When is enough, enough?

Photo by Rennett Stowe via Flickr

I was sat down doing my final read out with my mum and sister, and I was saying how I was looking forward to getting these books finished so as I can get them out and go back to writing again. I don’t want to rush them, but I really want them to be done as the amount of edits are taking so long.

Then my mum asks, ‘Are you just editing and editing so as you don’t have to put them out there?’

‘Of course not, I really want to get them out and into the world,’ I scoffed, gave a nervous laugh and then thought, hm, maybe she’s not so wrong.

Am I just editing, doing a read out, editing some more, doing more read outs, all because of my complete nervousness of putting my work out into the world? Some kind of strange procrastination?

I am excited to get my stories out there for people to read, I am incredibly proud of what I’ve produced and I think they are strong stories that I hope people will enjoy. But they’re still my babies, my babies I know that people will be looking over with a critical eye, and my babies that I know there are some people will not enjoy.

And that is a terrifying thought!

I want people to enjoy my books. I don’t need them to change people’s lives, but I do want people to put down the book and think, ‘Yeah, that was a really good read’. And the longer I put off actually getting my work out there, the more I can convince myself that people will think that :D

I know I’ve talked about being nervous before, but the closer I get to finishing, the worse I get. These are the first books I’ve ever finished, and I put a lot of work and heart into them. It’s scary to know that once they are out there, I have no control over how people view them or what they will think.

But, it’s just another fear I need to overcome. A big one, but one that I will be better for getting over. Yeah, some people may not like them, but others may really enjoy them. How am I going to know unless I put them out there? I’ve got to take the risk to reap the reward.

As I was saying to my mum, part of the worry is that I really want writing to work out as a career for me. I have tried many different things in the past, but writing is something I love with a real passion, and I want to be able to live off of what I produce.

But how will I know until I take the first step.

A career from writing is a very long term plan, and I have got to start somewhere, right?

Saying that, editing is finally drawing to an end and I have only one book left to edit, then it’s just the formatting, blurbs and covers to get up together. The time for the release is really starting to draw near!

Were you nervous about publishing your works? Did you worry what people would think of them? How did you get over those nerves? Any advice?

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Progress Report

Publishing status:

> Stolen- Formatting. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, formatting, marketing).

> The Queen’s Jester- Formatting. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, formatting, marketing).

> Third Manuscript- Final edits. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, formatting, marketing).

May E-Book Review: Book read. Review written.