Let me preface this post by saying: Sometimes, I think I’m a crazy lunatic. And I know Mal thinks I’m a crazy lunatic. Actually, I know I am because I agree to stuff like this way too often.
After I wrote my first book, I vowed never to write another one. Writing books just wasn’t my thing.
But then, in late-December, I was approached by a small publishing house in Maine (a connection made through my first book editor) about writing a cookbook about smoothies and juice.
Smoothies and juice?!?
The topic definitely piqued my interest. I love freshly pressed juice, and, ever since I got pregnant (and especially in my first trimester when nothing was appetizing to me), smoothies have been one of my go-to meals and snacks.
After some initial email correspondence, I spoke with the owner of the publishing house about this project and everything sounded great: 100-125 recipes (half smoothies, half juice), an introduction, chapter headings, sidebars, and photos (through Shutterstock). BUT it all had to be finished by January 31, 2014, which was just 5 weeks away. (Holy crap!)
I really wanted to do this book, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle that much work, crammed into 5 weeks, especially while running CNC and writing for Health at the same time. I talked it over with Mal (I’m pretty sure he called me a ‘crazy lunatic’ at this point), and I eventually decided to go for it.
And just 5 short weeks later… 140 recipes, 240 pages, and countless hours sitting in front of my computer, I submitted the first draft of my second book last Friday. It felt amazing, and it was the biggest relief ever. I don’t think I’ve ever been so consumed by a single project in my whole life, but, hopefully, the toughest part is over. For now. Editing is a whole different ball game!
My book is called The Part-Time Vegetarian (PTV) Smoothies and Juices: Boost Your Immune System and Increase Your Energy With a Flexitarian Diet. It will be released on June 10, 2014, but you can pre-order it now!
So that’s that: The time I wrote a book in 5 weeks and lived to tell about it. Crazy. I still can’t believe it.
I really hope you guys decide to check out my book. There are so many delicious recipes in it, and I am so excited to share them with everyone!
120 Comments
So glad it wasn’t later in your pregnancy.. hello swelling!
That is amazing! I just got the Ninja ultima and have been looking for good smoothie and juice recipes. The carrot juice I tried today was awful! Congrats on your book! I can’t imagine your life for the past few weeks!
That is so incredible! Huge congrats!
You go lady!! That is SO awesome! Can’t wait to check it out when it’s released!
First I wanna say I love your blog and it is one of the few I follow religiously! So please don’t hate me for this comment and it’s in no way meant to be mean. I just want to know if your book contains nutrition advice and if so where is the nutrition knowledge behind it coming from? 5 weeks is a short time to fully research the kind of information needed to make the claims that are stated on the front cover. But please correct me if I’m wrong.
That’s awesome, great job! I’ll check it out for sure. Congratulations =)
I am SO excited that you did this. 1. CONGRATS and 2. THANK YOU! I am getting into juicing and smoothies but sometimes lack the “look up something new” urge…so having your book in my kitchen will do the trick! June can’t come fast enough! I do not have a juicer yet though, what would be a good starter machine?
Amazing job! Can’t wait to check it out
congrats, I could never write a book lol.. I cant wait to check out some of the recipes!
I think you’re selling yourself short! You don’t really make me want to read a book that you say you weren’t super qualified to write and rushed in 5 weeks. Good luck!
I don’t think I’m selling myself short at all! I worked my ass off to finish this book, and I am really excited about it!
Congratulations on the book Tina! What a great opportunity. I think this was a pretty smart decision – better to put those 5 hard weeks in now than after Baby H comes.
But damn āĀ¦ some of these comments are passive (and not so passive) aggressive. To be honest, I skimmed the post and only read in detail after checking out some of the comments. Maybe you are aware of this, maybe not but I want to throw this out there simply because not blogging anymore has left me fascinated with the relationship between bloggers and their readers. Going back over the post, like Erin said above, you don’t give yourself much credit for the opportunity to write the book and for the intensity of the work it took to complete it. It seems like this book fell into your lap, even though you didn’t want it there. Also, because there isn’t a lot of detail about the writing process (recipe development, for example), the actual work you did is minimized. In reality, I don’t think either of those are true! You are obviously smart and savvy about your blog and related business choices or you wouldn’t still be doing this successfully after six years. By making it seem like a crazy thing you did, like someone who gets a tattoo or sky dives on a whim, you took away from the role your hard work played in the development of this book. I think that’s maybe part of the reason for the annoyed tone from some. It’s a serious accomplishment to write two books. š
Anyway, congrats again. And you know where to find me if you need a taste tester.
You know you “boosting your immune system” is a completely inaccurate statement, right? Your immune system cannot be improved by food. You cannot increase the number of white blood cells or improve their function. As a health expert I’d expect a slightly more considered slogan for a book cover!