I feel a mix of excitement, trepidation, and relief.
I spent a couple years writing, rewriting, and editing Wake Unto Me, and I’ve spent the last several months sending ARCs to bloggers, answering interview questions, scheduling book signings, and trying to come up with clever ways to get attention for the book. Writing and releasing a book is like planning a party or a trip: you expend lots of effort trying to get everything in order and trying to make the event the best it can possibly be, but at a certain point there’s nothing more that you can do. You’ve done all you can, and the time has come to release all control over what is going to happen.
That’s how I’m feeling now: I’ve done all I can to make the book the best book it could be, and to give it a great sendoff into the world. Now I can only watch, and hope. There’s a feeling of powerlessness and trepidation with that, but also a sense of freedom and relief. Whatever happens, I know I did my best.
(4/12/11)
To my surprise, my efforts to give Wake Unto Me a solid push into the world have not slowed down. If anything, they feel more intense, given that I’ve been going to book signings. Real world interactions leave a vivid impression, and I’m enjoying hearing people’s voices, and watching their expressions as we talk. It’s a little surreal, too, to be the one on the ‘author’ side of the signing table; I only wish I was better at letting people know how much it means to me that they came to see me, or bought my book. Meeting a reader is the ultimate payoff for all the work that went into writing Wake Unto Me.
At the end of the month I’ll be taking off on a research trip to Central America for three weeks. The trip will force me to unplug from the internet and my promo efforts, and get back to writing... Which is good, because heaven knows I haven’t been able to pull the plug myself.
Reviews for Wake Unto Me
Tales of a Ravenous Reader
The Book Scout
Presenting Lenore
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