Dunkirk, Publishing My First Book and The World Series

Dunkirk, Publishing My First Book and The World Series 

"Well done, lads." an old blind man says to each returning soldier that passes by while handing out blankets.

"All we did is survive." replied the soldier.

"That's enough." the blind man answered back.

That's enough. 

What else do you ever need other than to survive?  Sure we all want more than just to survive. And it feels like we're missing something if we don't have more, but do you really need it. Almost everything we seek is comfort, but when survival becomes the goal you have enough because you have it all.

Survival is victory. It might look glamorous from the outside, but on the inside it's nothing but scraping, clawing, cutting off what you don't need, holding onto what you can and doing your best over and over. There's no excuses left because those are useless. There's no apologies in victory because survival needs no apology. Everything you had to give up to get there is lost. You can't get it back. The victory is simply accomplished by surviving. Staying alive.

This is the story of Dunkirk: The British and French allies lost an entire country to the lightning fast and disorienting style of fighting that the Germans had perfected. So much was lost. Lives, equipment, bases, land, advantage, and hope, but they survived. There were 400,000 English and French soldiers pushed back to the beach with no quick way to leave. They just had to survive somehow and that's all they did. But that's what victory is. Surviving.

The World Series is about to start. The Astros and the Dodgers will be facing off starting Tuesday. They'll play a best of 7 series to find a victor. Both teams have already had to cut players off their roster. They don't need them and can't use them now like they could before. They've sustained injuries, lost command on some of their pitches, they've lost the rhythm of their swing that was so easy to find before, then they're suddenly thrust in front of the best opponent the other league has to offer. They're not the best the league has to offer because they're perfect. They're not the best because they won the most games. They're not unbeatable. They've simply survived. And whichever team survives the longest gets to open bottles of champagne and pour it on their teammates. They get to hoist a beautiful golden trophy. They get to be called 'champion' for the rest of their life, but they don't get any of that unless they simply survive. Survival is victory. 

I just published my first novel called 'The Pod'. I was having a conversation with someone about the struggle of publishing and they told me "You've gotta start somewhere." I was a little offended that my entire journey to this point was 'starting somewhere'. As if this was the start. The ideas that stem from my work didn't just start here at publishing.  It came from a lifetime full of experiences and suddenly I was starting? I'm in the middle of a lifetime of work. I may be closer to the end than a beginning, I have no idea, but I'm not starting out. I spoke to my Mom and Dad about the same struggle and my dad said 'it doesn't matter, you're a published author'. My Dad is right, I am a published author. However this isn't some point of celebration to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly proud of this work, this story and the art all around it. But getting to this point wasn't glamorous. 

I lost a lot during this time. It's hurt my relationships with people, I lost my best friend, I spent far more time with a computer than people, I lost sleep, lost hope, lost most of my money, I'm going to have to sell my house, I've lost drive to get involved in a new project, but I'm here. I survived. 

My editor tore my book to shreds. Said I was too crass, said my book was too long and had too many characters. So back to the book, back to editing, back to making it the best it could be. More time, more money, more loss. Another love in life walked away, but I fixed the story and it's better for it. I tried to get myself a publishing agent. I even hired someone to find me an agent. She refused to help me because my book was an epic. She wouldn't touch poetry because agents wouldn't touch poetry. -A little more hope down the drain. Then before all hope was lost, I met a marketing guy outside a hotel in Austin by chance and he told me I still had options. He relayed that my project was still alive. He connected me with someone that had a game plan for me and so now I'm a published author.

But enough about me. All I did was cut back and survive. I will be fine. This is about 'The Pod'. Will people care enough about it? Will it still be around later? Do people think it's not a real book because it's not printed on paper? Is it good enough? 

I don't need 'The Pod' to be a best seller. I don't need everyone to love it. I don't need to be wealthy from it. I need 'The Pod' to survive. And I don't know how to do that. I can't make it survive.

A few people told me that I needed to see 'Dunkirk' and that I needed to see in the theater. The entire movie is so tense. I don't recall any stretches where I felt like I could relax. I couldn't even bring myself to take a short restroom break. I had to know if these people would make it. 

From start to finish you're watching people survive, but there are also incredibly important people in the story that try to help. That's the beauty of humanity. Some of us see a hand asking for help and there are people out there that will grab that hand. The motivation isn't always known, but the result can be staggering at times. In the movie, a man and two boys cross the English channel in a yacht to go retrieve whoever they can help. They find a mess of men floating and pick up whoever they can. Fire suddenly erupts on the water surface.  At the same time the fire erupts, one of the two boys has grabbed the hand of a swimming soldier that's still in the blazing water. The boat has to flee the fire as the boy and the soldier clasp hands. In a moment where all could have been lost, the boy gives the soldier a hand and drags him up. The soldier survives.

Right now I'm begging you now not to let go of 'The Pod'. The story wants to survive and it needs your help. How can you help? Read it. Give it a chance to become your story. Tell friends and family about it. Give it as a gift. Write a review about it. 

I can only do so much. People aren't going to believe me because I'm selling my own work. I have a conflict of their interest which is their time that they value and they want to know their time is worth it. It is. It's a great story, but I can't prove it. Only you can do that by telling them. They think I'm a liar and I don't lie. So I need you to tell them.

Thanks for your help. I need it.     

"Well done, lads." an old blind man says to each returning soldier that passes by while handing out blankets.

"All we did is survive." replied the soldier.

"That's enough." the blind man answered back.