approach | The Paleo Mom

The Best Things in Life are Worth Waiting For…

May 18, 2013 in 2013, The Paleo Approach Excerpts

Well, at least I hope so! I hope that my book is worth waiting for! I also hope that my book is a “best thing”!

By now, if you have pre-ordered my book (and thank you for doing so if you have!!!), you have probably already received an e-mail from amazon letting you know that the expected shipping date has changed. You may have also noticed that I changed the release date in the advertisement on my sidebar. Yes, the book will be coming out a little later than originally planned–the new release date is October 22nd, 2013.

So, what happened?

No one knew when I started this project just how BIG it was going to be. When we set the release date and my deadlines for turning in the material, the book was only a 24-page outline. This is my first book. So, I really had no way to gauge just how many words it would take to explain what I wanted to explain and cover all of the topics I wanted to cover. Okay, yes, starting with a 24-page outline should have been a big clue that this book was going to be encyclopedic in scope, but at no time did I anticipate having a conversation with my publisher about the physical limits of book binding. And my publisher, Victory Belt, who has published most of the best-selling paleo books out there, had no way to anticipate that what I was talking about doing would actually turn into a book of this magnitude. If any of us had known, it probably would have been two books. Or it would have been bound in hardcover and the sticker price would have been double. And, you know what this means? It means that my book is a completely spectacular good deal!

So, what happened is that when we set deadlines and the release date way back when I started this adventure, we were anticipating a book literally a third the size. Victory Belt has never published a book this big with so many different components (or “moving parts” as my publisher likes to call them). We just need more time to edit this beast, pull together all the graphic elements, and make sure that the quality of this book is top notch. For all the time and effort and self sacrifice that I have invested into this book, it’s important to me that we don’t skimp on this process. I want this book to be perfect (yeah, yeah, I know it won’t be perfect and I know typos always get missed, but it’s still a worthy goal). I want this book to help people, to have a real and wide-spread positive impact (and I hope you do too!).

How big is this book? Gargantuan. Think The Paleo Solution, The Paleo Answer and Practical Paleo all in one book, but focused on autoimmune disease. Of course, don’t think this book is just for those with autoimmune diseases because I have gone into details about how foods interact with the gut and the immune system that are broadly applicable to everyone. And I am super proud of my recipes. And my photography, actually (especially given the much lower quality photos I published on the blog when I first started). This book will be useful to anyone who wants to understand how food impacts our health, how lifestyle factors impact our health, and who want a really inventive cookbook too.

Where am I at? I turned in Part 2 of the book and two of the appendices last week (Part 1 was turned in in early April and is already being edited and sent to the graphics design team to start in on the illustrations). AND I turned it in on time! Woot! Parts 1 and 2 together are about 187,000 words. There’s something like 30,000 more words in the appendices and I’m still working on a glossary of terms (there are 1185 references, which comprise about 25,000 words just on their own). I have no way to predict how many words the recipes will add, but I think it’s typically for recipes to add 30-50,000 more words. Just to give you some comparison, Practical Paleo (my favorite paleo resource guide for anyone who is trying to figure out which of the many paleo books out there to buy before mine is available!) was about 90,000 words (including recipes). I am not exaggerating when I use words like gargantuan. And I am not exaggerating when I say that we are still trying to figure out how to format this book so that we can physically bind it (and still be able to read it!). Maybe we should do a special edition next year in hardcover…

In fact, this book is so big that when I went back to edit Parts 1 and 2 before turning them in, I didn’t remember writing a large proportion of what I was editing (I did write it though! Promise!). It was very surreal, reading my own words but without really remembering writing them… like reading someone else’s book but with a déjà vu type feeling of familiarity (ever accidentally read a novel that you read years and years ago but forgot that you read?… feels kinda like that). The cool thing is that this distances me a little from the writing so I can be a little more objective about it (and while I am still clearly biased, I do have to say that what I am reading is pretty darned good!).

I am now in full cookbook mode, which is Part 3 of The Paleo Approach (okay, the glossary is still science mode, but other than that it’s cookbook time). I am writing shopping lists and meal plans, frantically trying to finish a few recipes I really want to include, rephotograph recipes that I developed early on and that the photography is just not up to par, going through thousands of photos, and typing up the 105 plus recipes that are scribbled in three different notebooks (at this point, I am anticipating about 120 recipes in the book). And, I’ve got two weeks to finish.

So, I hope you can be patient with me while I continue to focus most of my energy on finishing this book (the rest goes toward being a wife and mom) rather than creating new content for the blog. And I hope that waiting an extra month for my book won’t seem like too much of a hardship. I am working extremely hard to make sure that it will be worth the wait.

