When the Page Goes Live

Last time I talked about the very real fear that grips your heart the first time you push the “publish” button. Man, that was scary. But just as scary, I have found, is the excruciating wait for the first few reviews to trickle in once the page goes live. All those terrifying thoughts that run through your head when you pull the trigger and push the button don’t just stop. Oh, no! They actually play over and over and over in your head, like an old vinyl record that skips. Whispering tauntingly into your ear, jeering and laughing at you. Making you just want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers up over your head until the laughter stops. And I really wish that I had an experienced, seasoned writer that I could go to and ask just one question:  Is it like this every time, with every book? Will I always feel this sense of inadequacy and incompetence? Will I always feel this terrified that what I’ve written might be complete crap? Will I always feel like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, and that I’ll never amount to the writer I envision myself to be?

Ok, so maybe that was more than one question. But if there are any fellow writers out there, please feel free to drop me a line. I would sincerely love to hear from you.