So, my debut novel is happening. Like, really happening. The pre-order is live, the proof copy is on it's way, the review copy is all ready to be sent out to those who sign up to get it. All that is left now is to wait until July 15th. That is harder than it might seem.
I'm extremely excited and things are moving forward smoothly. I have a schedule laid out with plenty of padding and as long as I stay with it, even snags should not hold anything up. The trouble is, things are finishing sooner than expected.
I convince myself that it's okay, daily. I remind myself not to rush it hourly. I holler at myself to do things according to the schedule I laid out, because I made the schedule a long way out for good reason. Extra time to react and repair when things go awry, and they have and will go awry.
That being said, I'm taking some time today to reflect on what it took to get to this point. It's been no easy feat. Anyone that tells you that publishing a book is easy is lying to you. Life happens. When you self publish it's even harder. You don't have a boss or anyone telling you to get up and get things done every day. No one is there to tell you what tasks need to be completed. That all falls on you, the writer, publisher, marketer, and promoter of your book.
I had a lot of obstacles to overcome and push through to get here. I wrote the first draft while over the road in a semi truck on a tablet, in 30 days. I spent days on end with tablet on the steering wheel or sitting in truck stops trying to hit the daily word count. I spent the last day cranking out 25,000 words over 15 hours just to make sure I hit 50k by midnight.
My grandmother died and I found out at her funeral that my mom was pretty sick in the middle of writing the 2nd draft. My son recovered from getting shot but ended up going to prison the day I decided to put the book away for a while. I got diagnosed with a progressive disease that just might kill me before I'm 60 when I actually picked the book up and started working on it again. . I lost a long term relationship, gave up everything, and moved clear across the country to write on the beach, which I have not yet managed to do even once. And I'm now two years past the "I'm 40 now and have yet to do anything with my life" threshold.
Somewhere in between all of that, I had to pull the book release the first time I tried because edits are absolutely necessary. Two weeks before the announced release date, I had to back pedal and pull everything I had done. Interviews, blog posts, a thunderclap. All of it. I even had to track down the 1 person that purchased the ebook via pre-order the moment it was live and tell them they wouldn't be getting the book as they had hoped. It was hard not to just can the entire story at that point.
Instead, at my editor's suggestion, I set it aside and worked on something else for a while. I started and published something new. That was the birth of the Fogoyle Series. I used it to keep my spirits up and maintain some momentum. Almost 4 years and here we are.
I took some time yesterday to really sit down and think through all the obstacles I have had to overcome to make this a reality. It is not my intent to toot my own horn. I'm far too humble for that, but when I look back and see all the hiccups, obstacles, hold ups, and all out fails, it's kind of impressive even to my inner cynical and hard to impress self.
I've never really finished anything of significance in my life. My kids made it to adulthood, but that is about the extent of it . I dropped out of high school, I quit college before I got anywhere near a degree, I've quit every job I've ever had because it just wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. Writing is, was, and always has been what I've wanted to do. Look at me now! This is what a huge amount of determination looks like.
Next Friday I will be holding a legit paperback copy of my own published book in my hand. I did it!!!
