đŽI Forgot to Put My Name On It
Nov 18, 2025
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When I was in elementary school, I was the kid who didn’t put her name on her paper. I’m sure all my teachers dealt with me on this issue, but Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Driver were especially patient about it. Bless them.
I had a complicated relationship with the tests that these papers usually contained the answers for, and they knew it. I wanted to get them over with. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could move on to the parts of school I liked. I knew my grade wasn’t going to be great. I didn’t think it would be terrible, but it wasn’t going to be 100% gold star either.
At some point in elementary school, I decided that 100% was the goal—and since I had the data that I wasn’t going to get it, I’d just hurry up and turn it in, often without my name.
They so often reminded me: your name is important.
It’s possible they’re both shaking their heads today, just a little.
You see, I just published my third book.
Woot! Yay! Yes! Fist bump.
I submitted it, posted it on Amazon, ordered a copy, and when it arrived… guess what I forgot?
Sigh. Girl, put your name on your book. It's important.
The spine was missing my name.
If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember this post: Press Send—We’ll Fix the Typos Later.
It seems I’m taking that philosophy seriously.
So… I fixed it. Resubmitted. And then finally let my little corner of the world know it was out in the world.
A few days later, I picked it up again and realized it still looked off. I kept looking at it, almost like one of those “spot the difference” puzzles.
Dear Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Driver,
I am so sorry.
I forgot to put my name on the front cover, too.
So, I fixed the cover. Got everything right...
Um. No. I didn't.
It took me several days for me to realize that the table of contents was an old, very outdated version. đ¤Ļâī¸ I'm living proof that if you put something you've put your whole heart into out in the world and it has mistakes, you will survive. So will your message. It also might be worth a few good laughs.
If you purchased one of those early copies, congratulations—you have a first edition. Possibly technically a second, but we’re going to call it a first since no one but me saw the first first.
(Yikes, this is getting complicated.)
It’s not really, though.
I could have made it complicated, or made it mean something about hiding, fear, or perfectionism.
The truth is so much simpler.
I got excited.
I was done.
I was ready to get it out into the world.
It was a totally different energy that when I was a kid with testing anxiety, which is a good thing. And, thanks to years of great coaching, thought work, and grace practice, I didn’t make it mean anything. I laughed, had a beautiful memory of my elementary school teachers, and I fixed it.
I know now that the goal isn’t to get 100%.
This is not a test.
The goal is to keep going.
To keep growing.
To keep learning.
To keep creating.
Even if you forget to put your name on your paper (or your book).
So here’s to my book without my name and to every one of us learning to show up to our work with grace, laughter, and forgiveness for the mistakes we can fix.
I’ll be cheering you on as you practice putting your creations out in the world. Hit respond and tell me what you are creating in your life. Send me all the links and all the photos. Let's celebrate becoming women who create. (Also let me know if it's okay to share it. đ)
You can order all my books on Amazon...
The True Self Trilogy Book 1 â¨Practicing Enough and Book 2 Staying True
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