Lessons in Overthinking, Undermining and Second-Guessing
It’s how many books later? Twenty? And as I review the formatted eBook version I ask myself, Is this just stupid? Will readers think it’s ridiculous? What if it gets terrible reviews?
My baby. A book that began in 2015 that wouldn’t leave me alone. A book I invested in a paid beta read by my editor because I simply couldn’t jumpstart the plot. When you’re having car problems, call a mechanic. When you’re having plot problems, call an editor.
The amount of time and effort we both put into this book incalculable. And that doesn’t include discussion time with other beta readers or the number of times I read my rough draft trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Nor the rewriting time. And then more editing…
You get the picture.
I’ve read it and I’ve read it and I’ve read it aloud. It came together and I thought it was pretty good.
Until I get to the point where I’m uploading it for pre-order. Or that other point where I’m poised to send it out to reviewers (and I wonder if I’m operating my Book Funnel account correctly).
And there it is. My old friend. Self-doubt.
I’ve found only one way to deal with self-doubt. Ignore it. As my mother used to say when something or someone was bugging me, “Ignore it. Maybe it will go away.”
Same goes for overthinking. I can now catch myself and tell myself to “Stop it!”
I wrote what I wrote. It is what is. I sent it out into the world.
Time to move on to the next project.
