So, today was a pretty monumental day.
Yes, it was Cyber Monday. But that’s not why it was monumental for me.
It was a BIG day for me because it was the day my manuscript for my next book was due to my publisher.
It was supposed to be due months ago, but my publisher kept pushing the date back because they weren’t ready on their end. And frankly, while I was letting ideas simmer and percolate all the first half of this year, I was in the middle of moving and traveling and adjusting to a new life here in TN and I just wasn’t ready to think about sitting down to write another book.
Well, and truth be told, I was struggling to narrow down my focus. I had a lot of big picture ideas for book concepts, but nothing concrete.
So I kept thinking, listening, praying, waiting, and pondering.
And then one day in June, I was chatting with my friend and manager, Joy, and the book idea became very clear. It was the perfect melding of my passion and experience and it was a topic I knew I would love writing about.
Right about this time, my publisher was also ready to nail down a date for the manuscript to be in to them. And my wonderful ghost editor was ready to begin working on it, too.
So, after a few weeks of back and forth and discussion and looking at everyone’s calendars, we finalized the date of December 1, 2014 — with a release date of November 2015.
By this time, it was the end of July. Which meant I had exactly 4 months to flesh this book concept out, research for it, and start writing.
It seemed a little overwhelming, but I also felt so strongly that this was what I was supposed to do… it was one of my life missions.
So AJ (my ghost editor) and I started brainstorming the outline. By August 15, we had a strong outline in place and I was ready to begin researching and writing.
I started writing the book the same week that we started back to homeschooling. Brilliant, I tell you. Just brilliant.
After two weeks of trying to juggle homeschooling and writing, it just wasn’t working. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and spent. Yet I still had weeks and weeks of writing left.
Since I didn’t want to go against everything I wrote about in Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I knew something needed to change.
I went to Jesse to ask for his advice. I had a long list of possible options and alternatives for how we could make this work.
He listened to me and then he said, “Why don’t I take over the homeschooling?”
This wasn’t even an option I’d considered. I asked him quite a few questions to make sure he really and truly wanted to take on this big commitment and I realized that he was 100% all in with this idea.
He’d already been pretty involved in the homeschooling, so he had a good understand of what he was getting himself into. And he took the ball and ran with it.
For the past 3 months, he has owned the homeschooling responsibilities… and while I always knew he had the heart of a teacher, I’ve seen a brand-new side of him come alive in this. It’s been fun to watch — and the kids have loved having him so involved in their daily learning and projects.
I was still struggling to find enough time to write during the day, though. In between life and other business/blog responsibilities and priorities, there just didn’t seem to be big blocks of time to devote to research and writing.
So I decided to get a little radical. First, I tried getting up really early to write. For some reason, that just didn’t work as well this time around. I seemed distracted in the mornings with all the other pressing priorities and couldn’t seem to focus at the level I needed to in order to really hone in on the research and writing for my book.
After trying a few different options — like writing mid-day, writing in the afternoon, and writing in the evenings — I finally landed upon a solution that ended up sounding crazy but working well.
I’d go to bed fairly early and then set my alarm for midnight and write from midnight to 4 a.m. and then go back to bed and sleep in until 8 or 9 a.m.
I told you it was crazy. But because of our current family situation, I had the flexibility to pull it off. And it WORKED.
I discovered I could get in the zone in the middle of the night. It was completely quiet and completely distraction free. And it was perfectly suited for my need-to-have-big-blocks-of-quiet-in-order-to-write style.
I wouldn’t recommend it for others because it did take a toll on me physically after awhile, but I loved the subject manner and book project so much that I decided it was worth the short-term sacrifice.
That said, you can probably guess why I’m a little thrilled that the manuscript was D-O-N-E today and turned into the publisher!!
I celebrated by cleaning my house (I had seriously neglected some areas while writing), watching a movie with my husband, and have plans to sleep all through the night tonight and every night from here on out. 🙂
Writing this book was a labor of love. I poured myself into every word in the manuscript and it was such a joy to write!
It also sparked some fires inside of me for new topics I want to speak and write more regularly about. I realized I have made a lot of mistakes when it comes to earning income and running a business and writing this book reminded me of how passionate I am about helping other moms find creative ways to increase their income.
