Due to a change in web hosting, many of my former blog posts disappeared. Today I will re-post a blog from right after the release of Land of My Dreams. I hope you enjoy this comparison of having my first novel published with taking a trip to a Third World country!
Wandering Wednesdays
The same year my husband and I visited Scotland, we took our kids to Costa Rica. We made reservations, bought some guide books, a map, and rented a vehicle. Four-wheel drives are the only thing available. That didn’t scare us. We go on 4×4 trails in Colorado all the time. However, the tour guides failed to reveal why such a vehicle is necessary. I mean, after all, we were going to be traveling between locations on the Pan-American Highway. Sounds wonderful, right?
What the tourist information fails to say is that whether you are traveling the Pan-American or secondary roads, the conditions are inconceivable to the mind of the average United States citizen. There are potholes the size of a Volkswagen, and “paved road” is meaningful only in the mind of the mapmaker. It is nothing to see a truck barreling toward you on the wrong side of the road, only to have it move back to the correct side only moments from colliding head-on with oncoming traffic. Swerving to miss the potholes, or forsaking the road and driving on the shoulders, where it is smoother going, is commonplace.
Likewise, the glitz and glamor of publishing your first novel is not the fantasy land most people envision. For the first-time author, your phone isn’t ringing off the wall with requests for book tours or book signings, and morning talk shows are not beating a path to your door. It means hours at the computer and visiting bookstore managers.
I have learned new habits, taken tough criticism, and sacrificed my leisure time for a life controlled by social media and making my own opportunities for publicity. My daily routine consists of squeezing time to write between trying to attract new subscribers to my website and more encouraging more people to “Like” my Facebook Author page, while keeping up with what’s “trending” on Twitter.
Taking direction, learning from my mistakes, and persevering is a necessity. Facing rejection and criticism as learning experiences rather than personal affronts is of the utmost importance. It’s a little like letting our kids ride a zip-line through the cloud forest with no idea what lies between the starting point and the finish.
That being said, would I still take the vacation to Costa Rica and risk being hit head on as we travel the Pan-American Highway? Would I still send my kids on zip-line 300+ feet above the forest floor? You bet.
If I was not teachable and flexible before, I am now. If I thought I knew the rules, I’m under no such delusion anymore. Have I grown beyond my wildest imaginings? I certainly have.
The day I held that book in my hands, saw my name on the cover, and my words filling the pages is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. There’s nothing like it in the world. Reviews can make me cry because my words influenced someone’s life. And I will do it again.
The road map is different for every author, but the destination is worth the obstacle course of potholes and oncoming traffic. It is an adventure I wouldn’t miss for the world.
About the author:
Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, set in Scotland and New Mexico released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 19 years. Her devotionals, poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. She is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 38 years. They have two adult children.
www.normagail.org
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail
https://plus.google.com/b/102717101441594679714/+Normagail/about/p/pub
http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459.Norma_Gail
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2
https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170/ or 
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864 ?ean=9781941103173
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