Writing the Book I Almost Didn't Publish

More than a decade ago, I wrote The Snow Globe, a middle-grade novel about courage, belonging, and discovering strength you didn’t know you had. I wrote it before I had kids, before many of the leadership experiences that now shape my life. For years, the manuscript sat quietly as my life changed around it.

Two years ago, I was ready to self-publish. The book had been edited. The cover was complete. And then someone asked me a single question: Is it your best work? The honest answer forced me to slow down, revisit the story, and give it the time it deserved.

In this episode, I share the long arc of writing The Snow Globe, the decision to wait instead of rushing toward closure, and what finishing well has taught me about leadership, integrity, and honoring creative work — especially at the end of the year.

If you’ve ever carried a project longer than you expected, this episode is an invitation to reflect on what it means to finish with intention.

If you’d like to check out The Snow Globe, you can find it here.

If you’d like to follow along behind the scenes, you can find me on Instagram at @erinpatriciageiger.

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:00):
Announcer,

Erin Geiger (00:10):
hello and welcome back to Clover. If you're
listening during the week, thisepisode comes out. We are in
that quiet stretch at the end ofthe year. The holidays are here,
but the urgency has eased alittle. Meetings are fewer, and
boxes slow down. There's alittle bit more room to think.
I've always felt like this weekinvites a different kind of
honesty, not the loud goalsetting kind, but the quieter

(00:33):
kind, the kind where you noticewhat stayed unfinished, what
kept tugging at you and and whatyou carried with you longer than
you expected. It's kind of likewhere this episode lives. It's a
solo episode, and I want toshare the long story behind my
novel, The snow globe. It's astory I wrote, gosh, more than a
decade ago, before I had kids,before this version of my life

(00:53):
existed, and it's the one Ialmost published before it was
really ready. So I wrote thesnow globe over 10 years ago, at
the time, I was in a completelydifferent season of life. I
wasn't a parent yet. I wasn'trunning the businesses I run
now. I hadn't lived through manyof the leadership moments that
later reshaped how I see courageand responsibility. What I did

(01:14):
have was a story that wouldn'tleave me alone, the snow globe.
It's a middle grade novel. It'swritten for ages nine to 12. So
it's kind of like if you grew uploving Harry Potter, Percy
Jackson, the Land of Stories,you know, the kind of book, I
mean, stories where kids facebig questions and unfamiliar
worlds and Discover Strengththey didn't know they had a lot
of adults love those too. Like,I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but

(01:38):
at its heart, it's a story aboutcourage, belonging and identity,
and without really understandingwhy. At the time I wrote it
about two brothers, that detailfelt like, I don't know,
incidental. Back then, it wasjust part of the story. But then
years later, I became mom to twoboys with the same age
difference as the brothers I'dwritten about. So that
coincidence just feels a littleuncanny. But when I look back

(02:00):
now, it feels like the storyknew something that I didn't
even know yet. So for a longtime, the snow globe just
existed quietly. In my life, themanuscript followed me through
career changes, big decisions,new responsibilities. Sometimes
I'd revisit it, sometimes I'davoid it, but it never really
fully left me. So about twoyears ago, I decided it was time
to stop carrying it around. Ihad the book edited my friend

(02:23):
and truly incredible artist, SidDeb, created a beautiful cover
inspired by my boys. Seeing thatcover for this first time, I
was, like, emotional in a way. Ididn't expect the story suddenly
had a face, right? Had like apresence. It felt close, it felt
real. It felt ready. So then acolleague introduced me to

(02:44):
someone who had experiencedsuccess in both traditional
publishing and self publishing.
I assumed she talked to me abouttimelines or platforms or
marketing, getting it out there,but instead she asked me a
single question, is it your bestwork? I remember the pause that
followed because the answer camequickly in my mind, even if I

(03:06):
didn't want it to and that wasNo, I didn't think the book was
bad. I knew I wanted itpublished because I had been
sitting quietly for years. Iwanted a resolution. I felt like
I wanted closure more than Iwanted excellence, so I was
like, I'm just going to get itout there. So she gently
reminded me that publishingchanges the relationship you

(03:27):
have with your work. Once it'sout there, it's no longer
private. It's not just forfamily and friends. It lives in
public spaces that you don'tcontrol. So then she recommended
a book, save the cat writes anovel. Reading that book changed
everything, not because it gaveme rules, but because it gave me
clarity. It showed me where thestory was thin, where characters

(03:47):
needed more room and whereemotional beats deserved more
care. So instead of rushingforward, I actually stepped
back. I reworked scenes, Ideepened some of the arcs. I let
the story grow up alongside me,I guess, right, I learned to sit
with the discomfort of knowingsomething wasn't finished yet
and trusting that it would bethat process took longer than I

(04:11):
anticipated. Obviously, lifedidn't pause while I rewrote the
book. Kids grew, work expanded,time kept moving, but something
in me shifted during thoseyears, right? Like, I don't know
it's hard to explain, like,Wait, waiting like, no longer
felt like avoidance. It feltmore like integrity, if that
makes sense. So coming back tothe snow globe, as a different

(04:34):
version of myself changed how Iunderstood the story courage
felt less theoretical. Belongingfelt more fragile and more
earned. Strength looked quieterthan I had imagined when I first
wrote it. So finishing the bookreminded me that leadership
doesn't always show up in big,visible moments. Sometimes it

(04:55):
looks like holding yourself to astick. Standard when no one was
asking you to so that question,is it your best work? It
actually followed me into otherareas of my life, not as
pressure, but as a check in away, to slow down long enough to
notice whether I was moving fromurgency or intention. So as this
year comes to a close, I knowmany of us are looking back at

(05:19):
things we started long ago,ideas, we paused, projects that
stayed unfinished longer than weplanned. There's often a lot of
pressure this time of year totie everything up neatly, to
finish fast, to clear the slate,but sometimes finishing well
takes longer than we expect.
Sometimes the work needs moretime and so do we. So for me,

(05:40):
honoring that truth meantwaiting until the snow globe
felt whole, not rushed or dusty,but fully realized. So if
there's something you've beencarrying, a story, a project, a
version of yourself, maybe thisquieter week offers a chance to
revisit it with honesty andcare. So thanks for being here
with me in this reflectivespace. I'll see you next time on

(06:01):
clover, and I will very proudlyadd a link to the snow globe
that has been self published wooin the show notes you.