Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer
Three quick things.
1. A realization: Within the past week, two other writers have recommended me for gigs that I wasn’t aware of/seeking out myself. Both opportunities really are perfect for me. In one case, I’ve already accepted and (more or less) completed the job. In the other, things are looking promising. My point: It was so generous of these other writers to pass along my name, and I am so grateful. Basically, this week I was reminded how much it means to “pay it forward.”
2. An accomplishment of the past week: calculating the last quarter’s sales/earnings from Quiet Americans: Stories, and offering my latest contribution to The Blue Card. I’m so glad that nine years after publication (that’s right—Quiet Americans celebrated another book birthday over the weekend), the sales and thus the donations continue. (For Birthright: Poems, I’ll be receiving sales/royalty info on an annual basis; the first statement should be coming by early February, and that’s when I anticipate being able to make my first book-related contribution to Sefaria.)
3. Something that I’m looking forward to: “visiting” with a group next Monday to discuss my new poetry book. The marvelous Rabbi Lisa Greene has been teaching poems from the book at her synagogue near Chicago, and I’ll be making a virtual appearance at next week’s class session. (Ain’t technology grand!) Preparations are underway.
