[gmw]

Someone else to share the stress!

I've just submitted the epub for my first book through BookBaby, it should start appearing on Amazon in a week or so I think (I'll post details in the relevant subforum after the book actually becomes available). I've also submitted a pdf to Lightning Source and I am waiting on the proof. So, ready or not, I've taken the plunge.

But I must say I've found the process stressful. Not difficult. Individually all the bits were easy enough to do, but there's that constant nagging question: Did I miss something?

I guess we all know the answer to that: Almost certainly. But did I miss anything big? (ie. embarrassing to me, or annoying to the reader.) I've had to stop myself from constantly re-opening the epub and pdf files. I've already been through them I don't know how many times. If I missed it before, I'm not going to see it now.

If I had a traditional publisher then, I imagine, many of these stressful final stages would have had someone else's eye over it all to help avoid big blunders. But, as it stands, I have no one else to blame for whatever is wrong with my publication when the reader sees it.

All of that is separate to the question of whether people will like (or even find) my book. That makes me nervous too, but - at the moment - it's whether the mechanics of it all is going to come out right that my mind is obsessing over.

There. That's got some of it off my chest.

Is this reaction normal? ... No, it might be best if you don't answer that. Let's try: Do other writers go through this obsessive worry with the final release of their book?