I’ve been working on Grace for the Good Girl in some form for the last 31 months. There are roughly six weeks before release. I’m in the midst of the last 5-ish percent of the work it takes to get a book from the mind of a writer into the hands of a reader. And if you compare my publishing journey to that of most people, this has been fairly quick.
The first five percent was hard – admitting I had an idea that I couldn’t shake, accepting the fact that writing it down would be the only way to get it to stop hovering, knowing all odds were against me and putting hands to keyboard anyway. I spent a lot of time seeking permission during those days of that first five percent. I looked around for someone to affirm me and tell me to do it so that I could argue with them and tell them all the reasons why I shouldn’t or couldn’t. It was a dizzying cycle, the fear.
Once I finally launched a full out pursuit of the art and passed the first five percent, things got easier. There were writing days that began gray and lonely only to turn out bright yellow and full of hope, word count met, concepts complete. And that’s how it went, up and down for a while, but still within a reasonable, predicable pattern. The 90 percent in the middle wasn’t a breeze by any stretch — but there was momentum.
Until this last five percent. The book is written, edited, titled, covered, margined, page numbered, and finished. All completely finished. But the work? The work is not yet done. Because this last 5 percent of the work is the deep down, gutteral, horrifying, thrilling work of letting it go, releasing it out of my hands and into yours. It is the work of belief, of knowing that the God who created the earth and the heavens still speaks today, and sometimes he speaks through us.
Because as difficult as it is to start, it could be equally as difficult to say that you are finished. I want to hold on to the loose ends. I want the freedom to make it better. I want to manage outcomes and to ensure that all will be well with me. I think I might want to be God a little bit.
It isn’t just in this, is it? The last days before the wedding are hurried and crazy and wild with anticipation; the last month before she moves into her dorm is filled with worry and angst and excitement and tears all stirred together in the pot of a mama’s heart; the finishing up of anything requires a great deal more resolve than you’ve had to dig for yet. But we are told that our times are in the hands of another, that we are loved everlasting, and that He has already made all things well with us. There is great comfort there, and I keep coming back to that.
I’m so excited for you, Emily. You’ve done it! I can’t wait to get your labor of love in my hands and read the words I know God ordained. Thank you for going for your art.
“I think I might want to be God a little bit.” Oh, that struggle at times wears me out especially when I know His way is so much better than mine.
i simply can’t imagine all the emotion that must come with this process. but as i’ve been telling my girls recently {in relation to some big life changes for us}, God wouldn’t have brought us here if He didn’t have GREAT plans for us.
“there is great comfort there, and i keep coming back to that.” love that and praying my girls “get that” as well.
can’t. wait. to read all 100 percent … or is it 250?
I love this post! I’ve felt that a lot of times – that it’s difficult to say a piece of writing is finished because I want to be able to still make it better. Maybe that’s the good-girl mentality! With Blogs, we do have the luxury that we can go back and edit them.
But it must be exciting to have your first book nearly released? Thanks for writing and sharing your heart.
oh wow. the final 5%. i’m thrilled for you, really i am. i can’t wait to walk into the book store & see this baby of yours right there!
i love that on today’s post you gave me a practical example of how you feel….we’re just a few weeks from savannah moving into her dorm. i’ve spent many a day trying to formulate words in my head of course, i’ve yet to write them down, of why this is such an enormous milestone…
well, back to you. i’m thrilled for you
xoxo
Just what I needed to hear, Emily. In sharing your journey you are touching us just where we need to be touched.
I am in the middle of selling my chiropractic clinic. I’ve had some loose offers but nothing solid. I woke this morning wondering what my part in this is. And I suppose it must be time for me to let it go… let what I built with love and good intentions be nurtured by another. With fear taking a back seat.
So, thank you, once again. And I anxiously await the release of ‘your’ baby.
Blessings!
