The struggles of writing...

Five years ago, I decided to write a book about reuse, recycling, and the milkman model. Growly was in its early stages and I thought this model could transform the waste & recycling industry. I spent a lot of time working on waste and recycling and I felt like I had something to offer the world.

Before I got busy with Growly, I was making some progress. I put together a book proposal and got an agent (hey Robert...)! But no publisher bought the project. Growly was ramping up and I couldn't find the time to write. I felt guilty but decided that working on the milkman model was more important than writing about it.

Earlier this year I closed Growly. I'd have all this time to write! Right? Or so I thought... Instead, I was trying to stay afloat through gig economy jobs, mostly Lyft.

I started this blog because I wanted to jump-start my work on the book again. I can publish shorter pieces of the same content and it could give me momentum. And if I could build out an audience while doing that - that'd be fantastic!

I published some pieces and to my surprise, got good reactions on Linkedin. Then, my poor little Prius broke down (for the final time). This forced me to buy a new car and work more to afford the car payments. This made writing more difficult.

Now I got a job with Arizona State University working with student entrepreneurs (yeah!). Now I'm more financially secure but working full time is its own excuse not to write. Every book I've read about publishing says, 'Anybody who finishes writing a book has lots of persistence and is a little crazy.'

I'm a little crazy!

I'm writing this not for pity but as an acknowledgment that it's been a struggle. Most of you subscribed to this newsletter are either friends, former Growly customers, or people interested in my reuse analysis. I wanted to say hello and expect more from me in the future!

Thanks.

Daniel Velez