Light at the End of the Tunnel

I completed Round 2 of edits early this morning. This past week, I've had some pretty late nights working on the final draft of my manuscript that will go to print. It's very exciting and quite nerve-wracking. I've loved every moment! I know...I'm a glutton for punishment, as they say.

I've learned quite a bit along the way. The editor who reviewed my manuscript taught me so much! In going through a second time, I caught many things that I wouldn't have before. I'm most grateful to that person.

It's a huge responsibility - putting a book out there. I know I've touched on this in a previous blog, but I feel like it should be said again. Most people in the publishing industry look down on self-publishing. I must admit, when I worked for a national chain bookstore, I did too. Of course, it's becoming more and more popular, but there's still a bit of a stigma. It's the "easy road" to publishing.

While that may be true, it's really hard to put out quality work. Whenever I would receive a rejection from an agent, I'd think, "Well, I'll just use CreateSpace and get this baby into the hands of readers." I imagined myself as the next Amanda Hocking or something. I am so thankful I held out! If my manuscript went to press the way it was, I would have been humiliated. It needed editing - desperately! And even now, it's probably nowhere close to perfect. I still have a lot to learn about writing. But I'm proud of its transformation, and I hope that my readers will appreciate all the work (not just my own!) that has gone into this book.

This experience will also help me in the preparation of future manuscripts. Part of me wants to take a break from reading and writing for a couple of weeks. But the wiser part of me says to hang onto this momentum. I'd also like to be able to release another book pretty quickly on the heels of this one. With having several of them written, it will just be a matter of whipping them into shape - my original intention in having several written before pursuing publishing.

Who knows where this will go? Well, I know Who knows. I love that I don't have to walk this journey alone. I've been praying every day for God to be glorified through this book/series. It's funny - when I started writing, I didn't know which way the series would go, whether it would be mainstream or Christian. There were many reasons that it could go either way. God directed it toward Him. And I am most grateful.