Overwhelmed, empty, and filled with dread about what comes next.

When someone told me that the easiest part of writing a book was the actual writing part, I had to stifle a laugh. I thought they had no idea what they were talking about. I mean, come on! I poured my heart and soul into this book for a year; what could be harder than that?

Turns out, I was wrong, and that person was spot on.

The real challenge begins the moment you type those final words and place that last full stop. It’s all about the editing, the re-reading, the story changes, the backtracking to ensure everything makes sense. The endless re-reads, the feedback from friends, the subsequent edits, and the painstaking process of listening for mistakes, errors, and slip-ups are nothing less than frustrating.  It’s a never-ending cycle of revisions until, finally, I reach a point where I can’t find anything else to tweak.

Then comes the moment of truth.

I step away for a bit, work on the book cover, format the pages, and prepare the blurbs.

Then, I listen to it through my writing programme. Sure, if I had a real voice reading it back to me, it might feel different. But no, I’m stuck with a robotic voice that could put even the most enthusiastic author or reader to sleep. I know the story inside out, the twists and turns are old news to me, and there are no surprises left so the final listen is tough.

The real kicker? Putting it out there for the world to see. Knowing that someone could actually read it, hate it, and essentially trash a year’s worth of hard work. It’s easy to get friends to buy the book, but getting them to actually crack it open and give it a read? That’s a whole other challenge.

And don’t even get me started on marketing. It’s like pulling teeth, only worse.

Right now, I’m listening to book 3 in the series, so it’s almost ready to be left alone until it’s time to publish.

Happy reading folks.

Gwen