Tags
anxiety, beta reader, beta readers, Days of the Kill, Lesson 40, lessons, new project, The Child of Fault, The Path to Biological
Another Wednesday, another lesson. This week, we’re looking at keeping the anxiety down.
I know, you’re probably thinking, “What does anxiety have to do with writing?” Well, to answer that question, everything.
You heard me. Everything.
New authors, I’m especially talking to you. I’m in the same boat as you. We work hard, edit, and then all of a sudden, boom. Our first book is out (I’ll get there…someday…). We automatically think we have made the biggest mistake in our life. Don’t deny it. I know how it feels.
I may not have had an actual experience with publishing yet, but I did send out my manuscript to my beta readers. That was a terrifying experience in itself. The first eight people to ever see my manuscript and they get to critique the shit out of it… Yeah, you can see why that’s terrifying.
Anyway, I’ve gotten a little off track. How do we keep the anxiety down? Well, really, the answer is simple. You work on other things. Or go on that vacation you’ve always wanted to go on. Or…you know, do other things.
Personally, I chose to keep my mind off of my anxiety by working on two other projects. The Path to Biological is currently in second draft stage, and The Child of Fault is currently in first draft stage. I still think about Days of the Kill, but I refuse to let it consume my thoughts. And I don’t bring it up with my beta readers (well, maybe I’ll keep that up… Hanging out with one of them on Saturday will be the real test!).
So, I guess basically, don’t let yourself think about it too much. Seriously. You’ll just get stressed out. And you’ll be a major annoyance to your beta readers and your readers. Don’t do that. Work on other things. Start a new book if you want. Just read if you want. That’s still allowed, believe it or not.
Ready to be done with the anxiety? Go start working on that new project. Go Right now.