"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done." -Steven Wright

L: Pebble-bedazzlers, R: less beautiful, more functional replacement

It has come to my attention that a lot of people are wondering what's going on with my book. So here's an update. 

To start, a little hat tip to you for caring about the status of my book. Or maybe even signing up to peer edit it. Or even just reading this post to procrastinate. *Hat tip.* 

And I know you're probably thinking, "Um, Ro, why don't you put your hat back on and send me your book already?!" And that is an excellent question (Someone recently told me that I need to acknowledge questions as good ones before bulldozing into a defensive response). 

To respond, an anecdote:

Over a year ago, an amazing group of employees from my company joined forces to remodel our headquarters in Mountain View. I don't know them personally, but knowing the way my company operates, it was likely a group of top-notch experts in building planning, design, construction, and everything else that goes into a remodel that is beyond my realm of comprehension or expertise. The remodel is not complete, but several new buildings and landscapes have already been unveiled. As is the theme with products of the Silicon Valley in general, beauty was a defining factor in this remodel. 

A facet of this beauty is the focus on small things. The example I'll use here is a decoration that was included on the pathways between buildings. Instead of boring concrete sidewalks, these top-notch experts introduced strips of shiny pebbles along the mid-line of each of our walkways. Essentially, they bedazzled our walkways. And it looked beautiful. 

Fast forward a few months, the "winter" rains that us Bay Areans love so dearly set in. It suddenly didn't matter that these pebble-bedazzlers were beautiful. Now they were a safety hazard. It turns out that pebbles are slippery when wet. And there was an employee outcry (employees at my company are very vocal). 

Despite the time, money, and effort that had been pored into this detailing of our walkways, despite its beauty, despite the inertia that accompanies completing a hard task, the top-notch experts acknowledged a need for change. Pebble-bedazzlers cannot be beautiful when covered by an injured employee who has slipped in the rain (any good designers will tell you about the importance of both beauty and function). 

So now you're probably wondering, "Awesome Ro. In addition to avoiding my question (maybe you should be a politician instead of a writer?!) you have also told me a worthless story about concrete walkways at your company. Now all I want to do is bedazzle a shirt. Also, is your book going to be a 150-page ramble like the one above?"

Answers: No thanks. True. Sweet! Maybe.

I was going somewhere with all of this: I too have been constructing for over a year now. Constructing sentences and chapters and episodes and denouements and all kinds of other literary devices that you last thought about during a high school literature course. The feeling of completing that first draft was beautiful. 

Around the time that I asked for beta readers, I sent my first draft to a small group of people to get some initial thoughts. Long story short, their reactions and some more thinking on my part led me to realize that my book had some pebble-bedazzling, if you will, that needed to be undone. It needed to be reworked to express the message I really want to communicate through my (first) book.

I'm at the tail-end of that reworking process now, after which I'll be doing some editing of my own and with that small group of initial readers (I call them my book-murderers). 

Then, I will be ready for peer editors. Art cannot be forced, but my current forecast is to send the book to you by Mid-April. I'm just looking out for you. It rains a lot in April. I don't want you to slip on a bedazzled draft.

If you have not signed up to peer edit but would are interested in doing so, please send me an email at rohinivibha@gmail.com or sign up here.