Recently people at work found out that I wrote a book. My boss found out and couldn’t believe it.
She looked at me in shock and asked, “You wrote a book, like a novel? Like people can buy it and read it?”
All I could say in response was, “Yeah, but it’s not that exciting.”
I was kind of lying but I also wasn’t. I was mostly trying to end the conversation, but it wasn’t too far from the truth. The act of writing itself is definitely exciting, getting the idea, formatting it and putting it all on paper, and then having your work out there for people to read. Experiencing the whole process from beginning to end, as nerve wracking as it was, is a very exciting thing.
However, the aftermath of it all is, unfortunately, often very underwhelming. That statement doesn’t apply to everybody of course. For some, the aftermath is full of surprises but for most of us, it just marks the next step because promoting a book is harder, a thousand times harder, than writing one.
I’d say most authors don’t make too big a splash. when they first get started and have to work hard at spreading the word. Many people out there have the wrong idea about publishing. Most authors’ success is small and slow-building, their works rarely become national bestsellers or well-known outside of groups of fans. In many cases, it’s not enough to make a living but all in all, it’s fun and something I wouldn’t trade in for anything else.
Rachel Roth
Comentários