Anxious moments

There are many steps that go into writing and publishing a book and each one comes with its immense joys, tedious labors, and hair-pulling anxiety. Once the idea has germinated and the actual writing is happening, emotions can vary from day to day. At times, it flows so smoothly and the words seem to pour onto the page themselves. Then there are the moments where I re-write a sentence ten times and it still doesn’t sound right. My favorite is the point, where, about two-thirds of the way through a manuscript, I flip back through it and think, “I really hope that after all this time it doesn’t suck.”

Once it’s finished, the editing begins, and continues, and continues, and continues until my eyes are bleeding and I can’t even think about reading it one more time. The next step is to find some poor sucker who is willing to read it. This is where the real anxiety begins because all I can think during this endless time of waiting for feedback is, “I really hope that after all this time it doesn’t suck.”

Finally that person tells me that it doesn’t suck and I’m excited once again to move forward. Next comes more editing, proofreading, editing, formatting, proofreading, and editing. Then comes cover design, marketing, sales, marketing, publicity, marketing, and working to garner some pre-reviews. Finally, after months and/or years comes publishing day. Now it’s public, out there for anybody to read. Talk about anxiety. I really hope that after all this time it doesn’t suck.

If you happen to pick up one of my books and spend some time engrossed in that fictional world, I hope that you enjoy the experience. If you have a moment, drop me a line to let me know what you thought. If you’re ambitious, leave a review (good, bad, or indifferent) at your retailer’s website or on Goodreads.

Most of all, I hope it didn’t suck.