I did the worst thing I could possibly do . . . I counted out exactly how many days I had. 121. That is how many days left between May 29th and publication day, September 27th. And I had a panic attack.
Not just a "Oh my goodness, there are only 121 days left!" Oh no, it was much worse. My body went weak. My stomach churned. I was going to vomit. I quit breathing. I couldn't think of anything but that number just dancing through my mind. One hundred and twenty one days . . .
Everyone told me to just breathe. It was no big deal, that was 121 days left to edit, plan, format, get a cover, make a trailer . . . etc. I had plenty of time, no need to worry. But I was worrying. And I didn't know how to stop it.
Finally I walked away from the computer, took a breather, showered, and came back. And that number was still there floating on the screen. Still there nagging and freaking me out!
So why did I panic? Well let me give you the list!
- That is only 121 to work on a million different things that need to be in order for this book to be publish worthy.
- I wasn't even halfway through editing the book. How was I ever going to have it publish worthy in 121 days?
- I have been working towards publication for seven years. In fact, on September 27th I will have been working for that day for exactly seven years . . . to the day.
- My first book comes out in 121 days!
- In 121 I will be a published author.
- Only 121 days between me and publication, that translates to 121 days until my first book is out there in the world where people can read it, hate it, tear it apart, or love it and give it 5 star reviews.
There were plenty of reasons for me to panic. But luckily I have some pretty amazing friends who helped calm the nerves and got my heartbeat back down to a normal, okay speed.
Am I still nervous? YES! Am I panicking? Not quite so much. Am I pushing the release date back? NO!
There are now 119 days until Only Half Alive is published.
Take it one day at a time and you'll be ready!!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I keep telling myself "I got this!"
DeleteJust think about the party so the panic will go away.
ReplyDeleteWell I have successfully not panicked again. :D I just know that as soon as it gets really close I am going to start freaking out again. *Trying to stay positive*
DeleteGirl, U got this in the bag.Go have urself a glass of wine and enjoy those friends of ur that help U out of Ur panick stage.Good Luck even though U don't need it.PEACE ;')
ReplyDeleteAw thank you so much!!!! <3 I am going to have myself a glass of Dr. Pepper (I don't drink and even if I did, I can't legally yet) :D and I am going to edit like mad!
DeleteThank you so much! :D <3
Dr.Pepper is good than, just enjoy urself!!
ReplyDelete:D Thank you!!! <3
Delete121 days is about 4 months. I did ALL the things you're talking about PLUS wrote the whole book in 4 months! And judging from the speed at which you write, I'm sure you can do all the other things faster than I can too! In some ways, 4 months is barely any time, but in other ways it's a lot of time. For you, it will be exactly the right amount of time :-) YOU CAN DO IT! (and we're all here to help when you can't ;-) )
ReplyDeleteRachel,
DeleteThank you so much for making it seem like a longer time than it feels! :D I really appreciate the help and support!!! Thank you so much!!!! <3 <3 <3