And the waiting begins...Again

One thing I have personally struggled with is how my writing will be received once the public can see it.

This did not only apply to my first book, The Pride of Central, but also to the stories I have written for newspapers about local sports teams. Is my story clear? Is it engaging? If the local team lost, will readers become angry with me for writing about it?

I have been writing for various local publications since 1996 and these thoughts haven't left me. So it should not be a surprise that as my second book, The Jewelry of Grace, approaches its release date this Friday, I am having the fiction-writer equivalent of these thoughts now.

Does my story structure work? Will readers understand the character's motivations? Can the reader relate to a character whose life may look different from their own?

Of course, there are many things an author can do to put the odds in his or her favor. Research. Editing. Beta readers.

But that is now in the past. At this stage, there is nothing more I can do. The story is what it is. So all I can do is try to appreciate the moment.

Oh sure, I'll be refreshing my publishing pages all day to see how many copies I sell. But whether it's just a handful over the first few days or it's triple digits in the first hour (wishful thinking), I still will have a second novel out for the public.

And now, it is for the public to decide how it feels about The Jewelry of Grace. I've done all I can do, with the help of editors, cover designers and Beta readers, to make it what I envisioned the story to be. But only the readers can decide to buy it, and the readers will have to make their own judgment about what is on the page.

So I'll try to appreciate the moment, the fact that I will be a twice-published author, and at the same time, not miss the other life events that will be happening.

My family has been healthy during the pandemic. Both my wife and I are able to continue working from home. My son will be continuing fourth grade, where he has a 95% or more in all of his classes. It's even my birthday the day after the novel's release.

So there will be a lot to be thankful for no matter how the first few days or first few years of The Jewelry of Grace's publication goes.

But it's still something I never quite get used to.

Next week: Are sales success?