A Time to Reflect

I’m tired. There I said it. Late nights, early mornings, lots of missed sleep has been nagging at me lately. Parts of it is because the kiddos are back in school and have decided it would be a good idea to break bones, get sick, and do every possible activity they can at school, but the other part is the preparation it takes when releasing a new book. You’d think once the manuscript was finished being written that the hard work was done, but you’d be wrong. There are promotions to be started, blog tours to do, last minute formatting issues, and a whole host of other things that would bore a person to death.
However, though the process, I’ve learned to love it all. The excitement at watching new authors take their first, tentative step into the world of publishing, and the confidence in those of us who have done this a few times — though to be honest, it’s still scary and nerve wrecking. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get used to the feeling that comes with a new release, but I’m not sure I want to. Maybe it’s best to always be a little anxious and nervous, to fear the reaction from the public when they read your words. No ‘words’ isn’t the right word to use — it’s soul. As writers we put our souls into our books, leaving ourselves exposed and praying for feedback.
As I sit here, having officially released my fourth book of the year, and staring at number five that is in the works, I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the last seven months. So much has changed. I’ve gone from not having a single release, to having four. I’ve learned a lot about the writing process, structure, and grammar. There’s been times when I’ve felt frustrated or stupid when I don’t understand something that someone has been trying to explain to me. Often, I find myself just throwing my hands up in the air and saying screw it all! But then I take a deep breath and try to refocus my attention. Is my writing perfect now? Hell No! But, is any of ours? No, the best we can do is keep trying, keep writing, and keep dreaming.