There’s nothing quite as liberating as typing “The End” at the end of a project (literally or figuratively). When I submitted that final draft of A PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENT and finally had nothing left to do to it, the relief washed over me in a wave. For a few days, I basked in the glory of a truly completed work. I’d written a few novels before that haven’t yet crossed that finish line, so bringing Tessa & Christian’s story to a true close was amazing to experience. It gave me hope for a bright future filled with final edits and published novels.
Then reality hit me square in the gut.
I was done. The manuscript was final, untouchable, ready to be released into the wild. Sure, we authors write books because we expect them to get off the figurative shelf and go out and make new friends. I didn’t create all these imaginary characters so I could sit around letting them have endless conversations in my head. Although that is fun. No, on the contrary, I wrote these characters to tell their story. And to be read, a story has to be written, edited, finalized, and printed.
Still, there’s a certain sense of liberating terror associated with this final step in the process. I’d heard it before from other authors, but never really imagined the true feeling of it. Yikes.
Luckily for me, this panicked feeling is just as temporary as that early relief was. My characters have been set free! And they are making friends out there. Those first purchases are so exhilarating, those first reviews so encouraging (hopefully). Now that I’ve survived once and lived to tell the tale, I think I’ll try it again.
It will soon be time to take my next novel LOVE UNLISTED off the mental shelf and place it on the bookshelf. Yippee! But more on that later…
For now, I’m just so happy to be back in the thick of things. In writing, I really have found my life’s passion. I hope that passion translates into an enjoyable reading experience for everyone who picks up a copy of my book!
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