Gold'n'Books: Now What?

Twenty-eight years

spent writing

spent re-writing

spent writing one

spent overlapping the first with the second

spent overlapping the second with the third.

Seventeen-hundred pages equal three books

with writing and re-writing a million,

a million or more words.

Now what?

Here it is!

Years upon years of inventing

of plotting

of shifting

of moving a comma here

of removing the comma there

of finding a new character

of eliminating an old character

of finding a new location

of returning to an old location

of praying for the help of an agent

of praying for the service of a publisher.

Twenty-eight years

spent writing

spent re-writing

spent looking for an agent

spent looking for a publisher.

Now!

Now all is done.

Now book three

held upon my hand.

Now what?

Experience...

past experience tells me

book readings

book signings,

other than friends that

support me,

other than

the stranger or two

that wanders over,

book readings

books signings useless.

Always a catch,

the agent that will not consider you unless published,

the publisher that will not look at you unless you’ve an agent,

the city newspaper that will not review you unless a million copies sold.

As a coin of gold:

you look at it,

you heft the weight of it,

you marvel of the beauty of it,

you marvel at the fact that this,

that this ounce of gold you hold

is worth...

is worth it’s weight in gold.

Now what?

As this book I hold in hand,

as the culmination of twenty-eight years of my life,

now what?