My Debut Novel Release Date Has Come and Gone

Book Giveaway! All First Drafts are Shit – Part 1

My Debut Novel Release Date Has Come and Gone

My debut novel was released yesterday!

And what a crazy day it was.

I was so excited the night before that I couldn’t sleep, so I spent my publication day in half-awake haze. I didn’t even bother getting dressed until the late afternoon.

My author FB page and Twitter were exploding! People messaged me to say that they had bought my book and were excited to read it, or were 9 chapters in already, that they laughed at such and such scene, or that they could “hear my voice” in the main character, Sophie.

It was so surreal.

This is something I wrote in my basement.

And now, lots of people (strangers, even!) are reading it, critiquing it, blogging about it. I wonder when this is going to feel normal!

I ended the day by going out for a fancy dinner with my husband and some of our closest friends. I ate steak and drank wine. The waitress gave us a free chocolate dessert. It was pretty fantastic.

On the drive home, it struck me just how special yesterday was. I plan to write more books. There are more release dates in my future.

But I’ll never experience this again.

I’ll never have another debut novel being published for the first time.

And I’m so thankful that it happened!

I’m thankful for my publisher, my editor, my marketing team, and the countless people who have worked on turning my manuscript (this 440 KB Word document that I tapped away at for six months because I was bored and figured, “Why not?“) into a book.

I’m thankful for the bloggers and reviewers who took the time to talk about me and my debut novel.

I’m thankful for my husband, friends and family and their unwavering support.

A miniature army has come together to turn my dream into a reality.

You have made my release date memorable and special. Thank you.