Fueled by Coffee and Love: The Refill

I am so pleased to announce that Fueled by Coffee and Love: The Refill was published on Thursday, July 26, 2018! It’s been a wild ride, and I’ve learned so much in this process. This book is a true work of heart.

The journey started in February 2017, and Fueled by Coffee and Love was published in July 2017 (read more here). After publication, I heard from quite a few teachers who missed out on the first call for submissions, and that propelled me to start a volume 2.

Challenges and Successes

The biggest challenges with volume 2 was getting this project rolling. There was a lot of initial excitement for the project, however the follow-through was disappointingly slower than I anticipated. I opened the submissions in September 2017, but didn’t end up closing them until April 2018–I kept extending the deadline, hoping for more stories. Honestly, I was overly excited in getting rolling on the next book, and didn’t dedicate enough time to enjoying the success of the first publication.

With The Refill, I felt like I was a stronger leader. I understood the bigger picture of what needed to get done, and was able to better lead our authors and editors. In the editing process, I was more concise with expectations, including a formalized submissions template and more robust editing guidelines. This greatly helped when I compiled all the stories, and we (Aubrey, Marilyn, Cristy, and I) completed final edits.

We did three rounds of editing: primary editors (looked for writing conventions and story focus), secondary editors (clear focus), and me (all of the above). It helped to have many eyes on each story. Thank you editors!

My Story

Some people have asked me if I’m going to submit a story to the book. The short answer is, “I don’t know.” Deep down, I know this book IS my story. I struggle with feeling like I have something to share in the education world, with so many Big Names and Pontificators out there; when I dig deeper, I see that there are so many other teachers in the same boat who feel the same way, and I want to elevate their stories. Putting my heart and soul into this book feels like I am sharing a part of me.

Both books have been self-published through Create Space, Kindle Direct Publishing, and Smashwords. I have used Ray Charbonneau (www.y42k.com) to format the book and get it set up on the online publishing sites. That has been a huge help to me! Since it’s self-published, I know I don’t have nearly as large of a platform as other publishers, and I’m ok with that. I love our authors and I love being directly involved in every step of the process (except the parts Ray does, of course).

So much joy!

It is a huge honor create a platform for teachers to share their stories! My goal is to shine a positive light on the successes and challenges we face in education, each and every day–I can confidently say that I have achieved this goal. Anything I can to do spread their stories, I will pour my heart and soul into making it happen!

I do not keep any of the profits for myself. I donate all proceeds to classrooms and education, mainly through Donors Choose.

One of the best parts of this project has been seeing copies of the book in my friends’ hands! I’ve shared quite a few on the @FBCALbook on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Each time I see one posted, I do a little happy dance!

Get Involved!

1. Buy your copy of Fueled by Coffee and Love: The Refill (and Fueled by Coffee and Love) — remember, all proceeds support classrooms!
2. Follow & share with #FBCALbook on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for highlights and news!
3. Sign up to write and/or edit for future volumes by joining the interest list.
4. Join the FBCALbook mailing list here.

Thank you all for supporting these books and my vision of sharing teachers’ stories!