The Trailer Is Up

Today, I finished editing the trailer for the middle grade book I've been working on with CMA (Children's Media Association) over the past year. The book, Dear Journal, You're Freaking Me Out!, will be available as an e-book next week, but the trailer is up already, at https://youtu.be/ET79JP7lpbE

The book process has been a long one. What started as a set of about twenty individually drafted chapters evolved into a book that somehow had to unite those chapters. What began as a room full of people with different experiences in writing evolved into a room full of co-authors. What started as just an idea is about to become a reality.

Often, when we allow ourselves to try something new, we get a little more than we expected. At the very least, we get a little different than we expected. When I walked into that room of writers the first time, I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. It turned out to be an exercise in flexibility and a lesson in compromise. An invitation to stretch my skills, and a chance to learn from others' talents. Is the product what I expected? I'm not sure. Do we ever really know what to expect?

Early on in the book process, each of us joined a committee to work on the different non-writing parts of the endeavor. Given my TV background, it was, I suppose, natural for me to end up on the trailer committee. Yet, there were moments when I wondered how my background would really translate. Today, I understood. As the edited trailer came together, I felt lucky to be able to use my skills in a new format. I was reminded of the "try something different" approach that has helped me grow as an editor. And I discovered a new appreciation for collaboration--in this case, a collaboration that brought together carefully researched period props and costumes (thanks to my video team collaborators), eager, yet patient kids (shooting can take time), and all of our combined talents and experiences to create a tiny story that will be a worthy introduction to the book.

Sometimes, when you start something, you don't know what to expect. Today, I am excited to say that, expected or not, the trailer is up.