Don't Let the Fear of Striking Out Keep You from Being Excited

As I await the publication and subsequent promotion of my latest novel "The River House" I am plagued with the fears and insecurities that inevitably come along with putting yourself out there. What if people hate it?! What if I get bad reviews? What if people think it's too slow, not spicy enough, or predictable?! What if...The what if game is one you can never win. What ifs will tear apart any dream, achievement, or gumption you could muster up. IF you let it.

As I sit here, giving myself a heart-to-heart pep talk, I'm reminded of why the response from others really doesn't matter all that much in the end. Not when it comes to the people who don't enjoy my book anyway. Because, the fact is, no one LOVES every book they read. No book is LOVED by everyone who reads it. Also, it's worth noting, I didn't write this book to please the masses, I wrote this book, first and foremost, for myself to enjoy. And I can thoroughly say that I've enjoyed the whole process.

Publication for me isn't my way of seeking approval, it's my way of bringing this writing journey to an end so that I can start the next one.

In the end, I really do hope that readers love this book. It's a story and characters that I really enjoyed writing and bringing to life. This story grew me in so many ways and I hope that it can reach readers in the same way that it reached me.

Here I am, diving head first into publication again, and I can't wait to see where this journey will take me.