Three of us -- mothers of college-age children-- pulled together a series of wonderful essays written by parents  about how they felt when their kids left home -- for college, the military, or just because. We had an assortment of contributors: some were published authors, some were our heretofore unpublished friends, and some were first-time writers.  After trying the usual agent/publisher route, we decided that we would do it ourselves. We created a lovely book two years ago, got it on Kindle last year, sell the book through several distributors, and did a lot of local readings when the book first came out. We're happy to see that people are finding it, buying it, and giving it to their friends, neighbors, and family members who are new empty nesters.

We could have given up after the first round of rejections, but we had a vision and were dedicated to getting our book to the folks who needed help making it through the adjustment from full-time parent to "now what?"

Our book is Writin' on Empty: Parents Reveal the Upside, Downside, and Everything in Between When Children Leave the Nest. Co-edited by Joan Cehn, Risa Nye, and Julie Renalds.