Scraps; Issue #1. Experiencing Moments of Solitude. Finding the perfect editor. Fixing my teeth.

Welcome to a new format, I’m calling Scraps. It will be a small collection of unrelated ideas, thoughts, and personal anecdotes. Let me know what you want to see more of from me.

Image by Nathan Roberts.

Experiencing Moments of Solitude.

I was lucky enough to be able to see some incredible live music this summer from the moving and nostalgia-inducing performance from Jason Isbell to the electrifying show that Kendrick Lamar put on at Lollapalooza, and most recently the energetic singalong fest from Jimmy Eat World. These have been some unforgettable shows. Yet even as I find myself swaying with the crowd I can’t help but feel somewhat alone. I went to all of these shows on my own, which I don’t mind. I still find the concert-going experience enjoyable when you're alone. But there is something I have been feeling lately, and that is the feeling of isolation. So many of the activities I do on a regular basis are solitary, whether it’s work, exercise, or concerts, when you add them all up it can have a compounding effect. I think part of the reason I have been feeling this is the changing of the season. Summer as usual was spent nonstop with my family, and for that to change within a week as the boys go back to school and Lizzy goes back to teaching can be a lot to adjust to. I hope that as we fall into the routine of the school year I will adjust and feel less isolated. I know I’m not the only one who feels like this sometimes, and I take comfort in that.

Finding an editor.

I am on the hunt for an editor for my upcoming novel. I am feeling a bit at a loss in the whole process. I have always imagined the relationship between writer and editor as long-term. Yet how do you go about establishing that in the first place? Is it the luck of the draw to be matched up with someone you gel with? How do you start the conversation and should you do a trial run/sample edits before committing? How much should I be spending on quality work? There are a lot of questions that don’t have easy answers. I am guessing that there we be a lot of communication and a feeling-out process before I feel comfortable committing. I am also torn trying to decide how many rounds of edits I want to go through. It seems like hiring separate developmental, copy and proofreading editors would get expensive fast. I have gone through beta readers and have self-edited a few drafts so I feel fairly confident about where the book is at handing it off to any editor, yet even so, I am nervous to dip my toe into the process.

Fixing my teeth.

I am going on month six of a seven-month invisible braces treatment. I always knew that I needed braces, but for some reason didn't get them. Then as an adult, it started to matter to me more. I didn’t like the fact that it made me self-conscious about smiling in photos. I started to notice it more after we had kids, you want to smile when you're taking a picture with them. I was ready for the change to be gradual and luckily I only have a seven-month plan and not a year, but the process now seems to be dragging on. The aligners move my teeth into place in tiny increments each week. Over time you see the results but day to day it seems like you are not making any progress at all. The whole process reminds me of how long change can take to happen. It’s difficult to be patient wanting to see results sooner but when we commit to tiny changes and stick to it every day we will see amazing results. While I know my new smile will be worth the time and money, I want to remember the lesson that big changes come from tiny movements over time.

Let me know what you think of the new format. If you have any advice on what to look for when hiring an editor I would love to hear from you. Drop it in the comments. Thanks for reading!

-Nathan