Nervous Nellie Pat

Did I mention I have a new book coming out?
Did I mention I was nervous?
Did I mention that a normally well balanced (well, pretty well-balanced) easy-going, optimistic person becomes a raving maniac at this time?
For instance, I become a compulsive personality.
I start calling the Ingram's (book distributor) number to find out how many of my books are in stock. How many have left the warehouses today, etc.? In the last thirty minutes? I don’t call once. I call all day. Five. Six times. Maybe more. If there is no change, I become inconsolable.
I turn on my computer and check my position on the Amazon list. Not once, but about five times daily. Has anyone written a review yet? They have? Ouch! I check every online review site, and either smile and hope everyone read it or grimace and hope everyone hasn’t.
But enough whining. . .
Yet since I am consumed at the moment with the subject, I thought I would share some of my more positive feelings during other times of the process. I compare writing a book to having a baby.
The first gleam in the eye: the seed of an idea and the excitement, the anticipation of creating a new world.
The test proves positive: the contract. Wow. Champagne time.
The first internal stirrings: the characters -- thank the writing gods --are come alive and beginning to take over the book.
Four months: the end is a very long time away. The characters are running wild in different directions. They do not wish to behave. A disaster! My career is over!!!!
Six months: sagging middle and worry. Is the baby growing properly? Will he/she be healthy?
Eight months: Going downhill now. Expectancy. Excitement.
Birth: The END. It’s a book!!! Happy. Happy. More champagne. Didn't believe it would ever come.
Aftermath: Nagging worry. Can I properly care for it? Give it the promotion it needs? Will the publisher treat it well?
And through all the process, you're tending the other kids. Reading galleys of the upcoming book and promoting it. Planning for the next addition to the family.
It's a never-ending cycle of excitement, frustration, pain, anxiety, and, well, on occasion, triumph. A good review, someone says they love your book, and you've reached heaven.
Until the anxiety returns.
There’s an old movie called “Lonely are the Brave.”
There should be a new one for novelists: Insecure is the Writer.