Tags: approach, autoimmune, ballantyne, best, book, date, delay, disease, heal, illness, mom, paleo, Paleolithic, primal, protocol, reason, release, resource, sarah, why
9 Comments »

Thank You for Your Patience

May 2, 2013 in 2013

Ugh. Writing a book while being a full-time stay-at-home mom with young kids, an active blogger and podcaster, and while being focused on healing from an autoimmune disease is hard work! Especially because this book is rapidly entering encyclopedia territory in terms of size and scope.

Not familiar with my book? Click here for more information.

I want to thank all of you for being so patient with me while I frantically try to finish my book. I know I haven’t been posting as frequently on the blog as I did pre-book (and the frequency has been even lower in recent weeks). And it will probably remain low for a couple more months. And for the next two weeks, you might not be hearing from me much at all! Although, I won’t be completely dropping off the face of the planet — I do have some great guest posts, some great recipes of my own, some product reviews, and more teaser excerpts from the book coming soon.

I have about 2 weeks left to finish all of the writing (ack!) and draw sketches of all the medical illustrations, and then two weeks after that to type up the well over 100 recipes (haven’t counted lately, but there’s more than I had initially planned… I think about 120 with about 20 still in development that I may or may not finish on time) and go through all of the recipe photos (huge job). Frankly, I’m not sure how I’m going to finish (but, I will). And when I do finish the writing and recipes, I will be going immediately into the editing phase. Normally, authors get a bit of a break between when they turn in material and start getting edits back from the publisher. I won’t because the first half of the book is already being edited and graphics elements are already being created.

I hear that editing is even more demanding than writing, although frankly, I can’t even imagine how that is possible. I don’t even have a good idea of what this process involves. I know my book will go through at least two editors (and I think it might be three). I know that there will be a lot of back and forth in terms of design elements, the medical illustrations, other graphics and actual edits to the text. I’m hoping that the experience of writing 14 peer-reviewed scientific papers during my time as a medical researcher, as well as writing a PhD thesis, will have helped prepare me for this. After all, how can editing a book possibly be worse than editing a paper published in a top tier journal? Don’t answer that.

This book has taken a toll on my health and on my family. I am stressed. I am not getting enough sleep. I’m not experiencing a flare or anything (phewf!), but I have been very emotional and tend to lose my patience uncharacteristically easily. My kids miss my attention. I miss paying attention to my kids! My husband and I joke that we’ll have to start dating when the book is over so we can get to know each other again. Frankly, I am greatly looking forward to being done with it.

So, where am I at? I have three written chapters left to write (although bits and pieces of two of them are done) and two weeks to write them in (just to compare, Chapters 2 and 3 each took me over two months to write). Two of these chapters should be fairly straight forward (I tackled this book with the hardest parts first, and boy am I ever glad I did!!!). The other will require some research on my part, which means it will be a fair amount of work to finish. I’m at 180K words (granted 15K of that is references and 5K is instructions for illustrations and graphics elements)–not including recipes which are all still just written in notebooks–and we are starting to push the boundaries of what we can physically bind (the backup plan is to go with a slightly lighter weight paper rather than cut out any important information or go with a small font, which I am adamantly against doing). It is unfortunately too late to switch to a hardcover binding… maybe for the revised edition.

I greatly appreciate that so many of you have expressed such excitement over this book. I know you will not be disappointed! The Paleo Approach going to be a tremendous resource and guide and it is definitely a project that I am immensely proud of. Thank you so much to everyone who has pre-ordered (your pre-orders help boost book store orders, so they are very important!). And, thank you so much to everyone who has shared my blog , podcast, and my book with your friends and families. Thank you to everyone following me on facebook, twitter and pinterest. And a VERY BIG thank you to everyone who has donated through PayPal and supported me by linking to amazon from my blog (remember, you don’ t need to buy the item you link from!). This makes such a huge difference for me, I can’t even begin to thank you enough. Every little bit counts.

And, thank you for your patience. I hope that by mid-summer, I will be back to my prolific self on the blog. And hopefully, sooner rather than later, I will back to my normal self at home! And hopefully I will someday look back on this time and feel that it was all worth it.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Pre-Order The Paleo Approach!

Tags: approach, autoimmune, book, disease, illness, paleo, personal, protocol, Stress, teaser, writing
9 Comments »

Burnt Out and Taking a Break (plus our Easter plans)

March 29, 2013 in 2013

The stress will be worth it. This book is coming together really well.

