So, about six months ago, I had kind of an amazing email pop up in my inbox.
It was from a lovely editor named Elizabeth from a publishing company asking if I was interested in talking with them about writing a book. She asked me if I had an agent she should speak with (who? Me?!) and if I already had a book deal in the works (nope!). It was honestly one of those things that seems like it must be a scam on some level, because who just gets a book deal delivered to them in their inbox on a Thursday afternoon?
Well, it wasn’t quite as simple as that and it’s actually been a pretty interesting little adventure so far, so I thought it would be fun to share a bit of the process with you here every once in awhile.
S0 now here I am, writing this book. If you follow along with me on Instagram, you might already know that because I shared a little celebratory picture of my contract there last month, but other than that, I haven’t really spoken about it much even though I’ve been working on it for months now and I’m actually getting ready to hand in my full manuscript in a little over a month. I was honestly so nervous about creating something great that you’d love and, most of all, find useful that I kind of psyched myself out at first and just didn’t want to say anything at all. Actually, during the beginning phases, I decided I didn’t care at all about whether this whole book thing worked out or not because I’ve created a pretty cozy little gig here, writing blog posts and sharing tips and adventures with you! As I’ve gotten further and further in the process though, I’ve found myself getting more and more excited, because, you guys, I think this thing is really going to be good! Am I allowed to say that? Well, I just did. 🙂
First of all, I love that it’s basically going to be based on all the kinds of really practical, everyday, useful around-the-house tips and tricks that I share around here with you and that are always my readers’ favorites, but it’s going to be ALL NEW STUFF! My goal is to not only help you create a cleaner home that functions better in a lot less time, but also to get you feeling a little excited about it and to keep you encouraged on your journey to homekeeping awesomeness! It sounds like kind of a tall order, but I’m really happy with the way things are going so far!
The actual writing of the book has been a big learning opportunity for me, but also this whole process of working with a real-life legitimate publisher is something that’s completely foreign to me. Do you have any idea how much work goes into putting a book together? It’s a lot! We started talking about my book in the early fall of last year and this thing probably won’t come out until January of 2017! That leaves a lot of time for a lot more adventures, twists and turns, and more than a few interesting little stories here and there I’m sure.
It’s all going to be worth it and I know I’m just going to love my little (OK, big) book when it’s done and I really hope I can create something that you’ll enjoy too!
So I guess make sure you stay tuned for the next “chapter” in this book-writing adventure! Ha!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.