Perspective on Publishing-An Indie Reflection as I Edit My Debut Small Town, Second Chance Romance

I saw a rainbow today.

It was right in front of me, beautiful and bright.

But only after the left turn. After the school drop off. After the drive where I blasted Lynyrd Skynard's, "Freebird" despite protests by tiny versions of me that there was no way that song could ever be more famous than T Swift. Parents know nothing, you know.

After the minutes of scrambling for library books and homeworks shoved into unknown folder pockets. After arguments about too-small-pants and whether Crocs count as closed-toed shoes for gym class.

After the hardboiled eggshells were crushed under the bottom of my newly socked foot in the kitchen (after being dropped by tiny hands).

It wasn’t until after a morning of living, that I stopped to appreciate my life.

Writing a book is personal. Isolating. I often wonder if my story is too cliché, too spicy, not spicy enough. I wonder if it will matter to others.

Because the truth is, publishing is just a bunch of little pieces that come together to make a final product, and you can’t always see how the magic happens. Sometimes it’s just, holding your breath, hitting submit, and having faith that when you turn that final corner, you’ll see a rainbow.

So, perspective. That’s my reflection for the day.

I might not have the full scope to be able to see it. Not just yet.

But big things are happening! I’ve completed line edits for Something Like Sunflowers, and in one more week, it goes for copy edits. There’s still formatting, marketing, and proofreading to go after that, and yeah…it’s a lot of pieces, but rainbow or not, life couldn’t be more beautiful and bright.

XoXo, Elsie