Post-Book Release Nerves

Releasing a book into the world after slaving over it for months can be joyous, stressful, nerve-wracking. (Feel free to insert other adjectives.) In addition to the emotions, a multitude of questions fill my mind. Will readers like my story? Will I sell ANY copies?

There’s a reason I’m keeping my day job. Year after year since I started in 2012, I’ve never been in the black. Translation, my costs far outpace my earnings.

Consider this:  An ebook sold at Amazon for $0.99 will earn a royalty rate of 35%. That’s 35 cents to the author. 35 cents! A book at and above $2.99 earns a royalty rate of 70%. At $2.99 that’s $2.09 to the author.

There are authors out there who do really well, have found their niche and their “tribe.” Can earn out what they put into a book (time, cover design, the full spectrum of editing, promotions, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears plus hungry kids and burnt food, lol). I’m not one of those lucky authors. This year alone I’m spending a third of my budget on the upkeep of my website. A third will be spent on editing. A third on covers. And the last ten percent will be used to promote my backlist.

If writing and publishing is time consuming, costly, and an emotional roller coaster ride (one star ratings, anyone?), why am I still in this seven years later?

One reason. I love to write. To tell a story. To engage the creative side of my brain. I love to see the product from beginning to end. It’s the pride of ownership and accomplishment. The joy of getting the voices of my characters out of my head and into a finished book.

Speaking of finished book, I wrote “The End” to Kissing Game, the second book in my Kiss Starter series. And last night, in my excitement to get started on Nora Ever After, I revisited one of my shelved work-in-progresses. The result? Another story percolating in my head. I love Dumas and Dumas University so much in my Kiss Starter series, I’ll be writing an offshoot book. You heard it here first. The title is set. I’ve written the blurb. Picked a cover. And have decided on names.

More to come in the next couple of months including the cover reveal.

 So what’s the best way to handle post-book release nerves? Take a break. Catch up on sleep. Celebrate with a massage or a pedi. Go for long walks. Garden. Read. Listen to music. Brush the dogs. They’ll love you for it and it really is relaxing and therapeutic. Then be ready to start on the next book!