Pros(e) and cons

Being a perfectionist renders decision-making extremely difficult and that was never more true than when I was working towards publication of my novel. 

Finalising the content was the first major dilemma. My writing group had raised many issues: from simple continuity errors to more subtle questions, such as whether a particular character should show more emotion.

Although I'd made a lot of revisions, I'd chosen to add some points to the 'I'm not sure about this' list that I'd begun following initial feedback from agents and other writing professionals. 

Ahead of every redraft, I reviewed this list and ummed and ahhed about which of the advice to adopt. Input from others can leave any writer confused; given my personality type, I felt as if I was drowning in a sea of uncertainty.

Submitting the final manuscript to the publishers wasn't the end of my tribulations. I still had to draft acknowledgements, an author biography and back cover 'blurb', and agree the cover design. I sought guidance from friends and fellow writers, which only led to more confusion, as conflicting advice streamed into my inbox.

Now that my novel is in print, of course, all of the decisions I made along the way - whether right or wrong - are irreversible. My problems still aren't over, however, as new challenges have emerged. 

Over the last few months, I've focussed on promoting my book and have quickly discovered that putting yourself out there means giving up a degree of control.

While I was gratified that one newspaper had run my press release word for word, I was dismayed to see that an advertisement had obliterated the last line of each column of the article; the flaw niggled at me for days.

Another piece was based on an interview and included some joky comments I'd made in passing that I thought made me sound silly. I realised that while you may not be able to influence how other people present you, you can - and should - monitor what you say in the first place.

Even participating in written author interviews has brought problems, in spite of the fact that I've had complete control over these. OCD sufferers tend to mull over, and worry, about things they've said, wondering, for example, whether they might have upset anybody.

And so I've agonised over my responses, especially to questions such as 'What advice would you give to new writers?' It feels as if I'm suddenly in a position of, if not power, at least responsibility, and I fear giving the wrong answer. In reality, there's no such thing - my writing experience is unique and personal to me. 

None of the publicity has been bad, however, and I'm grateful for all of it. Fortunately, it's early days in my media career and what I've learned so far is that I still have a lot to learn!

And my efforts are paying off, with 178 books sold via retailers in the first two weeks after release and 61 sold face to face to date - thank you to everyone who has supported me. Now that my novel has a readership, it makes all the struggles worthwhile.

You can read the feature here and the article - without the missing lines! - here.