Let go! Time to cut the umbilical cord and let your new baby start living a life of it’s own–a wonderful life!
finishing – never one of my strong points. i love beginnings and momentum. but finishing….i never thought of it as giving up control….
Oh, Emily, it’s so exciting to read this post. . . it brings tears to my eyes to think of this baby of yours, finally being birthed. Isn’t it funny how we want to guard our masterpieces, hold them close and possibly change them? Yet with our babies, we don’t want to dally–we’d do just about anything to get them OUT of our bellies once that initial incubation period is up. Maybe it’s because we know that we still have 18 years of having them right with us once they’re born. This baby, though–it’ll be born an adult! I’m confident she’ll thrive. She’s ready for the world! And the world needs her so badly.
Thank you for letting God speak through you. You’ve been so faithful to your calling, and I’m proud of you.
Your words today really meet me where I am, working to finish strong in a couple areas of my life. And in some others, we’re still in that starting place. Thank you for the reminder that “He has already made all things well with us.” Amen to that! And I’m excited for your book to be released – keep going strong! Your testimony of God’s grace is a blessing!
Amen!
Can’t wait to read it – I hope it’s available here in Australia! Ah well , there’s always the ‘Net!
Picture me on the sidelines with pom-poms cheering you on!
My small group and I are anxiously awaiting its arrival!! I’m so darn excited for you…and a little for me that I get to read it soon
Emily, I saw you speak at She Speaks this past weekend. You are such a breath of fresh air! I enjoyed hearing your story, it was so encouraging and inspiring. I am looking forward to reading your book when it comes out! I wasn’t a good girl, but I want my daughter to be! : ) Blessings to you as everything as everything is wrapping up with your book! So excited for you!
“Time is in His hands…beginning & the end….How great is our God…”
I identify, oh, how I identify, with the fear involved in the first 5 per cent. When I’ve received nearly all the go-ahead that I’ll ever need, yet I drag my feet, waiting for someone to come along and nudge me one more time, giving me permission to move forward, and “just do it”.
And the letting go?
I think I’m approaching the letting go part in my son’s life, as this will be his senior year, and I know there’s so much to be nailed down before he totters to the edge of the nest.
Great resolve required: indeed.
I so much love how you talk about this–the last 5% (that is actually so much more). The *living* forward part. The *now what* part. The nothing-is-ever-complete part. It’s the trusting part. The trusting that there is purpose beyond just for you. It’s this *thin* place where if a person is really paying attention, she sees how we don’t ever stop needing Him.
I’ve enjoyed reading your journey this past year (or more) and I am looking forward to more. Blessings, Emily.
Emily,
I have already pre-ordered you book from Amazon. I am so excited for you! I know where you are. I too, am about six weeks from the release of a book, A String of Pearls. After years of crafting and creating what has been resonating in my mind, can cause me to feel like it is mine. The truth is, though it may sound like some of my expressions, it was never really my idea, or mine to keep. He is the creator all.
I love the way you express what Christ has put into your heart. Your writing reminds me of a cool breeze on a hot summer day. It refreshens me.
Bless you
oh how I enjoy your posts. I just know this book will be a treasure, a song to our hearts. Keep listening for that still small voice!
I can’t imagine how hard that is! This coming from the girl who has a terrible habit of going in and fixing blog posts two hours after they’ve been posted…
I’ve just launched into that 90%. I can’t imagine the final 5%, given how nervous I am sharing just the beginning of my novel with others. Thank you for sharing this part of the process, Emily. I take such comfort and encouragement from your words.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. Letting go is so difficult no matter the circumstances. What helps me is the image of an open palm. Holding all things lightly is one of my favorite sayings and reminds me that letting go is an ongoing process.
So happy for you and the book.
I join the others in the anticipation of finally receiving and reading your book. It will be all the more precious knowing the struggle you’ve gone through to release it to us.
I’m sure the release, the letting go, is difficult…but I am so excited for you that it’s almost here. And I can’t wait to read it! : )
I am standing on tip-toe, looking forward to the release Emily. You somehow always manage to put those things we all struggle with into good words. All will be well. Continued prayer for you and for your family.