The deadlines for turning in my book are fast approaching. In fact, I promised my publisher that I’d turn in part 1 (which is about half the book) by the end of this month. Er, that’s Sunday! I have hit a point where the stress is definitely getting to me. I’m finding myself very emotional (I’ve been bursting into tears at fairly minor things) and having a harder time with my normal multitasking (I’ve been burning food and forgetting random things a lot lately). I’ve been sick for almost two weeks, getting gradually better, but still not recovering as quickly as normal. Oh, and yesterday I twisted my ankle… setting the table.

I am trying to finish my book on time, make sure this book is the best it can be, still be a good mother and wife and keep on top of my other responsibilities, and survive it. It has been so challenging to carve out time to write while still doing everything else that I need to do. I have been prioritizing 8 hours of sleep every night (although I really need 9) and trying to spend time outside every day. I’ve been skipping yoga classes to create more writing time, although trying to make up for it with a few good walks a week. I am keeping my diet very strict and nutrient-dense and taking fermented cod liver oil (I just started taking unflavored, and while it definitely tastes fishy, it’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be), magnesium supplements, probiotics and digestive enzymes with every meal. I’m hanging in there, but barely. It’s an interesting exercise in dealing with large stress levels and still prioritizing healing. Not an exercise I care to ever repeat though.

Last night my husband said in exasperation “I can’t wait until this book is done!”. It’s surprising that he didn’t curse. But, I think the whole family feels the same way.

So, I’m taking a break for the Easter weekend. Not from the book, because I still have to finish it! But, from also trying to keep up with the blog.

I blogged last year about how we handled Easter in our house. This year is fairly similar. Plastic eggs will be filled with Lego, miniature Hello Kitty figurines, and squinkies (my oldest still loves Lego but my youngest is really into little tiny dolls etc.). Easter pails will be filled with books, stickers, mini doodle-pros, and Easter-themed tic-tac-toe games. I never did make any treats, so I did buy one bag of dark chocolate Easter eggs. Since my kids are used to 80% chocolate, the sugar content of 60% is going to be a huge treat. I probably will send half the bag with my husband to his work to limit the quantity that the Easter Bunny actually leaves. I have no idea what I’m going to cook for dinner. If the weather’s nice enough to barbecue, maybe steak. I think we could all use a good steak.

So, I wish you all a pleasant weekend. I’m hoping that being able to say that the first half of the book is done and turned in will recharge me. And I probably won’t post until part 1 is done.

Also, don’t forget about my two giveaways that I’m running right now:

Giveaway! Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil!

Giveaway! A Caveman X T-shirt!

And please consider entering a cartoon for The Paleo Approach:

Cartoon Competition for The Paleo Approach! DEADLINE EXTENDED

Tags: approach, book, Easter, paleo, Paleolithic
6 Comments »

Cartoon Competition for The Paleo Approach!

March 6, 2013 in 2013

Calling all cartoonists! And all artists, graphics designers, drawers, painters, sketchers, and doodlers! All professionals, hobbyists and amateurs! Calling everyone with a pencil and a piece of paper!

How would you like to have an illustration published in The Paleo Approach?!

Not familiar with The Paleo Approach? See this page for more information.

As I head into the final couple of months of frantic writing and cooking, I am greatly enjoying watching the many elements of my book come together. Even though I often feel overwhelmed with the sheer enormity of this book (I’m not calling it a complete guide for nothing!) and even though the late nights of writing are definitely taking their toll, I feel so positive about this project and am so excited for this fall when I finally get to share all this hard work with all of you.

I have long wanted to include some cartoons in The Paleo Approach. It’s important to me that my book be very visual, in terms of layout and graphics, in terms of medical illustrations to help with the scientific explanations, in terms of my food photography and other photography used throughout the book. I’ve always liked the idea of including some cartoons to help the book feel more casual and approachable, give more visual impact, and just for the fun of it.

I greatly enjoy the little sketches I do for the blog but have realized three things: 1) I am not a cartoonist, 2) I just plain old won’t have the time to draw any cartoons for the book, and 3) I especially won’t have time because I’m not a cartoonist.

But I know that there are tons of talented people out there who would love to contribute to the book!

AND I will send some The Paleo Mom swag to every person whose cartoon gets chosen for the book (heck, I might even send some swag to every one who sends me a cartoon!!)!!

If you are one of them, here is what this competition is all about. Please read carefully.

I am asking you to draw one or more cartoons to be possible illustrations in The Paleo Approach.

Your name and either a website or e-mail address (or neither, if you prefer) will be included as a caption to your illustration(s) if it is chosen (E.g. Illustration by Joe Cartoonist of Joe’s website). You will not be paid for your cartoon. Artwork must be your own and you will be asked to sign a declaration that you are the creator of the artwork, that the artwork is unique, and provide permission for it to be published (you will retain ownership/copyright).

I will select which illustrations I want to include in the book. In the event that I can’t decide between two or more similar cartoons, I may post as a blog post and get my readers to vote for their favorite.

