Long Overdue Newsletter - July 2022
Updated: Dec 13, 2022
"You heading back into the office or
keep doing the work from home thing?"
Quote of the Month
Background - This is Bill Hader describing how he overcame anxiety when he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
"I went to a therapist and the therapist was like,'What is the big fear?' and I said, 'If I mess this up, at all, the whole studio is going to fall down on me.' It was just this fear that I have to land this thing perfectly. She was like, 'What if you try just changing a couple words around and then that will take you out of your head.' So I did that. If the script said, 'Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'd come out and go, 'Hi, guys and girls.' Then that would make me go, 'Oh, I screwed up. I didn't say what was on the cards. And I'm still here. Everything's fine."
- Bill Hader
Takeaway for writers - Two thoughts. First, if you're experiencing writer's block or having trouble starting your first draft, this advice will sound counterproductive but go out there and write a terrible sentence! Or leave a glaring typo rite their in the middel. Squiggly lines and all. The perfection mindset comes later in the editing stage. Don't let perfection keep you from getting started.
Second, if reading your work in public is nerve wracking (totally understandable!), try mixing up a few words or adding something spur of the moment like Bill Hader did. Eases the pressure.
Update on Vicki and Kristie's 2nd Children's Board Book
Year and a half ago, Vicki Toups Sheaffer and Kristie Kaiser Frudden published their very first children's board book (Oh Mother How Funny). Excited to announce their new book (Oh Baby It's a Clear Lake) is available for Pre-Order. Here's where the inspiration came from and latest updates.
Safe Landing: Goodreads, Local Bookstores,
Radio Shows, and More!
Landing in local bookstores. Appearing on Chicago area radio shows. And glowing reviews on their Goodreads page. Here's the latest and greatest from the authors of Safe Landing.
Newberry Library Book Fair: Friday, July 29 - Sunday, July 31
Book lovers in Chicago - make sure to checkout the Newberry Library Book Fair this weekend. This is Chicago's most popular used book sale. Here's some more info on the event.
All Without Typing? But where's the fun in that?
Saw this ad/post on LinkedIn for Scribe Media. The company offers a helpful service, especially for entrepreneurs, business founders, CEOs, or subject matter experts. It's similar to a ghostwriting approach. And they're definitely growing really fast as a company.
But -- and maybe this is just us being sensitive as people who love the writing process -- it feels like this ad is saying that the typing/writing part is the annoying part. It's time-consuming. If you could just say what you wanted to say, have that written down and turned into a book, that would be the ideal situation.
But what about those early mornings or late nights sitting at the laptop? Or when your brain makes a connection or comes up with a sentence you look back on and say, "Woah, where'd that come from?" Or the way ideas churn throughout the day in-between writing sessions. Sure, it takes a long time. And it's not easy. But it's also an escape into a whole different world with a totally different pace for an hour or two. That's a worthy endeavor!
Nothing wrong with hiring a ghostwriter. Lot of great ones out there. But don't shortchange how much you might love the writing process. Typing all the words yourself.
"I dunno, I prefer someone else typing my thoughts.
It's working out great for me right now."
- Crash, Team Dog
Keeping up with Long Overdue
Best place to keep up with all things Long Overdue is a tie between our monthly newsletter and our Instagram page (shoutout to Annie Cerovich!). If you enjoy this newsletter and know someone who might enjoy it as well, let us know, we'll make sure to add them to our subscriber list. We also got back on Facebook recently, you can follow us here.
And check out our website - Long Overdue Books. Long Overdue Books is a community for creating books. It's a place for authors, readers, editors, artists, and designers to come together and move their stories from ideas to finished books.
Next newsletter - Aiming for late August. In the meantime if you have any questions, ideas, stories to tell, you can reach Cal the Librarian at - library@longoverduestories.com
