I had a lovely surprise this weekend when I discovered that my book is up on Goodreads and Amazon! I hadn’t been sure when it was going up, but seeing it on there was magical. Every step of this process towards publication has moved closer and closer to feeling like a real thing that’s going to happen. My book is going to be a thing. People are going to hold it and read it and snuggle it. (Okay, maybe only I will snuggle it.)

Of course, then come those moments of OMG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO READ MY BOOK. It’s thrilling and terrifying at the same time. But that’s a neurotic post for another time.

In the meantime, I’ve updated my book page. Check it out.

Seeing this next step in the journey realized has gotten me thinking about the various paths I’ve seen my friends take down the long road to publication. I feel so blessed to know so many talented authors, some published, some not yet to that point. Some journeys are vastly different, like the difference between indie publishing and traditional publishing. Neither is better or worse. They’re just different. Some more a little more similar, such as publishing with small presses or large, but there are still many differences.

What has really fascinated me is talking with others on the most similar path to my own. (Since that is the only path I have personal experience in.) I’m blessed to be publishing traditionally with a Big 5 publisher. I have several friends in the same position, with different publishers and imprints. And every publisher, every imprint, does things a little differently. Edits come quickly or may take longer. Covers are discussed before edits are finished or after. Marketing, cover reveals, all the planning that goes into getting those books on the shelves (and oh my gracious I had no idea how much goes into this process, it’s incredible!), all are different depending on the press.

This is where that same advice that we’ve heard from the time we were baby queriers comes in.

Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s easy to look at what someone else is doing and compare it to our own journey. To think the path they’re on is better or worse than the one we’re traveling. The thing is, that helps no one. Comparing yourself won’t get you a bump in the editorial line. It won’t make your cover reveal or release date come any sooner. All it will do is cause anxiety and insecurity, which goodness knows writers already have plenty of.

This goes for life too, not just writing world. As long as you’re moving forward, doing what you need to do for your own journey in life or in writing, that has to be good enough. A life lived in a constant state of comparison or envy is exhausting. Eyes forward. Stick to your own goals. Stop worrying so much about what everyone else is doing.

Since I didn’t have a big cover reveal, and in case you didn’t click on the link above, check out my cover and book description below. I can’t wait to share Clara’s story with the world. It’s out AUGUST 9, 2016!

In this powerful psychological suspense debut, when a woman’s life is shattered, she is faced with a devastating question: What if everything she thought was normal and good and true . . . wasn’t?

Clara Lawson is torn from her life in an instant. Without warning, her home is invaded by armed men, and she finds herself separated from her beloved husband and daughters. The last thing her husband yells to her is to say nothing.

In chapters that alternate between past and present, the novel slowly unpeels the layers of Clara’s fractured life. We see her growing up, raised with her sisters by the stern Mama and Papa G, becoming a poised and educated young woman, falling desperately in love with the forbidden son of her adoptive parents. We see her now, sequestered in an institution, questioned by men and women who call her a different name—Diana—and who accuse her husband of unspeakable crimes. As recollections of her past collide with new revelations, Clara must question everything she thought she knew, to come to terms with the truth of her history and to summon the strength to navigate her future.

Amazon

Goodreads