As always, I’d like to begin this week’s progress report by thanking all of you awesome people who’ve followed, liked and/or commented on my blog!

Days Until I Submit My First Book for Official Copyright: 5

No stats, since I’m no longer directly working on my manuscript.

Thoughts?

For the past week or so, I’ve been reading through my final draft to make sure that all edits/proofreads make sense and that I’m finding as few errors as possible. While the technical side of this is going smoothly, I’ve once again fallen into the self-doubt trap.

This is my first book. This is the only book I’ve written to completion. This is the only book I’ve ever taken with me into the world of professional writing. So…why does it feel like I’m still in kindergarten?

Don’t worry, I’m still submitting it for copyright on Wednesday. I’m still going through with publishing it and launching it next June. I promised myself I was going to be a published author by my 30th birthday and come hell or high water, I’ll make that happen.

I know a lot of writers go through this and I know the only real way to combat it is by continuing to move forward and continuing to write. Writing is the great love of my life and that’s fully what I intend to do. But, even with the great loves of our lives, don’t we hit bumps?

Goals for the Coming Week

I’ve pretty much figured out my marketing/launch plan and there’s not a whole lot I can do to prepare for it at this point. It’s too early (not to mention it’s not quite ready) to submit it to review sites. I’m also utilizing this read-through to pull quotes for ads, but I have to wait to create those until I can afford to. What I truly need to do is finish my read-through before Wednesday. I’d like to finalize my dedication, acknowledgments, and author bio so I can try my hand at formatting my own book. I attended a webinar for Kindle Direct Publishing on Tuesday and found out about Kindle Create, a program that helps you format your own book. If I suck, I’ll have it professionally done like I originally intended. If I rock, I save a little money!

Note to Self

I know you’re anxious and overwhelmed right now, but even if it’s not perfect, it’s yours. How many people set out to do what you’ve done and don’t make it? How long have you dreamed of doing this very thing? It’s worth it, Phia.