Burned the first master CD, 1.0 of the Where All the Little Things Live audiobook. When I started, it felt impossible, but I never framed it that way for myself.
I ordered the CDs almost exactly a year ago — a reminder that eventually it would be done. I set internal deadlines. Due to the pandemic, and the fact that I was involving so many others in the project, I didn’t always meet them, but those were minor bumps. But in the end, I got here little by little, through consistency, positive self-talk, and of course, the support of others.
Showing up is everything.
The most important thing was that I continued to show up. Tired from a day at work or just dealing with kids, I often felt like just heading off to bed in those later hours. Sometimes, I did. But I began telling myself to just do one little thing: fix that voice part. Record that one bit. Noodle on that music in that chapter.
What happened was often more than I expected. I told myself 15 minutes, but sometimes it easily became an hour. There were instances where I had to intervene lest I be too tired to function the next day, but this approach worked to find the flow, accomplish something towards the goal, however small. More than once this improvised musical noodles turned into the more polished music that’s now on the CD. They wouldn’t have gotten there had I not heard the muse and jotted them down.
Never perfect, but perfect enough.
It wasn’t perfect and didn’t always work. But it worked enough! There were some large bursts of activity, it’s really through little accomplishments that it got done. Of course, that’s why it took almost a year. But that was never a real issue for me since it was for me. I was beholden to my backers, but I’ve found they’re a forgiving bunch as long as you communicate openly. And for the past year has been that much more bearable with this to work on. I loved collaborating on this — from editing to voice acting — and it is so much more than what it might have been because of that. But I also reveled in every aspect of its creation: writing, illustrating, designing, typesetting, recording, editing, composing and mastering. I learned to enjoy the process.
At times it felt like biting off more than I could chew, but because I’ve chosen to keep this a side thing it never felt crushing to go into the various aspects of this without knowing exactly how to approach them.
What’s next?
I don’t know how and when my next book will arrive. I just know it will happen at some point. I’ll be spending considerable time just enjoy the work of others, reading, watching, listening — all for creative input.
Thank you to everyone who was a part of this, however big or small. Know that I heard you, and appreciated your support.
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