How to Tackle Pre-Publication Jitters

As I write this post, my debut novel Magic & Murder in the Holler will be released in a little more than a week, on September 23rd. Writing a book has always been a dream of mine and it feels surreal to see that dream come to fruition.

While the novel is a project I've spent over a year working on, it feels like only yesterday I was starting the first draft. Naturally, I'm equal parts nervous and excited for publication day to arrive.

Today, I thought I'd share some of the ways I've been handling my pre-publication jitters. Some of these serves as distractions, others have helped me feel less anxious about the anticipation I'll be dealing with for the next week.

Celebrating the Accomplishment

I can't quite say that I'm a published author yet, but I'm most of the way there. I'm going to grow and change from here as an author, but in terms of publishing my first book, I'm nearly at the finish line. I've made plans for the day before publication to celebrate that my book's almost out. I think it's important to acknowledge what I've achieved already, and recognizing how far I've come will help me "finish strong" and feel good about things going into the last few days.

Revisiting Old Favorites

I've spent a lot of time recently reading some of my favorite books and watching movies I've loved for years. The media is comforting and I've found it easier to relax if I fill my free time with something familiar. As I get lost in the story, the rest of the world fades away and my nerves about "will be like my book?" or "did I remember to do [blank]?" disappear.

Making Checklists

There are quite a few technical and behind-the-scenes things that go into publishing a book, such as making sure the print-on-demand service has the correct version of the book ready, making sure the correct cover is attached to the right format, and double-checking that the Goodreads listing has all of the right information included. I'm an anxious person, so I've convinced myself a few times that I've forgotten to do something entirely, or neglected to update a piece of information. To try and combat that, I have a checklist of all of the behind-the-scenes tasks I've already done, along with the date I did them. This way I have proof that I've checked and double-checked everything I need to, and don't panic, wondering "wait, did I upload the right file?" at two in the morning.

I've also made myself a checklist of the things I need to do before publication day. This list includes mundane things such as getting books, stickers and bookmarks organized to ship out, making sure I have enough stamps and envelopes, and creating social media graphics to celebrate the release. I felt like this was a good way for me to stay on top of the things I still need to do, and not feel overwhelmed as publication moves closer.

Working on a New Project

Finding something new to work on serves as a pretty good distraction for me. I think one reason why my pre-publication jitters are hitting pretty late is because I spent a lot of the four months between when I announced my publication date and now working my next book. Because I had something else to focus my energy into, I didn't get as wrapped up in worrying about what could go wrong.

Getting Some Help

I've been very lucky that plenty of people in my personal life have been willing to lend me a hand with things. My sister helped me come up with a release plan. Friends of mine have helped spread the word about the book. Others are helping me pack and ship orders. Overall, it's been great to have support and not have to handle every single thing completely on my own, as I could easily get overwhelmed.

Asking for Advice

I've made a lot of wonderful writer friends over the last year or so. Plenty of them have been more than happy to give me advice on how they tackled their own pre-release jitters, or tell me what they wished they'd done a little differently. Not every piece of advice they offered fit me, because everyone is a little different, but a lot of it was. It's always good to get another perspective, because they might mention something you never would've thought of. It can also be cathartic to hear about minor hiccups other authors experienced and realize your release doesn't have to be perfect to still be a good release day.

Those are the ways I've decided to tackle my pre-publication jitters for Magic & Murder in the Holler. Hopefully, these can be helpful to someone in the future, dealing with their own excited nervousness about a big moment.

Until next time!

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Magic & Murder in the Holler is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other retailers.