Long Overdue Newsletter - October 2025
- Chris OBrien
- Nov 6
- 6 min read
"Round up the usual suspects"
Running Behind
I think this is the third, maybe fourth, time this year I've published a newsletter late. Hence, the Halloween cartoon on November 6th.
It's part of an ongoing theme for me, one that I especially felt in October. Plain and simple: I'm running behind. Constantly playing catch-up.
Even things like my phone battery (7%), my laptop battery (17%), my own battery (30%). Nothing is fully charged. When I look at my to-do list, I keep thinking the solution is "if I just had more time..." (or more coffee).
One item on the to-do list: creating a back-of-the-booth banner for this weekend's Texas Book Festival. Last year, I noticed most of the booths had one. Mine didn't (I only had the branded tablecloth), and it looked a little empty.
But the task felt overwhelming. How will I design it? What size? What color? What book covers to showcase? What slogan to use?
And then there's that nagging question again: When will I find the time?
Then it hit me: Annie, our original book designer, had just texted me asking if there were any projects she could help with. I'm embarrassed how long it took for me to make the connection. It was more of a "Well, duh!" palm to the forehead moment than a lightbulb moment. Why wouldn't this be one of those projects I ask for help?
The result: an awesome banner with a background color that ties into our logo. She selected book covers that complement each other in color. And the slogan, this took three or four texts, sharing ideas with Annie. Ultimately, she combined two concepts. Added the italics. I'm so happy with how this turned out!
I texted my mentor and coach, Ryan Vaughn. He had just written a LinkedIn post about how your team can do things better than you ever could. He laughed that I was still struggling to delegate projects. "You haven't broken that [habit] by now?? C'mon, homie!" And then hit me with this awesome piece of advice:
Change your default to "can someone else do this better" is the beginning of radically awesome change
I thought back to September at the Printers Row Lit Fest and how much better it felt to have help at the booth. Felt better, AND Sophia was genuinely better at running the iPad and processing orders than I was. And Annie is better at designing a banner. And Heather creates book cover designs I could never dream of. Same with Annie. Same with Bruno. And Omar's a better editor. Same with Jon. And Kimberly takes the most basic sketch ideas and creates the monthly newsletter cartoon. And Annie Cerovich does a better job of giving authors feedback. Plus, she had our Instagram looking so much better when I handed over the keys.
Over and over again, the answer is right there. I don't need more time. I need to change my default. Can someone else do this better?
And so I look at my to-do list again. We now have 20 published authors, and their books deserve more support. Who can take that over? Respond to emails faster. Build marketing plans. Who knows how to increase book sales consistently? Who knows how to get books into more bookstores? Featured in more articles. Podcasts. The list goes on and on.
We have another 20 authors inquiring about their book ideas. Again, who's better at responding? Who can follow up faster, build project plans, and answer questions better than I can?
The challenge is, I love these things. I love every part of the publishing process. Feedback Circle. Editing. That final proofread and tedious interior page design. I weirdly love that stage, too. Or writing the newsletter. These newsletters take me 3-5 hours to assemble, but I love it. And I can feel my shoulders tensing up even at the thought of handing "my baby" over to somebody else.
And speaking of baby... spoiler alert...
So... that whole "I need more time" thing... yeah, right. Think again, buddy!
But when I separate "What does the business need?" from "What time do I have?", like Ryan said, awesome things start to happen.
For example, Long Overdue needs to be at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival in April of 2026. It's an important next step in our book festival calendar. However, I don't see any way I can make that trip happen with a 4-year-old and a 2-month-old at home.
But I don't need to. There are other solutions. I could fly somebody out. Could work with my brother (in Huntington Beach) to run the booth. There are ways to solve this that don't involve me. Of course, I want to be there. I want to talk to people at the booth. Answer questions. Sell books. But it's also exciting to imagine how many more festivals and events Long Overdue could do if I didn't have to be at each one. Thinking this way is a big jump out of my comfort zone, and it's scary, but also exhilarating.
So, I applied Long Overdue to be an exhibitor. Fingers crossed. Hope to hear back soon.
What are you holding onto too tightly?
I share all of this because running a business and writing a book have a lot in common. It's very much a solo endeavor... until it isn’t.
Because yes, you know your manuscript better than anyone. You know your characters better than anyone. You know what you're trying to say, the moral of the story, the themes you're exploring, the goals you have for the book. No one knows those things better than you.
But that will only take the book so far.
Your Feedback Circle (group of readers) will be better at seeing your manuscript with fresh eyes, catching things you've missed. Sharing ideas you haven't thought of yet. Your editor will be better at editing. Your book designer will bring a cover to life that's better than you ever imagined.
And then comes the most intimidating jump of all: publishing your book. Putting it out into the wild. I imagine it feels a lot like sending your kid off to college (or kindergarten) or to the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk for the first time. That nice little story that used to be only yours, tucked safely away in a Word document, or a journal, or even just ideas in your head, well, now there's the potential for all types of things. Good reviews. Bad reviews. People who read the entire book in one sitting. People who bought the book, but you have a pretty good feeling they haven't opened it yet. And everything in between. And that's exciting. And scary. And all part of bringing a long overdue story to life.
If you try to do it all on your own, it's tough to get out of the comfort zone. Trust me. I say that as someone who's writing, I think, my 70th newsletter. I almost tried to design a booth banner, for crying out loud, and I still think about skipping the Feedback Circle with my own writing. I can do my own revisions. I'll be fine. It's hard loosening that grip.
But as Ryan said, when you start asking who can do this step better, it's the beginning of some radically awesome change.
You know... that booth could really use a back banner. Looking a little empty 😉
The Texas Book Festival, the largest book event in the state of Texas and one of the premier book Festivals in the country, returns November 8–9 in downtown Austin for its 30th anniversary! Free and open to all, the Festival will feature more than 300 authors, engaging panel discussions and programs for all ages, book signings, local food trucks, and the popular Saturday night Lit Crawl. Learn more at Texasbookfestival.org.
Look for Long Overdue in Tent 1, spot 115. Excited to be back for Year 2!
"This better not be your long-winded way of saying you've hired a dog walker who's 'better' at taking me on walks than you... because that would NOT be an awesome change."
-Crash, Team Dog
Best place to keep up with all things Long Overdue is a tie between our monthly newsletter and our Instagram page. 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 the rest of our website - Long Overdue Books. Long Overdue Books is a community for creating books. It's a place for authors (and soon-to-be-authors), readers, editors, artists, and designers to come together and move their stories from ideas to finished books.
Also, if you have any questions, ideas, stories to tell, you can reach Cal the Librarian at - library@longoverduestories.com
