Growing up in my family, we would say ‘Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit’ on the 1st of every month. I never knew why, just that there was a rush to be the first to say it and some amount of teasing if you forgot to say it. As an adult I am familiar with its origin and that it was meant to forecast good luck for the upcoming month. It’s not that my family was particularly superstitious, and saying it never actually improved our luck one way or the other but it was somewhat of a beloved tradition.
This April 1st, found me in a flurry of emotion. In exactly one month my book Happy Tears and Rainbow Babies, will be released and I am experiencing every emotion possible. Excitement at doing something that I have dreamed about doing since I was a child, anxiety at having my book out in the open for anyone to critique and pull apart, nervousness as to what would come next and a host of other things that I won’t bore you with now.
Whenever I feel myself becoming overwhelmed I like to play a game called what do I know? It helps me focus in on the smaller, more manageable details rather than be inundated with the big huge finish. So here is what I know:
- My book will be released in one month
- Some will love it, others will hate it
- I will not be the first person to get a bad review, I will not be the last
- Everyone associated with the book has done their best
- There are families who need my book
- Books never become overnight successes and to expect such is setting myself up for failure
- There are somethings I can control, there are other things that I cannot
- Even though we launch in a month, selling books is a lifelong business
- My brothers and sisters will still make fun of me regardless of what happens, and that is curiously comforting
- Planning a book launch is A LOT of work
- My children will not care how many other people buy my book, as long as I am there to read their copy to them every night
- My husband will continue to support every post, book, idea, or blog that I write.
Over the next month, there will be a lot to do. I will have to step out of my comfort zone and do things that terrify me and I may or may not survive it (I can see my friend Natalee rolling her eyes and calling me dramatic). But if I do survive, I know I will be better for it. I would developed skills that I would not have known I needed had it not been for this experience. Most importantly, I have been praying for all that will come next and although I don’t know what will happen, God knows and that’s more than enough.
This morning my brother was the first to say Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit, and as April rolls into Launch Month or May for everyone else, my hope is that I will never miss an opportunity to speak to someone about my book and to share with them the inspiration behind it. I pray that I will continue to feel supported by those closest to me and that I will represent myself and my book well. I am eager to see where this can go and with a little faith and support, I know this will be a great journey.
And maybe just a little bit of luck!