Hello Reader,

At no point over the last two and a half years did I think "I'm so over this!". Even now, as I read through the copyedits, a story that I relive in the book suddenly tugs at my heart, and I think to myself 'These people are incredible!'

In short, I can't get enough of these stories and I hope you'll feel the same when you finally have this book in hand!

Finishing these edits (will they ever be finished?!) from my parents' house in East Germany is giving my a some distance and a different perspective (not to mention the constant flow of caffeine and childcare) on the last eleven years of my career. Anika-from-the-village is quite impressed with Anika 2026.

From the Writing Front

Writing a book was on my wish list since I was fourteen (I wrote my first teenage heartbreak novel in this very house). Yet, writing It takes a Valley was nothing like what I expected:

What I learned

Writing is incredibly lonely. Ecosystem building is a team sport. I had a hard time reconciling the two.

So often over the last two and a half years I wanted to talk things through with my peers, or simply complain about how hard the writing itself felt some days. More than once, I groaned loudly while my head landed on my coffee shop's countertop in frustration.

When there's no one who challenges ideas from a place of first-hand experience, I feel the outputs are not as good as they could be.

It didn't become fun again until five test readers chimed in and we grappled with concepts, ideas and lessons together.

What I'll miss

In that spirit of collaboration, I will miss working with an incredibly dedicated team who have been treating this book like their own: Vika at Visualite Creative for all the custom illustrations and designs, Keith Miller who wrestled my copy into coherent sentences and Gustavo Chacon who is designing the interior book layout for all three formats.

Once I return to work after the summer, I will no longer spend the first two or three ours per day writing a book. Which feels strange. Over the last two years, I became very consistent with my writing practice.

I'm excited to experiment with different ideas to fill these precious hours in my work day with equally rewarding and creative work.

Here are some other things I look forward to:

What I look forward to

I have a list of professional reading that I put off over the last few months so I could entirely focus on my writing, and - honestly - to prevent myself from cramming more content into my book😂

On the work front, I worked with one wonderful client over the last eight month. But post-summer, I look forward to filling my roster with more clients. I redesigned my services to make it easier for clients to work with me:

What's next: Book update

Now that we successfully funded the production of the first print run (woohoo!), the manuscript is with the layout designer who will turn a very long Google Doc into three actual book formats (softcover, hardcover & ebook).

Even though the book is written, the production timeline is a long one:

• now until July 10: Book layout and interior design
• July 13 - July 27: final proofread & edits
• July 28 - August 14: printing
• August 17 - August 31: fulfillment & shipping

I was able to turn on "late pledges" so in case you haven't grabbed your copy yet and want to take advantage of the rewards that come with this campaign, you'll have until July 6 to do so:

How you can get involved

My next big challenge is to get book reviews.

When the book officially launches on September 1, 2026, reviews ensure that lots of people will find out about and trust that this is the book they've been looking for.

If you are one of these awesome people who can commit to writing a review in exchange for an early digital reader copy, please click here:

Early reviewers are people who have pre-ordered the book through the Kickstarter campaign, read the book (digital copy) in four weeks and write a review on Amazon and/or Bookshop.org by September 1, 2026.

Featured event:

Startup Champions Network Summit in Richmond, VA (Sep 29-Oct 1)

In September, Startup Champions Network is convening in Richmond where I got my start in ecosystem building.

! If you join us in Richmond, I would love to invite you to for a private dinner for all the backers of It Takes a Valley.

Bookish

The last two books I've read both take place in the Victorian era of the late 1800s and early 1900s:

• ​The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams: A young girl grows up under the sorting table of the Scriptorium in Oxford, where the first Oxford Dictionary is written (that part if true!). Alongside the Dictionary, she grows into a young woman who defies society's expectations of marriage and family, and instead pursues her own path.
• ​Madame Picasso, Anne Girard. Paris in 1911. Young Eva lands the job of her dreams as a costume maker at Moulin Rouge and before she knows it, she falls in love - and into a passionate affair - with Pablo Picasso. Just started this one, stay tuned.

Shen-Anika-ns

After so many emails about the book and its fundraising campaign (seriously), I'm giving us all a few weeks off while I spend time with my family in Germany.

I'll be back in your inbox in early August. Enjoy your summer!

In camaraderie,

Anika

P.S. Missed my last newsletter? Check out the previous issues of Impact Curator.