"Nate, how's The Dad Book coming along?"
"When are you leaving?"
"Is the book done yet?"
All great questions that I think deserve some answers.
Before I dive into details regarding the progress of The Dad Book, I want to thank everyone who has continued to follow along, donated, and/or connected me with dads who have incredible stories worth sharing. Without you all, The Dad Book would not be where it is today!
With that addressed, let's dive into the details on some of the most frequent questions I'm asked about.
Nate, how's The Dad Book coming along?
For those of you that have followed along from the beginning, you know that on Father's Day 2018 I posted my announcement video online laying out my plan to travel the country to interview a dad in every state. If you haven't seen the video, you can check it out here.
The Dad Book has come a long way from those early days. In the time since posting that announcement video, The Dad Book has:
- Received over $2,500 in donations to help kick start the project.
- Lined up interviews with 20 dads from across the country (including Hawaii!)
- Purchased a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon and ran a competition on social media to name it. Everyone meet, the Dadillac!
Although The Dad Book has seen great progress, I have yet to embark on the trip. My original goal was to leave October 16th, as it would have provided a 2-week buffer between the end of my internship and leaving, allowing me ample time to finalize everything. That date, unfortunately, has come and gone as the Dadillac has been at the mechanic's shop getting a slew of (important!) things fixed. When I say important, I'm talking brakes, door locks, tires, etc. Considering I'll be living out of the Dadillac and traveling the country, brakes and having a way to lock the door seem semi-important ;)
So although I haven't left yet, I could not be happier with the progress The Dad Book continues to make. And yes, I'm disappointed that I missed my original planned date of leaving. But that's all it was. A plan, and plans change. The ability to adapt and "roll with the punches" is all part of the process of creating something worth sharing and I'm happy to keep rolling with the punches. I'm also grateful that there's a mechanic in Kalamazoo who is taking their time to ensure they get the issues with the Dadillac fixed right the first time, and don't leave me stranded in Indiana within the first 24 hours of departure!
When are you leaving?
As I alluded to above, my original plan was to leave in the middle of October. Although I don't have an exact date in mind, the plan is to leave about 2 weeks after getting the Dadillac back. The mechanic has assured me they're close to being done, but I promise if you follow @TheRealDadBook on Facebook or Instagram, you'll be among the first to know when the Dadillac is ready!
Is the book done yet?
I've been asked this by a startling amount of people, which admittedly is a signal that I need to work on posting updates and keeping people informed of the progress. Duly noted.
The book is not done, however, I'm happy to share my insight into my long-term timeline for the book.
Once I get the Dadillac back, I'll be spending 2 weeks renovating the inside of the van, hooking up solar panels (thank you YouTube!haha), and getting used to driving a 30 year old car.
After this 2 week time frame, I will begin what is expected to be a 9 month journey across the United States. I'll be allocating 5 days to each state (5 x 50 = 250 days) knowing that some states will take longer, and some far less. No offense to Indiana, but I'll be interviewing an Amish dad in the morning and be out of the state no less than 5 hours later...
...yea, no thank you LOL.
I'll be writing the book chapter by chapter, state to state, along the way. In talking with other authors, they recommend leaving a 3 to 6 month window to finish editing, polishing, and publishing a book. Based on this time frame, here's an estimated "long-term" look at The Dad Book:
2018: Leave before the end of December
August/September 2019: Conduct final interviews and wrap up the last chapter
September 2019: Begin the process of editing, polishing, and publishing the book
February 2020: The Dad Book is ready to be published
Father's Day 2020: You buy The Dad Book for yourself, your role model, and a Father you know
I've compiled a list of other frequently asked questions and plan to post a daily "mini-blog" next week to address them:
1. Are you going to be working along the way?
2. How have you been finding dads to interview (you won't want to miss this one!)?
3. Where do you plan to sleep?
4. What's your route for the trip?
5. What's your plan for eating?
If you have other questions, I'm happy to talk! Feel free to reach out to me at my email, nate@therealdadbook.com.
Stay tuned for more!