Trouble in Paradise (Part 4)

Hello Friends,

Just a quick review of previous posts: I wrote a proposal, had a lunch, wrote two more proposals, and Shambhala liked the one I liked. But, as I mentioned last time, that's when things got complicated.

(This is Part 4 in a multi-part series. For Part 1, please click here.)

How did things get complicated?

Well, it turns out there are a whole lot of folks involved in green-lighting a book. Some of those folks (in this case, our editor, Jenn) might push a project. Others, though, might be skeptical.

Here's how it all went down for us:

On June 28th, six weeks after The Luncheon, I got the aforementioned email that Shambhala wanted to pursue the millennials book. Slam dunk! I was excited.

A few days later, Jenn and I completed a KEYNOTE and DESCRIPTION under the title WELCOME TO THE SWAMP. In this iteration, the book fronted as unapologetically political, a lightly snarky semi-Buddhist confrontation with Trumpism.

On July 12th, I heard the upper management at Shambhala was tapping the brakes. Jenn leaned on her 12 years at the company and tried to push the project through. But it didn't work. The big guns asked for a sample chapter.

Next step: I sat down and wrote a 5,000 word sample chapter in a week. Then sent it in.

I got edits back from Jenn on July 31st. Rewrote. Waited a couple weeks. Got more edits. And then rewrote again and put it back in Jenn's court August 29th.

Meanwhile, Devon and I had moved to O'ahu and I'd started my clinical psych internship. So by the time Jenn and I had polished up the sample chapter, it was right around Labor Day and I had gone from a traveling teacher with a bunch of time on my hands to a full time therapist with a burgeoning caseload.

Which was good. Because I was so busy I barely noticed when a month slipped by without a word from Shambhala. Unfortunately, when I finally did get an email from Jenn, the news wasn't good.

Next time: Next Steps

P.S. I absolutely promise this is the last funny little cliff hanger. Next week I’ll tie a bow on this story and move onto other things.