See.
See Robin.
See Robin Dance.
For Emily & this last blasted 5%
.
Emily –
Thanks for using this blog to share your life. I’m not sure where I stumbled on it the 1st time, but I felt a sense of calm then and each time since when I read your posts. It’s the first blog I’ve read and feel heard or encouraged by, and I’ve never commented before. Looking so forward to the release of your labors. Thanks for following after God’s heart and sharing. From one good girl to another, we’re ready!
So many are cheering you on! Can’t wait to read what God whispered in your heart.
Turn it loose, you’ve got another fish to fry!
thrilled that you are in the last 5%….
can’t wait to read it and tell all of my friends and family about it….
thanks for the real life examples of how we are all in the last 5% of something…..
and for the truths of your last sentence in the post. …it’s what makes the last 5% doable for any of us.
“But we are told that our times are in the hands of another, that we are loved everlasting, and that He has already made all things well with us. There is great comfort there, and I keep coming back to that.”
let go already! I’ve pre-ordered and waiting patiently!
I can’t wait to read it! I met you at she speaks this weekend and appreciate your words of wisdom. If you are doing a blog tour, I’d be happy to share your book! Thanks for being faithful and giving those behind you hope!
When you are ready to let go . . . . we will receive it with joy (and grace).
Fondly,
Glenda
Prayed for you just now, friend.
Your book is the first I’ve ever pre-ordered months ahead of time. I love your writing and I just know God’s going to use your words to speak to so many of us “Good Girls”. Thanks for what you do!
Well this reader is eagerly awaiting to get her hands on that book.
Hurry up and publish it already, woman! hahaha I wanna read it
If we never let go of our artistic work, never have a time when we can say, “Okay, I know it’s not complete somehow, I know it’s not perfect, but I”m calling it done,” the world would never benefit from our creativity and skill.
Amen! A true concept, beautifully articulated.
Thanks!
Dear Emily,
Thank you for sharing about the last 5%. For me, it feels like many things in my life feel like the last 5%! I can’t wait to hold your book in my hand, and most importantly, experience His work in the depths of my heart and soul where I so need. Kindly pray this for me? (thank you in advance,
)
Blessings to you and family! Thank you for writing this blog and your book. Thank you for sharing your life.
well, i took a break from blog reading this summer and i’m just getting back into it. can’t even explain how much your paragraph #2 is SO ME in this post.
Loved it. beautiful. thank you. oh, and can’t wait to get my hands on it. 
So, so, so looking forward to reading your words, this gift of a book. Thankful you trusted Him enough to follow His call.
letting go is always hard, no matter what. can’t wait to read it… xo
I totally understand, Emily. I just did “the last 5%” for my second book last month. The final moments of letting go were absolutely terrifying. That’s the best word for it. The fear was almost unbearable.
Ultimately, the only thing that got me through it was to keep returning to this thought: I wrote the book the way God told me to write it. I wrote for an audience of one. I couldn’t possibly write it to please people; there is simply no way to make everyone happy, no one to say everything that needed to be said without being misunderstood by someone on the planet. But I wrote the way I knew God wanted it written. That is the thought that will sustain me when I receive push back or criticism. I truly believe the book is honoring and pleasing in His sight, and in the eternal perspective, His opinion is the only one that matters.
I hope that is comforting to you, because I believe you wrote your book the same way. It will accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish, because it’s HIS book, not yours. There is a sweet freedom and rest in that.
It is perfect. As you are perfect in His eyes. You,and many of us, are still the “good girl”. And we can’t let go. You will be fine. Your message will touch hearts all over the world. And He is proud. HE is sure of you&what you have done in His name. And you will come to know that. Let it go and do what He wanted you to do. It is perfect. Love,-s-
Sigghhh. I like sitting with you, listening to your heart. Thank you for sharing.