Writing Marathon: Under the Cover
We’re continuing our brand new Zimmerman Podcast miniseries, Sleeping with a Stranger: Under the Cover. In the next few weeks leading up to the release of my memoir, Sleeping with a Stranger, we’ll be taking a look “under the cover” as I share insider information about the story and process behind my memoir which releases April 7, 2020.
This week Rachel interviewed me about the writing process, and we’re not kidding when we call it a marathon! You’ll hear all about how I wrote this book in the midst of other major projects.
The timeline and plan
After our initial fateful conversation, we both agreed to make this book and speech happen. In order to have the book launched before my speaking engagement, we would need to release it in the early part of 2020. If you know me, you know I had already planned out my year. In October of 2019, my spring was already scheduled.
I learned that in the book world, most books spring released books launch in February, March, or April. I knew we couldn’t be ready by February, so we looked at April. Again, I learned that books launch on Tuesdays (who knew all this?! Not me!) so we scheduled the release for the first Tuesday of the month.
After I had the release date, I worked backward, blocking out the time we’d need for rounds of edits with our editors. This is how I always tackle my goals, big or small! I write down the date I need to accomplish a goal by, and then I work backward.
I knew this was a project I couldn’t do a little at a time. I needed to fully immerse myself and knock it out in one go. So I booked a hotel room at my favorite hotel in downtown Little Rock, the Capital Hotel.
I stayed there for six days and wrote until I was finished, or at least until the rough draft was done at the end of those six days!
The whole time, I pretended I was writing to my best friend Lindsey. I thought, if Lindsey was in jail, in solitary confinement, and all she could do was read this story, how can I tell it in a way that would keep her entertained from beginning to end?
If I thought about someone besides Lindsey reading it, I never would have written it. It’s too personal.
I knew if I was going to finish the book in a week, I’d need some accountability and someone who has some experience, so I flew out my team member Rachel.
I’d later learn that Rachel studied non-fiction creative writing in school, which is exactly what a memoir is! Rachel and I had worked together for ten months at this point, but we’d never met in person! So she left her husband and her babies and met me in Little Rock for a week, and we hunkered down to work on the book.
The marathon
I quickly realized that if I was going to get the whole story out, I needed to talk it out first. I spent the whole first day telling Rachel the story while she recorded and took notes. When it came time to write, I realized we had an issue: I write the way I speak.
I’ll switch from first to second person. Sometimes I can ramble. And since I always come from a place of excellence and wanting to only execute excellent projects, Rachel would go in behind me and reframe and edit the document so it was the best draft it could be.
We shared a google doc, sat in our two queen beds in the hotel room, and we’d keep our heads down until it was time to eat. I’d write a chapter, and Rachel would edit it, then I’d write the next chapter. I wrote it beginning to end, and I finally got the story out.
Once it was all on virtual paper, it was easier to see...Where are the holes? Where do I need to add more to the story? It was comforting to have Rachel in the room. She was my sounding board. I’m not a writer, and if I got stuck, Rachel helped me figure out how to say what I was trying to say.
It also wasn’t easy revisiting this story. There are a lot of painful memories, and I’d never told this whole story from beginning to end before. There were lots of tears and “talking it out.” Rachel was sort of an editor/therapist! And while she was in town, she did go to my therapy appointment with me. She also visited my home, my studio, and my favorite places to eat. Someone who wasn’t familiar with me, my process, or writing, could easily get overwhelmed and want to quit. To hear Rachel’s perspective on the week, make sure you listen to the episode! Writing for six solid days is exhausting and draining.
WE JUST KEPT IN MIND THAT IF WE CAN JUST GET IT OUT AND THEN IT'S DONE, AND WE DON’T EVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN.
I’m very black and white with team members. As an employer I’ve prided myself in not crossing boundaries and keeping my friends separate from my employees. But all of a sudden, my work was talking about my personal life. I had to tell Rachel about about my sex life, therapy, marriage... I would never normally share these things, but it was very natural to share with her and I’m grateful the Lord brought Rachel to me. She’s somehow balanced professionalism and being a safe place.
Rachel reiterated that it was a crazy, intense week of book writing and that we developed a pretty natural, symbiotic relationship. It was a weird, fun, amazing week and we were both ready for a nice long nap after.
I know that this book is so much bigger than me, that I’m supposed to get it out there because at every turn, I’ve had employees who have experience doing what needs to be done for the book.
When I first hired Rachel, it was to help with the newsletter. When I hired her, I just had a good feeling about her, I didn’t really look at her credentials. Come to find out, she has an English degree with a minor in non-fiction creative writing.
My branding expert and website builder, Kathryn? I asked if she’d work on the cover, come to find out that she used to do book covers professionally before she went into business for herself.
When things get tough with this project, I love remembering how perfectly this has been put together, through no work of my own.
Thanks for listening to this episode from our mini series, Under the Cover. Don’t forget you can get book updates and VIP treatment at sleepingwithastranger.com. The book will be available April 7 in stores and online. Thanks for joining my today, I’ll see you next time.
