On Fear

Publishing is rife with fear. Fear of bad reviews, fear of being dragged, fear of being forgotten or never published again or having our books canceled. And the thing is, some of these fears will, inevitably, be realized. We writers aren’t perfect, and the publishing industry certainly isn’t perfect. Something is bound to go wrong.

I realize that, as I write this, I’m in the calm before the storm. I’m done with everything up to pass pages, I’m nearly done with book two, and ARCs have yet to go out. Few people beyond my publishing team, my agent, and myself have read The Diminished, and those who have, have said very nice things.

All that said, I’m actively choosing not to lean into fear. There are so many things whirling around my life right now that could be fuel for the fear fire, not the least of which is what will happen when people start reading my book. But rather than letting that fear burn bright and hot, I’m turning my back and moving toward the next thing. Because the only things I get to control are the words on the page and my own actions.

Fear is meant to protect us from bears and fire and dragons. (Well, maybe not dragons, but you catch my meaning.) I’m just trying to let it do its thing while I do mine.

 

P.S. Someone please remind me of this post after my first scathing review?

Author: Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson grew up with her nose in a book outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After completing her M.F.A., she moved to South Korea, where she taught English and started writing her debut novel. THE DIMINISHED will be published by HarlequinTEEN in April 2018, followed by its sequel in 2019. When she's not staring off into space and trying to untangle some particularly troublesome plot point, she can be found in her kitchen, perfecting the most difficult recipe she can find; or at the barn, where she rides and trains dressage horses; or with her husband, spoiling their sweet rescue dogs.