I will endeavor to post all of the entries as a gallery-style blog post or page to share with everyone. Exactly how and when I do this will depend on the number I receive.

Drawings can be black and white, gray-scale or color (and, for example, you can submit the same drawing both as black and white and as full color if you want). Please submit images as jpg (preferred), gif or pdf.

The book is going to be 8.5″x10.75″. It is unlikely that any cartoon will be published as an entire page, but the images should be high enough resolution to allow that flexibility. It is far more likely that the cartoons will be published as 3″x3″ to 3″x4″ so the level of detail in the drawing and size of any writing should be appropriate for that size.

Cartoons should be single illustrations, not comic strip style. They may be square or rectangular.

Please name your file using your last name (you may also include a brief description in the name if you wish).

You can submit as many different cartoons as you would like, even multiple cartoons for the same idea.

You can draw in any style you enjoy or in a style inspired by my sketches for the blog (I don’t have my heart set on stick figures, so no need to be too similar to my style–Actually, I like the idea of having a variety of styles represented). Speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and captions are all acceptable.

At the end of this post is a list of cartoon ideas that I would love to have in the book. Cartoons that meet these descriptions will be the highest priority. But, you may also come up with your own ideas within the theme of the book (diet and lifestyle modifications to manage autoimmune disease), perhaps related to yet slightly different from the ideas below. There is no minimum nor a maximum number of cartoons that I can include. I will simply be picking the ones I like the best, however many that turns out to be.

All cartoons must be submitted by midnight on Sunday, March 24th to be considered.

Please e-mail your submissions to thepaleomommy@gmail.com In the e-mail, please include your name and how you would like to be credited for the illustration (website, e-mail, neither, pen name etc.).

If you have any questions, comment below (because if you have a question, chances are someone else does too) or e-mail me.

Here is the list of cartoon ideas that would be thematic for the book:

Patient explaining symptoms to doctor, and doctor perplexed. The point: autoimmune disease is hard to diagnose. Symptoms that could be listed on a clipboard: headaches, fatigue, joint aches. Or speech bubble “I’m tired all the time and just don’t feel well.” The point: autoimmune disease is typically difficult to diagnose.
Person trying to choose what to eat. Maybe a slice of bread or cupcake versus a steak or some vegetables. Or choosing between low-fat salad dressing and bacon. The point: this book will teach you what to choose. The point: there’s a lot of misinformation out there about what it healthy.
Person meditating, looking relaxed and happy.
Person enjoying walking, sun is shining.
Person doing a crossword or Sudoku. Books beside them. Could also be person solving math equation. The point: exercising your brain is important. Whatever you find fun.
Person having fun (hobby, playing, playing with kids or pets, laughing, board game, etc.)
Person enjoying yoga or swimming or tai chi. The point: activity that also helps control stress.
Person craving sugar or feeling left out at a birthday or both. Addiction. Deprivation.
Person working late or frazzled in traffic, stressed
Person sleeping. Or person trying to sleep but having trouble.
Person holding stomach in pain or about to have bathroom emergency
Person taking handfuls of pills, looking miserable.
Person enjoying sun and/or nature
Person with rash, scratching, going crazy
Person running away from bad food/medications
Person in too much pain to exercise
Person having toddler level temper tantrum in doctor’s office when receiving diagnosis. Or a person grieving over diagnosis.
Person having toddler level temper tantrum that they can’t eat something (cake, or eggs, or something).
Person explaining diet to doctor and doctor being skeptical or disapproving (might need speech/thought bubbles here), like speech bubble “seriously, this diet is working!” and thought bubble “oh here we go again” or “this is crazy”.
Person eating a plate of meat or fish and vegetables looking very happy. Variety.
Person enjoying family time or social time with friends (importance of social networks)
Person eating weird food (enjoying it or looking trepidatious or explaining to someone that it’s actually good)
Some way of emphasizing eating snout to tail. Grass-fed. Farm?
Some way of emphasizing locally grown organic produce. Food quality. Farmer’s market? Farm?
Someone cooking, spending a lot of time in the kitchen, looking happy or looking frazzled.
Someone paying a lot of money for something (meat, vegetables, store, market). For discussion about budget.
Some way of illustration individuality and/or troubleshooting.
Some way of illustrating the importance of gut health. Happy gut = healthy person.
Person healthy and super happy that everything is working and cheering!
A snazzier version of the paleo ducks image from this post http://www.thepaleomom.com/2011/12/what-is-paleolithic-lifestyle.html with the word activity replacing exercise.
A snazzier version of the Science Paleo Mom such as in this post http://www.thepaleomom.com/2011/11/what-about-fat.html