By Leslie Lindsay

Lately, I have been getting a little nervous about the idea of becoming a an author.  I have been so “in the zone” of writing and researching, and trying to find a suitable publisher and now editing that well…I guess I sort of lost track of the fact that all of this hard work will really come to fruit in the form of a book.   It will transform me into “just a mom” to published author.

What, me?  Really?!?  Couldn’t be.  Ah, but it is….

But here’s the thing:  I won’t change.  Nope.  It’s still me.  I didn’t decide to become a writer.  It was just one of those things that happened.  It’s always been a part of me; it wasn’t really a conscious decision.  I wrote because I wanted to learn.  I wrote because I needed more information on how to help my daughter with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), I wrote because I figured if I had questions, then others probably did, too.

So, I get a little bubble of excitement in my tummy when I think of all of the people out there who will read what I have to say.  Will they like it?  Will they think it stinks?  Will I help someone?  (I bet all of the above is correct).

I started thinking about the title, “published author,” and it comes down to this: public authority.  I don’t want to go getting a big head, or anything, but don’t you agree…a little?  A published author becomes a public authority on the subject they just penned?

Wow.  That’s a lot of pressure.

I know this:  I am a writer–published or not–because I love words.  I love to think.  I love to put my thoughts into words.  And that, well, that is something you can’t take away.

Write on!

Coming in early 2012 from Woodbine House, “Speaking of Apraxia: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding and Coping with Childhood Apraxia of Speech” by Leslie Lindsay, R.N., B.S.N.