What almost 9k Dunkin rewards points says about my writing
BONUS: Chicken sheet pan dinner + the book to get my off of Romantasy Island
This story pretty much sums up my writing:
My oldest guy called one afternoon last week during a break from his job in NYC where he’d just gone to get himself a free coffee.
“Yeah, every time my Dunkin app tells me I earned 500 points, I go get my free coffee,” he said.
“Wait, your app tells you when you earn free stuff?” I asked.
“Mom, yeah,” he said. “There’s like a points section where you can see how many you’ve earned. You can also get things like Munchkins or bagels.”
I put my phone down on my desk and put him on speaker so I could navigate to my own Dunkin app and investigate.
I asked, “How many points again do you need for a free coffee?”
“500.”
“Oh,” I said. “Looks like I have 8,900.”
“Mom!”
Actually, this morning, it’s up to 8,928 since I bought another hot coffee yesterday.
I just don’t understand how to take all those points and make them a donut. Or whatever.
This is how I feel about my writing. I work pretty hard at it, consistently. I get up almost every day of the week before dawn to fiddle with my memoir or come over to the Substack to create a post.
But weeks and months later (okay, YEARS), I don’t really have a lot to show for it.
Much like the daily trips to Dunkin to buy a Medium iced latte (sometimes a Large when I have something to do after work), there’s no real plan involved in my writing. I do it. And do it. And then a little more. But to what end?
I mean, I NEED my coffee. The little caffeine troll who lives inside me tells me that after I finish my lunch every day. “Now, go get a coffee,” it growls in its gravelly little voice inside my head.
At one point, my goal was to be able to support myself writing and quit my job. I’d wave good bye to aligning and syncing with stakeholders and go back to the freelance life.
But now, I don’t know if that’s the case. It turns out, I really like the structure that Corporate America brings to my life. Most every day, it brings me purpose and there are clear goals that we are working toward. There are metrics. KPIs. ROIs. All the jargon that creates a daily sense of mission. And I really love my stakeholders.
I don’t think I’m particularly good at creating that momentum — maybe that urgency — with my side writing.
I had dinner the other night with a friend and over sushi I told her that I’d really love some extra income from selling a book.
“How much would you even get?” she said, spearing a crispy tuna roll between her chopsticks. “Would that even make much of a difference for you financially?”
And she had a point. Books are not big money makers and honestly, the money isn’t truly one of my goals.
When I really think about it, I think Goal #1 would be Saying That I am a Published Author. Goal #2 is Proving I Could Do It. And maybe Goal #3 would be A Reader Saying ‘Me, Too’.”
Honestly, when I first started writing the goals above, my first one was Saying That I Wrote a Book. But I’ve already done that. Like the almost 9,000 Dunkin rewards points, I have over 200 pages of a manuscript saved to my laptop.
I guess the question is: What am I going to do about it?
And I know in my heart what the last part of this is. The part I need to get really okay with. And it’s this: I Am Right Where I Am Supposed to Be.
Farts. Stay tuned.
sunday shares: read + watch + cook + buy
How the real writers do it. This week, I went to hear the very lovely Mary Beth Keane, the author of the new novel The Half Moon, give a reading and chat about her writing process. Keane is the author of Ask Again, Yes and you also might remember her on Jimmy Fallon a couple of years ago when that book was picked as one of the late-night show’s summer reads. Anyway, I’d seen her speak locally on her tour for that book and was reminded this week of how funny and smart she was and how much I’d enjoyed that novel. It also gives me hope once I finish the last 100 pages of this second romantasy series I’ve been plowing through that there’s something a little more substantial waiting for me at the end of this long and crazy Hunky Fae odyssey I’ve been in.
Yup, that happened. Like cringey stories? The ones that make you want to put your fingers in your ears to keep from hearing where you’re afraid the story’s going? You’re in luck. Join me for an evening of stories you just want to STOP while supporting a wonderful organization. Here are the details:
All proceeds from this event benefit Project Write Now’s community outreach programs. Over the last nine years, our community outreach programs have helped more than 100 organizations and 8,700 youth and adults throughout Monmouth County, including Red Bank, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Keansburg, and more.
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: Doors 6 p.m.; Showtime 7 p.m.
Venue: The Vogel at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ.
Tickets: Buy Tickets Now on Ticketmaster
Meals that make me go, meh. My sister and I both made this chicken sheet pan dinner this week. She absolutely loved it and talked about the flavor. I think I overcrowded my sheet pan and steamed the whole thing so it tasted super blah. I leave it to you to decide.
A summary of this week’s post. This TikTok girl gets me.
See you next Sunday. xoAmy
First-time caller, long-time reader: Amy, I LOVE your creative voice and look forward to your posts (& tips) each week. I completely understand the need for structure (and income!) from your day gig, but I hope you keep writing. Please know that your readers & tribe are out here and we're mighty appreciative. [heart]
Love this. Glad to be on this writing journey with you. The other day, I ran to get afternoon lattes from Starbucks from me and my husband and as I navigated in the front door, I spilled one all over my front vestibule. Latte tradegy made worse when I threw my phone down in exasperation and broke it. It was a very expensive afternoon coffee run.