story for as long as I have for someone to chip away at my rights over it. To heck with that. So, while I acknowledge that I’ll probably never make as much money as I *might* have from being traditionally published, I don’t care. My goal isn’t to get rich. It’s doing what I’m passionate about. The thing that actually makes me look forward to Monday mornings…that doesn’t wear me out when I’m working on it after my girls go to sleep.
So, after talking to my husband about pursuing self-publishing, we agreed that I could leave my regular job and make this my focus for the next year, and in a year we’d see where things were.
At the end of December, I submitted my resignation. It was not an easy decision, knowing that we were giving up my salary and a position at a great company, but it felt right. And it’s also not something that we’ve exactly shouted from the rooftops. There are many people that likely won’t understand the decision…but knowing that my husband believes in me and what I can accomplish helps make it a lot less scary.
So, I submitted my resignation. Two weeks later, we found out that I was pregnant. Without using the drug that would help my body ovulate. And nope, my 2nd baby hadn’t turned a year old yet.
God has a sense of humor. Once again, sometimes it’s not our timing…
So, today, my book baby “Persist” is officially published, on the same day that I announce that we are thrilled to welcome another sweet baby into our family at the end of September!
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