I've been writing my own books and publishing projects for other authors for over 20 years now. I have a personal tradition of finding a special place and time to celebrate the completion of a major project. The special place was Door County, Wisconsin, and the time, my annual pilgrimage to take in the spectacular fall colors that unfold in early October.
Not just Door County, though, my Mecca for writing, is the famous Leroy's Water Street Coffee in Ephraim in Door County. I do all of my writing in various coffee shops, usually near where I live, but on those special occasions that call for a premium blend location, if I can get to Ephraim, Leroy's is always my first choice.
After a 4-hour drive, when I arrived the writing gods were definitely stirred up. A storm front, more like a cyclone, was moving through the area and the sky was filled with raging, swirling winds and clouds made of fall leaves. Imagine a major snow storm only with leaves instead of huge snowflakes falling and filling the sky. When I got to Leroy's, thankfully they were open, and I found shelter from the storm. The only problem, the barista was planning to close in 30 minutes.
With no time to waste, I began finishing up the last edits to the Hazel Moon manuscript so that I could accomplish my pilgrimage goal, which I managed to accomplish, but then I remembered that a second editor had taken a studied look through the entire manuscript, had a proof copy of the book, and had found a number of areas and words and some grammar that needed attention. So, what's a determined and a touch OCD writer/publisher who needs to finish what he starts to do...what else, resort to bribery, I did!
After ordering a creamy, thick, rich chai latte, and made sure to tip the barista an amount she would take note of. Right before closing I went up to order another chai but this time told her about my 200-mile drive and how I always came to Leroy's to put the finishing touches on a book project. I gave her a business card promoting Hazel Moon and suggest she might be interested in reading it. When I could see she was interested, I pulled out a $20 and asked politely if she would mind staying open a little longer. IT WORKED!!
My next "bribe" involved a challenge asking her to put some latte art on my next coffee drink. Although not practiced in the art, she did make a valiant attempt and I tipped her again for the effort! An hour had passed, all the customers had gone, but I still hadn't completed my task to prepare the Hazel Moon manuscript for printing. While I was finishing up some chapter scene edits, I'd given the barista the proof copy of the book with the editor's edits which I needed to process before I could declare the manuscript DONE!
Desperate, I just came right out and asked if she had the time to assist me by reading the suggested edits so I could process them. The editor had an older copy of the book so I couldn't just open the page and find the paragraph, but what the barista did was to give the lead-in words, show me the edit, I used a "find" tool to get to the location, and within seconds often the edit was executed. There were times when what to do was more ambiguous and the barista, a college student, was more than capable of giving me a useful point of view. Some time later we'd gone through the entire manuscript and my mission was accomplished!!
I titled this blog post, More Hazel Moon Door County Magic, and for me the Magic involved the highly unlikely development that a coffee shop would stay open hours after they intended to close and that the barista and owner were of the frame of mind to honor the artistic intention of my project. But there was more Magic. The barista had a chance meeting with the owner a year or so ago. The Magic of Synchronicity drew them to the same place in Madison, Wisconsin, but their Connection was forged years earlier in the realm of astrology. The barista was born in the same year in the same month and nearly on the same exact day that the owner of Leroy's opened what has become an iconic cafe known around the world located in the scenic small town of Ephraim, Wisconsin in Door County.
The owner was desperate for a barista to help him keep the cafe open during the summer season and as fate would have it, the barista who was willing to set her plans aside and help me, was also touched by the owner's need and relocated to Door County for the tourist season. As far as I am concerned, walking into Leroy's is as close to stepping through the gates of heaven as human beings can come. I might also add that I consider what they both do, provide a cafe and provide the drinks as being among the most honorable professions imaginable.
For any writers out there, I wanted to give you a feel for the passion that often swirls around any creative writing project. For those who write for their own pleasure, there is no plan to make money from their writing. Even for professionals, money is seldom the primary driver behind the process. Most writing projects involve a team who work together applying their gifts to the process and in the process close relationships often form. As is the case with most art forms, only a lucky few generate a substantial income from their creative efforts, but I can tell you from experience that the collaborative process can be more rewarding than any back-end royalties.
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