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I still haven't done everything on my list, since I published my book. Partly because I haven't felt motivated to, as my Dad died the same week. Last night I cleared out a few things from my wardrobe. I came across some notebooks with amusing anecdotes from when my son was little. This anecdote keeps playing through my head. 
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Note: this is not legal advice. I was going to write these tips at the end of my previous blog post, You Need to Make Your Will. But as I tend to have a lot to say, I decided to make a fresh blog post. I am a very intuitive and visionary person and I had already thought about this recently, before my Dad died. Yes, I can be melancholic at times. Your writing may or may not endure, if you die. I'll tell you why, as I've learned this in my journey of blogging then writing books. I've set things up, so my heirs inherit my copyrighted works, whether they want to try to make money from them or not.  This antique item from my Dad is one of my precious possessions My Dad died less than a week ago. His death was peaceful yet still a shock. I am glad that I got to know my Dad for fifty years. He gave me this compass forty years ago and also made the little wooden box for it. I wore it as a pendant to the funeral service.  I recently published a memoir. After the intense focus to get it finished, the frustrating parts of the self-publishing process, the triumph after finally achieving some huge goals, I felt down. This tends to happen for me, with accomplishments and it can be exaggerated with bipolar disorder (now managed best I can). I had therapy today and I want to touch on that. I'm now at a stage where I'm more maintaining my mental health, rather than actively processing trauma. Hence moving beyond advocacy.  Still healing from skin cancer surgery The ebook and paperback formats of my memoir, Bipolar Courage: Are You Sure You're Not Autistic? is already live on Amazon (all major platforms), just a few hours of publishing it. I'll link some of the main marketplaces at the end of this blog. There is a free app to read on any device, if you don't have a Kindle (I don't have one). I've included a sample chapter 1 in this blog post, free (I can't get the paragraph indents to align in this blog but they do in the books). It's an unconventional love story, in the world of autism and mental health advocacy. I was aiming to publish it in September, the beginning of a New Zealand Spring. I've done it! (Incredibly challenging with my disabilities).  I did it! Yay! Nearly two years of effort and I have written my third book. Although it's not quite ready yet, to release to the world. Just some final polishing, still underway. It's a huge milestone, at the stage where authors would send to their copyeditor. Only, as an indie author, I am the copyeditor, proof-reader etc (a friend is helping out with the proof-reading). I've already been doing some copy-editing (improving readability etc, yet I want to retain my 'voice'). I'm quietly excited. No big parties, just a quick blog post from my room, which I will follow up with a gluten-free donut and ice-cream (spotted the donuts yesterday and couldn't resist).  I painted this dragonfly a few years ago Just a quick blog post to download some thoughts in my head. I went for a walk today and stopped to take a pic of this bloom. I think it's a magnolia blossom. The buds are fuzzy. It's really important to get some exercise in as self-care, when working on projects like writing books. I have only two more chapters to edit/re-write out of 31 for my memoir. All going well, I'm on track to self-publish it next month. I wanted to include a little bit about why I change my name, in case I edit it out (if I have way more pages than expected when do further formatting).  Winter bloom If you're like me, and your mind either has a gazillion linked ideas, resulting in shutdowns (unable to think, feel, do anything), plus short-term memory impairments, then there are ways to capture things, to use creatively, later. Some ways are journalling and visual arts. I decided to crack open a journal from 2018, specifically with September in mind. To see if there were other reasons I am quite set on publishing my memoir in September 2023 (so far, that is well within reach). September 2018 was when I painted Snowball, who became the cover art for my novel, Pet Purpose: Your Unspoken Voice. The painting helped me to focus on completing my goal. I self-published Pet Purpose in 2021.  Snowball, acrylics on canvas by X. Wyse Been having a few days off from working on my memoir. Mainly because I had a mood crash. I'm trying to avoid talking too much about detail about my mental health on this blog, although I still have struggles, whether I say something, or not. My primary diagnoses are bipolar disorder (type 1) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and I see them as medical conditions, not my entire identity. One of the reasons I moved away from my advocacy as Bipolar Courage, is that I wanted to focus more on my other passionate hobbies, especially to do with creative expression.  Pic from river walk, today (New Zealand) A very talented artist friend asked me if I'd intended for my fire goddess painting to be named 'Devine' rather than 'Divine.' I actually checked back and her name is definitely 'Devine.' She's mentioned in my memoir, now in the polishing stages. I don't want to drastically alter the manuscript, so I've been writing some blog posts with additional linked information, for those interested in my creative process. The memoir I'm currently finalising, is probably way more accurate than a typical memoir, as I've spent a lot of time cross-checking my journals, vlog etc. I decided to cross-check about the origins of why I chose 'Devine.'  Divine Divided, temporary collage from cut-up paintings by X. Wyse |
Xanthe Wyse('Zan-thee Wise'). Archives
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