The Ups and Downs of Publishing
As all writers know, drafting an entire book, editing it, moaning over it, fretting over it, and finally publishing it takes forever. When you’re in the weeds, it feels like you will never get out.
And then, one day, it’s all over.
With the click of a finger, the book is published. Gone, out of your hands, off onto its journey into the world and into your readers’ hands.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
And it is. Publishing is very exciting, and it’s something every author dreams of at one point or another. Getting to hold your book in your own hands is so thrilling. (I still have to stare at the print copies sometimes! 
)
But both times I’ve published (Unknown and Unworthy), there was no dramatic rush of joy. I was terrified. Most recently, with Unworthy, I started fretting almost immediately. Had I forgotten something crucial? Had something gone wrong, and I’d copied and pasted something double?
I felt pretty terrible … and that whole night and into the next day, I kept working myself into a tizzy. I remember sitting on the couch reading, and like a crazy author, I began trying to discover a thousand plot holes, tiny mistakes, and the whole gambit.
Yeah, I have problems.
But after a couple days, the initial panic faded. Then the rest of the post-publishing blues happened.
Maybe it was the combination of increasing schoolwork or the final limp across the finish line of the first edits of book #3, but after I published Unworthy, I had no desire to edit. No desire to write.
It was rough.
Even when you’ve achieved your massive goal, moving on from that is super hard. I wasn’t super invested in the characters still, I don’t think (and they show up in like every other book in the series, anyway – poor people), but I just had no desire to work on anything after laboring over Unworthy for so long.
It was weird not to have a desire to keep pushing for those final edits, to eke a few words out here and there. In general, I consistently enjoy writing, and it’s something I look forward to at the end of the day.
But not then.
So I rested.
Maybe you’re in the same place, where your creativity and drive has vanished into thin air. And that happens for many, many reasons – not just publishing. Maybe your life is super busy, or you’re working through trials, or maybe you’re just struggling with writing for no apparent reason.
And that’s when you just have to let yourself take a break and breathe. It’s just part of the whole process … and as many of you know, it’s a gnarly one. Being an author is hard, hard work. There are all sorts of emotional and mental facets of the deal, and it seems these troubles come with every cycle of the publishing process.
So what do we do?
Breathe. Pray. And trust the Lord to get you to the end – in His strength.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
How do you all approach the times in your life when you don’t feel like writing or editing at all? How have you gotten over the post-publishing blues? I’d love to hear from you!
