Taking my finger off the pause button (Day 15)

I’ll admit that I stuck my finger squarely on the pause button about 2 1/2 weeks ago and pushed it really hard.  Today, I am here to say that I am taking my finger back off the button.

A lot has happened since I last wrote a blog post.
There was a blizzard that dumped 32 inches of snow on us.
There was one trip to the grocery store where I tried my hand at “extreme couponing” and saved more than 60% off a grocery bill.
The Ravens won the Super Bowl.
I landed a gig, singing Beethoven at St. John the Divine in April.
I wrote a children’s book.

It was a blizzardy blizzard that dumped more than two feet of snow!

What? Wait?  I know what you are thinking: “You wrote a children’s book?”

I have toyed with the idea for the last several weeks as one of my big projects that will help  build enough residual income to get out of debt (and help me get back to working on music).   After having done a ton of research and watching a number of podcasts, I have decided to try my hand at Amazon Kindle publishing – at least to begin with.

Technology has opened up the world for self-publishers.  There are several success stories about writers who have sold millions of books on Kindle.  Now, while I may not sell millions, I am sure I can sell dozens – or at least one to my mom.

I won’t completely let the cat (or in this case the penguin) out of the bag just yet, but needless to say, I have the first draft of book number one.    The plan is to get drafts of 3-5 books, and then while I am editing and tweaking them, work on the illustrations.   I hope to launch all of them together sometime in early April.

The goal is to create something (hopefully) fun and educational.   This may actually give me a vehicle to spin-off characters and develop several music education pieces as well as general ed material.     Hopefully, these will be something I am proud of, will have a longer shelf-life than a celebrity gossip article, and be a fun and rewarding project.

As Thomas Edison says:

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

We never really know what we are good at unless we try.  If we never try “new” things, are we limiting what we are capable of accomplishing.  What about getting out of our own way and taking that first step.

Well, having read some of the stuff that is out there, I have full confidence that this is something that I am capable of doing.   Perhaps all I really need to do is take my finger off the pause button.