UPDATED September 28, 2020
Work
Phew. BIG ENOUGH is out in the world and I’m feeling relieved. The launch went well and BIG ENOUGH was a #1 New Release in the small and home-based business category on launch day. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of podcast interviews and writing thank-you cards and sending stickers to people who pre-ordered the book. I will continue to promote the book and soon start advertising campaigns. But the big push is behind me and it feels good.
An activity that I’ve been learning to promote is book reviews. They are an important way for the book to get validation and attention, but people don’t often write them without a reminder. So, I’m taking on the role of “review reminder” and asking people who read the book to review it. I’m feeling more comfortable with it and happy to see the book get nice reviews. Today it has 12 reviews and a 4.9 star rating.
I’m excited to re-focus on Common Craft. Leading up to the book launch, I spent a lot of time optimizing the site and getting it ready for more attention. We’re starting to see a bit more traffic and I’m ready to start making more videos for the library and promotions. I recently built a green screen for more video experiments, especially with the mmhmm.app.
Personal
I am in my second year as a permanent resident of Orcas Island, which is off the coast of Washington State. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t been to Seattle since February and have no current plans to go. We’re very satisfied with staying on the island.
This time of year we spend a lot of time on the water and fishing for Dungeness crabs. We’ve caught over 120 keepers this season and have eaten, frozen and given away all of them.

We are currently building a new house that is over 80% complete. Today, drywall is being hung and siding is being installed on the exterior.
Today we (me, my wife Sachi and our two dogs) live in a 500 square foot guest house over a neighbor’s garage. We hope to move into the new house by the end of 2020. Right now, we think we’ll be here another 2 months at least, making our total stay
My newsletter, Ready for Rain, continues to be a fixture in my life. I publish each week and usually the main subject is a personal story from the Lee LeFever.com blog. You can subscribe here.
Recent issues include:
- Fortified by Fire
- A Story in Video Form
- The Trailer
- Of Dread and Delight
- Did We Get it Right?
- Getting Ready for Primetime
- Just. One. Thing.
- 41 Days From Now
- That Smell
- Cedar, Books, and Boats
- Ready for Rain
- Shaking the Snow Globe
- Sweat Equity
- The Walk
- Inside the Bubble
- Carried Away
- Whooosh
- A Dispatch from the Quarantine
- In an Instant, She Was Gone
- The Moment Everything Changed
- Summoning the Gumption
- 52 Weeks of Change