Baby Boomer Nostalgia Creates Upcoming Book and Career for Author

Baby Boomers and Seniors: If you get a big idea to do something professionally, my advice is to try it.  Especially in these uncertain times, when many of us are uncertain what to do next.

That person was me about two years ago. Not only had I moved from Long Island to Florida to Chicago - clueless about  my personal and professional future - but I wasn't happy running after business clients to advertise in my baby boomer-senior internet magazine, www.MatureResources.org .

In addition, my husband and I had had our own cancer diagnoseses in 2001 (me) and 2005 (him), so we had health issues to contend with.*  There's nothing like a few forks in the road to put your lives in different, complex directions.

In 2009, I got "the business blahs."  I don't recommend feeling empty and bored with your business, especially if you started it from scratch, but it does happen. And if you're unemployed, and not by choice, it's often a worse feeling of failure or negative thinking.

Put on the red light and stop.  Move on to greener pastures, even if you live in a big city!  It is your choice and there's only one person who can change your life.  You know who - you.

My Big Idea

Having been a baby boomer all my life (and not knowing what to call myself next year when I turn 65), I knew if I identified a need or want that baby boomers have and could create a service or product, that would make the start of a good business plan. 

Oddly, I've always been very protective of my high school yearbook, published in 1965.  Even if I didn't know where my car keys were one day, I could always locate my yearbook. Also, I could picture many of the 18-year-olds from memory over 40 years later.  I had many questions about their lives, successes, challenges and simple gossip, of course. Additionally, I questioned if many of my 788 classmates even remembered me.

I didn't understand my fascination with connecting with my past until I realized how popular Facebook, Classmates, and other social media networks were becoming for millions of Americans, and how they brought people from "then" into their lives "now." Many people are nostalgic when they think about our simpler lives "Once Upon Our Times."

When I thought about the Expression, "Once Upon Our Times," I suddenly realized I had part of the title of a book I would write.

Fast-forward 2 or so years. After announcing at my high school's 45th Reunion that I was writing a book featuring some of our East Meadow classmates, I am now re-careering in my mid-60s to becoming one author of Once Upon Our Times (because life isn't a fairy tale): 65 Years Growing Up Baby Boomer.

Along the way, I had the euphoric connection to Cookie Horowitz of Los Angeles.  After I began a Facebook page addressed to my East Meadow High School Classmates of 1965, Cookie wrote me to ask if I needed help. I answered, "plenty."

Cookie's an artist and writer (conveniently), and she stepped into the unexpected role of co-author.  We've been speaking and e-mailing for well over a year, and the book is just weeks away from being self-published.

Oh, by the way, we haven't seen each other in 46 years.  Maybe we'll meet again on a book tour...

Getting a fresh perspective on finding one's "AHA moment" is amazing.  We're learning and writing about the history, fads, culture, clothes, music (etc) of each decade, including amazing and humorous facts we may have learned long ago, and promptly forgotten.  Plus, we've interviewed people across America about their personal experiences on many subjects.

I'm comparing the first baby boomer teenagers, who were satisfied with transistor radios, telephone chat and American Bandstand to the wired teenagers of today - whom it seems difficult to get a word in edge-wise with because of their physical and emotional relationship with their electronic toys and i-whatevers.

Frankly, Cookie and I are so busy planning our "to-do" and "to-write" lists that we don't have time to fret about the small stuff.

Like everything we do, Cookie and I took the risk of foregoing salaries the last year to write the book.  And then we found out how expensive it is to purchase each item necessary for the book (ISBN numbers, codes, graphic designer as we have loads of photos and illustrations across 6.5 decades of American history).  Best, or worst of all, both of us have not invested any monies to get the book published.

Our business model is to raise enough money for the initial first printing and up-front costs through pre-selling the book.  So far, we've pre-sold close to 50 books.  People are excited that we're doing this - classmates from East Meadow as well as people of all ages and areas of the country who are somehow discovering our website, www.onceuponourtimes.com , our Facebook.com/onceuponourtimes page (please "like" us) or our Twitter.com/babyboomerbook (become a fan).

We're thrilled and scared at the same time because we want ONCE UPON OUR TIMES to be a big bestseller - hopefully, by word of mouth and social media.

By the time we're 65 next year, maybe we will have an even bigger, better story to tell.  I'll keep you posted in future blogs.

* Steve and I are both cancer-free now: me-10 year survivor, Steve 5 years. We hope and we cope.