So, what’s it like being a published author? Well the first couple of days, it felt like I was trying to nail Jello to a tree. It was sheer insanity. The first day, I was told by other author friends that it would most likely take Barnes and Noble a couple of days to get my book online, but Amazon would be pretty quick. In my case, Barnes and Noble had it up there bright and early, and Amazon took until almost midnight, my time, which is in the Mountain time zone. Talk about anxiety! My son had a doctor’s appointment with a specialist in another city, so it was a four hour chunk of the day, and I was checking my phone like a crazy person. Good thing the doctor knows me, and knows that I’m normally not such a spaced out mom.

Things did not slow down until at least day three. There were blog tour dates to arrange, and I was still trying to get my website up and running, and every person I know wanted to talk with me about the book, and it was all very exciting and fun. Meanwhile, my other son had to go to the orthodontist (also in another city – because we live in a tiny town).

By about day four, I was completely exhausted. But very, very happy. I can not believe the overwhelming amount of support that came pouring in from every corner of my life. Thank you.

This adventure has been seven years in the making. I started writing my book by hand in a notebook in 2008. I didn’t know anything about writing then. I just knew that I needed an outlet. After I had a few chapters which I knew had potential, I started doing the real work. I studied a lot. I met other writers. I accepted lots of critique, and I learned how to critique others. I learned a lot about what it takes to write a whole book, what it takes to find an agent (should you want one) or a publisher (again, should you want one). I did not look into self-publishing, because I never intended to do that. I just need more guidance than that on the business end. I wrote the whole book, then re-wrote it twice, and I did at least 15 edits (conservatively), but maybe as many as 25 or 30 — I honestly have no idea. Four edits alone were for my publisher.

In the last week, I’ve had a lot of friends come to me and ask me how to do it, and that’s my basic advice. Just start. Don’t worry that you don’t know how — yet. Write. Write every day. Then seek out others who do the same and become part of the communities that are out there. In those communities, you can ask your questions one by one as you have them. Spend time studying English in a serious way, but don’t be a snob about it. You want people to like you, and not everyone has this talent, so don’t judge. We all have different talents. I can barely sew a straight line, and I hate it when people judge me for not being a good homemaker. I always say I can’t cook or do crafts, but I can put in an IV or write a book, so there’s that. Study the art of storytelling, which is just as important as the mechanics. There are a lot of books that will help you do this, like a whole section at the public library, probably. Read them. Also, read the kind of book you want to write. Read lots of that kind of book. And read the kind of book you don’t want to write. And everything in-between. You should always be reading something. This is a form of studying, trust me.

So, my adventure continues. I’m trying to pull the strings together to write my next book, and I’m finding more and more time to work on it again.

Thank you, friends and fans for an excellent opening week. It has been unforgettable!