The Reality Behind ‘REALITY CHECK’

I have been putting off this discussion for awhile, and I wanted to wait until after my book came out to explain everything. What a lot of people may not know about me is while I was writing, editing, planning marketing and social media for my first poetry book, I was on unemployment. For over a year! 

Before…

I lost my library assistant job back in March 2021, and I filed for unemployment in April 2021, and began drafting Reality Check that month. After the shock and sadness of losing my job, I decided to use this time off to think about what I really wanted to do in my life. Did I want to be a librarian? Of course, but I had no money to go back to school and get an MLIS (Masters degree in Library and Information Science). My family situation was in a lot of inner turmoil and drama, and my mental health was unraveling during the lockdown. Especially during the lockdown! I needed a light at the end of the tunnel, and writing my little ass off was the only way to do it. 

So I put together a poetry book. A collection filled with poems from Patreon.

After finishing my first draft, I went to Reedsy.com and started sending out briefs and proposals for editors. Luckily, my state New Jersey’s unemployment came with money from the state, so I had a bit of money coming in. For the first half of 2021, I used my unemployment money on editing my book. For the second half of 2021, I used the rest on internal design for the book, the cover and back cover. 

During…

I’d thought my life was over when I had gotten an update from the Unemployment office stating my benefits would be done in September 2021. I’d already stopped gaining money from the state, so I was still relying on my initial unemployment for weekly payments. My book was 75% done, I just still needed to get the design going. But when I’d gotten notice of my unemployment ending, I thought my life was over. I thought, I’m never going to get to write another book again. Reality Check isn’t coming out! 

If you know me, you know I’m a huge worrier. I will worry to death, even when the outcome is good. But then, the clouds parted in October 2021, and I’d got a notice in the mail saying that my unemployment had gotten extended to January 2022!!! Praise God! I could continue to use the rest of the unemployment money to fund the finishing touches on my book. 

During December 2021, however, it was coming towards the end of my unemployment benefits, so I needed a new game plan to officially publish my book. Luckily, I started doing grocery deliveries on Instacart, so I had some “income” coming in.

When the New Year rolled around, it was time for my niece Aniya @AnglesByAniya to start planning our social media photography/promotional run for my book. I’m eternally grateful to her for helping her auntie out! 

Now…

Fast forward to today, and the response of the many people who either bought the book, or saw pages of it, has been the most rewarding and overwhelming experience of my life. I grew up thinking that I could never pull off being a writer, that it wouldn’t work, that no one would read my work. I didn’t have the confidence to express myself through writing. But now that this little creation is out into the world, I’m glad that I put my fears aside and did it.

I share all of this to let anyone know who’s an independent artist, writer, blogger, influencer, whatever, and doesn’t have the money to fund their creativity. You can do it!! It’ll take some time, but you can do it!! 

My debut poetry novel collection Reality Check is out now! Buy on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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