On books.

I'm writing a book. There. It's out. Only a handful of people know. Only three people know the plot. Only two people have read excerpts, and I've never met either of them. In a way, I've felt like if I admitted I was doing this, I'd be committed. And while I could handle failing privately, failing with an audience isn't something I relish (does anyone?) 

But now here I am, wrapping it up. I'm 9,000 words away from my "minimum viable product" word goal. 9,000 words. I often write 1,000 words or more a day. I could be done with this before Halloween.

I doubt it. The ending is slower-going and I don't want to rush it. I have half a dozen "to be written" chunks in the middle that'll take me well beyond the MVP word goal. And editing this will take weeks or months. You know what I never considered? When it comes to editing a book, it's not just like reading through a couple pages of a college essay. To edit a book you have to read A BOOK. Over and over!

It might be terrible. It probably is. I've never done this before. But I don't care because it's mine. Even if I have to self-publish it to get twenty physical copies of the thing, I'll do it. And now I've learned how to write a book, and I'll write another one. A better one. 

But beyond writing my own book, I'm a book lover. It might bleed into zealotry. I even love books I hate because the hating is so delicious. A dear friend suggested I start what the kids call a "Bookstagram," both to share my own bookish life, but also for my own works when I manage to type those elusive words, "the end." I've called it BetsysBooksies, because of course I have.

I feel like I'm aging out of social media. I really like Mastodon because it's simple and old school. But I don't watch videos. I don't know how to snap. I don't do dances. I guess you can buy things on these platforms now and the privacy violations inherent in that make me feel sick. Also, the worst kinds of humans use social media to demonstrate to the literate among us why we should fear for the future. So none of that for me, thanks. But using it to connect with a community of other book nerds? I mean, okay! I'll give it a try!

For years I've chronicled my reading in my book journal. A friend and I were commiserating that we missed writing, "fifth grade book reports," wherein you briefly summarize the book and then chronicle your opinions in a low stakes paragraph or two. Since 2020 I have "fifth grade book reports" for every book I've read. I'm starting my bookstagram by sharing some of those. They were never meant for public consumption. They're not well-written or deep. They're not all-encompassing or fair. They're simply my spur of the moment feelings, often dashed off half-asleep or grouchy. I'm choosing books across genres, books that I loved, and books that I hated. 

So. Smash that like button, or whatever the kids say. And now that I'm "out," wish me luck finishing my first ever book!