And most of all, the book-writing process reminded me of how blessed I am to have such a supportive family. I don’t sign a book contract without the complete blessing and encouragement of my family. Because writing a book is a LOT of work. And it will mean sacrifices on everyone’s part.
This time around, everyone in the family really pitched in — from helping with cooking and laundry and cleaning to free me up to write more, to praying with me and encouraging me during the process, to being a sounding board for me as I grappled with topics and perspectives.
I’m also so grateful to get to work with such an amazing ghost editor. AJ Gregory has truly been a Godsend to me. She put hours and hours into the book each week, editing my content, helping me research, compiling and editing stories I sent to her, encouraging me to dig deeper, asking hard questions to help me think through how I wanted to write each section well, and helping me develop a very strong and solid structure to the manuscript.
In addition, I am so very, very much to you all and your patience with me the last few months. While I’m still the one finding and vetting all the deals posted here, running the MSM Facebook Page, interacting in the comments, and writing as many blog posts as I can, there are so many, many more content pieces I want to write that didn’t get written these last three months while I was devoting so much time to book-writing.
I still have all the book edits ahead and it’s a long road still until we finally have a published book I can hold in my hands, but I’ve gotten the hardest work out of the way now that the manuscript draft is done and turned into my publisher.
And it feels so good.
So tonight, I’m celebrating that — by the grace of God and with a LOT of help from my family and others — I accomplished one of my biggest projects of the year: to write a solid 60K word manuscript that I am really excited about and invested so much into.
I’m thrilled to have it done, but I’m most excited about the impact I believe it is going to have in family’s lives around the globe. And that, my friends, is worth missing a little sleep for!
susie says
Thats called two sleeps- it actually used to be the normal way for people to sleep! I have done this before- so tired so I go to sleep at8;30, wake up at 12:30 and clean till I get tired! Can’t you tell I’m PG? lol
Carol@simple_catholic says
Congratulations on getting your book finished! Can’t wait to learn more about the book. 🙂
Jennifer K Powell says
Congrats, Crystal! Best of luck with the new book. I love that you took a nontraditional approach to writing in the middle of the night. Looking for my own writing groove and this is thought provoking.
Julia @ Swirls and Spice says
What a blessing to have such a family and such flexibility to do this! I’m curious about why you called your editor a ghost editor when you revealed her name though?
Crystal Paine says
Great question: That’s the official title that what she does is called in the publishing world. 🙂
I have another editor with the publisher that I’ll be working with now that my book is submitted.
Kristan says
Well done Crystal! You are such an inspiration! Enjoy your sleep and your clean house! 🙂
Anna says
Yaaaay!!! I can’t wait to find out what your new book will be about God has given you such a gift and you use it so wisely. You have inspired me in so many different ways…you don’t even know!!!
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement!
Lisanne says
Congratulations! I can’t wait to read it. I’m always inspired by your writing and the (perhaps small) life-changing decisions you make to reach your goals. Yours is a determination and focus that I’ve not seen too often and it really sets you apart from the rest of the world. Thanks for the inspiration to make those hard but life-changing decisions… Using your gifts takes work and sacrifice and your gifts are a blessing to so many!!
Tam Hodge says
I couldn’t be any prouder of you! Like, I am over the moon excited for you. You are one of the most committed writers, hardest worker, super-moms that I know.
You inspire me every single day, friend.
And big applause to Jesse and the kids! What a great support team they are.
Love you girl!
Jessi Fearon (@TheBudgetMama) says
Oh I can’t wait to read your next book Crystal! I just started re-reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, because well, I needed it. Thank you as always for your honesty and awesomeness! You rock! 🙂
Jennie says
So happy for you! If this new book is anything like your others, I know it will be a HUGE blessing to many. Can’t wait to read it! Congratulations! 🙂
MaryEllen says
That is AMAZING! No wonder you couldn’t give up your coffee! 🙂 I’m still trying to figure out how to get as much done in a day as you do. I’m getting there, but it’s a learning process for sure! Congrats on finishing. Can’t imagine the weight that must be lifted.
Crystal Paine says
Coffee was kind of imperative for this project. 🙂
Sarah Mae says
I am over here HAPPY DANCING with!!!! Way to go!!! I can’t wait to read it. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for your encouragement, friend!
