That’s right. I freaking did.

I’ve wanted to write a book for a couple of years now. A blog is a great thing to have, but the bigger it grows, the less accessible it sometimes becomes: posts are uploaded in no particular order or arrangement, and older content can get lost in the shuffle even if the information in it remains relevant and useful.

My goal was to combine what I’ve learned about skincare with what I’ve learned about how skincare can improve our mental health, creating an ungodly chimera of skincare, self-help, and possibly some off-color and juvenile humor. Me, but in book form, with clear organization and a table of contents and everything. And lots of stuff that isn’t on my blog or in my social media.

As my original proposal says:

They say true beauty comes from within—that inner peace creates an outer glow. What they don’t say (at least not as often) is that the rituals we use to enhance our physical beauty can improve our mental health, too. My book links skincare to self-care culture, giving readers a practical guide to developing their ideal skincare routines and using those routines as a tool to better manage stress, anxiety, and depression.

Late last year, I started talking with a wonderful and amazing literary agent about the idea. What I learned from then until now was that aiming for traditional publication might not be the best route. We had a promising exchange with a major publisher that fell through–beauty books don’t sell well consistently enough to be a safe bet for the kind of publishers that would be able to pay the kind of advances that would make it worth both my time and hers. K-beauty is even more niche.

I went ahead and wrote it anyway, because I do what I want. And then I had a choice.

It wouldn’t be impossible to sell it to a traditional publisher. I could work on my proposal, start making the rounds, and spend months or possibly even longer fighting for it, then, if a publisher picked it up, wait even longer for the manuscript to make its way through the corporate machine before publication.

Or I could publish it myself. It would be more difficult in its own way and still risky. I might not make as much as if I had the patience to go the traditional route, but the book would be out there, and soon. I don’t have the marketing and PR resources of a publishing house, but I can make sure the people who I want to read the book will be aware of it. It’ll be entirely in my control.

Guess which path I chose.

The first draft is done. I’ve taken some time away from it to gain distance and perspective. Now it’s time to edit and design and put it together into the book I’ll be sending out into the world. I’m planning to release it for $9.99 as an Amazon ebook in October of this year, but before then, I’m offering it at a $5 pre-sale price for those of you who already read my blog and/or follow me on social media.

But wait! There’s more!

I couldn’t have written this without the community I’ve found through skincare and AB. I wouldn’t have anything to say, and I wouldn’t have anyone to say it to. So many of you guys have given me your support and told me your stories and become my friends. I would absolutely love to include you in the final phases of this book’s development. I may ask for your personal stories around skincare and mental health and for feedback on design or specific pieces of text. I’d love to make this not just my book, but our book.

You can pre-order by sending $5 to my PayPal.me page and entering your email address in the notes field. I’ll know what it’s for, because no one randomly sends me $5. I need your email address to send you your code to receive your book upon release. I’ll also use that email address to contact you when opportunities to provide feedback come up. If you don’t want to hear from me except with the book code, add “book only” after your email address, and I’ll leave you alone until the book is out!

Pre-orders will be open through the month of September.

I’m so excited to share my book with you guys and I’m so happy that I can. Thank you so much for reading my blog posts, following my Instagram, DMing me, and letting me into your lives. Your support over the last few years has completely changed my life, and I’ll always be grateful for every single one of you.

This is happening. Let’s do this together!