Working on Book Number Five

By Jim PathFinder Ewing (Nvnehi Awatisgi)
Over my desk is a sign: Read Write Run
That's my mantra these days, as I'm working on Book No. 5.
I don't like to speak much about books I'm writing, so I don't spend the energy so to speak of talking about that which I'm supposed to be writing. But I thought I'd let my regular readers know what's up. Here goes....
BN5 is supposed to be out next fall. A lot of people would say, "Oh, you've got plenty of time." But that's not so, in the book business. In fact, I'm staring at a major deadline just after Bear Dance in November. So, I may disappear for a while, and only appear here and there intermittently.
It all started last year when Spirit abruptly told me: Stop doing long-distance work. I always do as Spirit tells me, so I stopped. Didn't know why I had to stop, just did it. I enjoy doing long-distance healing work for people, and have been doing it for a long time. It also helps pay the bills. Most folks don't know how time-consuming it is. Generally, it takes me three days to a week to care for someone in this way. The "pay" is small compared to the time and effort, more of a side benefit. The interaction with the people is what's important. But Spirit said to stop, so I stopped. (I still treat people hands-on, and teach, do our ceremonies, etc.)

Another Book?
After a while, I started thinking that I'd like to write another book, basically, one that draws on the classes I've taught over the years, the questions people ask that are not covered in the previous books, and areas that maybe aren't very well explored elsewhere. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a good idea to write such a book.
Then, out of the blue, my publisher (at Findhorn Press) wrote and inquired if I had any thoughts about another book. I wrote back my thoughts and he said, great, get started! I did and now have followed through on doing the "paperwork" involved in getting a book out. In the publishing business, an author will fill out a rather lengthy questionnaire called a "Title Evaluation Form." It outlines the proposed book's chapter headings, the subject matter, who might be interested in reading it and why, how it differs from books on the market, how many pages it is, and when it will come out. The publisher adds information about the pricing and other issues, and then it's sent out to all the trade publications, along with the other line-ups publishing houses may have for their catalogs for the next year. 
In other words, it's a "heads up" that Jim PathFinder Ewing has a book coming out next fall, and here's the gist of it, so all you book sellers can order copies in advance to sell. All that's in the works, and promotion of the book will start in a few months. 
Between now and fall 2011, the book will go through several edits and rewrites before it's set to type and distributed. 

Daily Routine
At the moment, I'm still writing and rewriting. My late friend Willie Morris used to say that "great books aren't written, they're rewritten." I'm reminded ofWilliam Faulkner who got so incensed over his editor's handling of his book "Sanctuary" that he said he would burn it rather than see it published. But, posthumously, his unedited version was published and I can say with certainty, without editing, it was incomprehensible to anyone except maybe Faulkner himself. The edited version was a thing of beauty which added tremendously to his body of work that culminated in his winning the 1962 Nobel Prize forLiterature.
Perhaps my goal isn't as lofty as winning a Nobel Prize (to write a book people will read, learn from, and enjoy) but it still has many writes and rewrites to go through. The first editor's edit (outside my hands) will be after Bear Dance, then I'll do some more rewriting into spring; then, it will go through a publisher's read/edit, then perhaps some more rewriting; then, it will be typeset and printed next summer, so it can be distributed literally around the world in the fall.
It's not easy writing a book. That's why I have the Read Write Run to remind me over my desk!
I have my daily routine: First I first do my morning meditation, seeing what the energies are for the day (using the Mayan Calendar). Then, I read The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post and, of course, the local newspaper, The Clarion-Ledger. I post a few items on Twitter(http://twitter.com/reikishaman) that I think are interesting, and check myFacebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-PathFinder-Ewing/19604582873). Then, I call up my book and start adding notes I've written to myself all day, sticking them here and there in the manuscript, and deleting sections and rewriting sections, or putting some items in notes. Sometimes, I'll write three or four pages, then the next day, boil that down to a few paragraphs. 
Then, I go run. I'll run 2, 3 or 4 miles, or actually, run/walk/jog. That gets my head clear and also provides me with more thoughts/ideas to jot down in a little notebook I carry for the next day's work on BN5.
That's my book-writing routine.

'Finish Line' In The Distance
As folks who have read my books know, I'm no Faulkner, or John Grisham either. Unless you're a Grisham, whose every work sells millions of copies, writing books isn't a big moneymaker. That's especially true if you're writing about subjects that aren't mainstream, like Reiki, Shamanism, Energy Medicine and Native American spirituality. It's something of a limited audience (although I do write all my books to appeal to mainstream readers).
Most people who actually write a few books will agree it's an arduous task with little reward, but you do it because you enjoy it, believe you have something to share that people will enjoy, and are accomplishing something important and good in life.
So, just as each I day I go out and run for 2, 3 or 4 miles each day, enjoying the sky and the breeze and the footfalls toward a distant goal, I also write and rewrite at my desk. The "finish line" may not be until next year, but it's the landscape, thoughts and emotions along the way that are the true reward.
I am so grateful to have this opportunity to share my thoughts with people around the globe, and provide something good in their lives. It is wonderful joy to have readers with whom to share ideas.
It is a great blessing, and I thank you!