Marianne Hardy says
Congratulations!
Chelsea says
Celebrating with you! Your drive and creativity encourages me to continue striving toward big dreams admist the busyness of life.
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement!
Jennifer says
Yay! Congratulations!
And I especially love that Jesse took over the homeschooling. What a blessing for your kids to have their father instructing them. I’m sure you do a bang-up job yourself but dads are just different and they do things differently.
Crystal Paine says
Yes! I so agree! He has a different style of teaching and I really think that kids can benefit from being exposed to different teaching styles.
Melissa says
Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to read it!! I have been reading your blog for nearly 7 years and one thing I was curious about was the decision to home school. Maybe you could write a piece on that one day. I live in NJ and we have an abundance of school options, curious what others options are.
Crystal Paine says
Our decision to homeschool was based upon a lot of different factors, not the least of which was that my husband and I were both homeschooled and had very positive experiences. It’s a big commitment, but for right now, the choice has been a great decision for our family and our children are thriving.
Beth Anne says
Congratulations, Crystal! You should feel so proud and take lots of time off 🙂 I LOVE that you found a completely unique approach to get this big project done. As moms, we often can’t follow what the business gurus have to say because our lives look so different. Our time is not usually our own. I love how you found something that worked for you. I also love that when you were feeling overwhelmed, you stopped, analyzed the situation, talked it over with Jesse, and came up with a great solution. So many of us let ourselves go crazy for way too long before getting to the problem-solving stage.
Thanks for sharing this! I can’t wait to read your book!
Jen Morris says
Congratulations! And your sleeping habits aren’t as weird as you think. This was a standard practice back in the late middle ages and into the early 1700’s. It was called second sleep. Due to the lack of electricity and the way the world was, many went to bed when it was dark and then woke in the middle of the night. They reflected and prayed by candlelight and then returned to sleep until dawn. Many writers of this time would write prior to their second sleep. You were just returning to a practice held by our ancestors to get closer to God and their creative spirits. You should look it up!
Diane says
Interesting! I had never heard of “second sleep”. Thanks for sharing.
Crystal Paine says
Me, neither! This was fascinating information! Thank you for sharing!
Kelly L. says
That’s what I was thinking when I read about Crystal’s adjusted sleep pattern! I think I heard about it on NPR a few months ago. So, I guess it’s not so crazy after all! Although it sounds like it took a lot out of her, so I think I’ll stick to 7-8 hrs at one go if I can get it.
Cheryl says
Praise God For Whom All Blessings Flow, So happy for you and that God was with you and your family on this journey of yours, and another book! Looking forward to reading it because your blog and past books have blessed me in countless ways. Merry Christmas! Cheryl
Diana Aronson says
Congrats! What’s a ghost editor?
Crystal Paine says
Basically, someone who works alongside you as you’re writing the book helping edit/give feedback, etc. as you go along. AJ also helped with the research this time around, as well as culling through lots and lots of stories and suggestions I sent her to pick those that she thought would be the best fit for certain sections of the book. I could never have written this book without her — especially not in the short timeframe I did!
Marie says
Crystal that is so awesome. I’m so thrilled that you have such great support around you. I’m sure Jesse got to see your role as mom and teacher in a whole new perspective. And how great for the kids to have that special time with their dad.
I pray that this December will be a true time of blessing and rest for you. I hope you have times of just sitting and enjoying your family and friends.
As always thanks for being so honest about the process. I know this book will be a blessing to many.
Diane says
Congratulations! I’ve loved your other books, and I will eagerly await the publishing of your new one.
Blue says
I’m very proud of you and yours and send you my best wishes for all you accomplish on this journey
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement!
Janet says
Congrats! You are rock’in awesome!
Crystal Paine says
Thank you so much for your kind encouragement!
Angie D says
Awesome Crystal!! You ARE crazy woman, but you are done! Yipee!!!! I can’t wait to read it!! I’m so excited that Jesse is rocking the homeschooling! What a blessing to see him own that! I’m sure your kids are thriving with all the daddy time. May you sleep deeply tonight and be able to soak in December. You are blessed!!
Crystal Paine says
You are such a blessing, friend! And I MISS YOU!!