It is scary; painful, and putting yourself out there for everyone to judge.
I have been writing stories for 30 years, and have 4 different stories completely written.
Am I ready to share them? Hell NO!
But no one ever wrote the next great book by saving them in their Word file.
I wrote a letter to an author who captured me in 1987; and he encouraged me and helped me.
Yet I keep these stories hidden.
I have over 3000 followers on my blog where I review books. Am I strong enough to let someone review MY book?
How do you authors do it? I have to learn to do this. I have something to share, in many ways. Cozy mysteries, dramas, and fantasy.
I have gotten to a point in my life that I truly believe; it is now or never.
Fingers crossed; I am scouting an agent, and hoping for the best!
booksandopinions.com 
Good luck on your publishing journey. I’m in the trenches my self and it takes a lot of starch.
Thanks Amy; I am losing my mind…. do I write old school, do I write cyber-crazy today… ugggh
I’m still a total noob but I love http://www.querytracker.com ,the forums are especially awesome, best resource I’ve found.
all the best. i am excited for you.
thank you Atifa! Scary and exciting all at the same time!
I wish you all the luck! It’s so hard to be that vulnerable.
Good luck , may you achieve success on this new journey!!
Thank you for sharing!
(I lost my train of thought, but didn’t want to back out of posting a comment, as I’m relatively rare in doing that)
Your blog reminds me of the kid that swims all over the pool; shallow and deep end, jumping in, swimming underwater… But deathly afraid of diving. I am so happy for you, that you are taking this “leap”. Good luck!!
Thanks Matthew! The first step is admitting to writing 😂
Good luck with getting your stories out there 🙂
Good luck! I keep thinking I have a book somewhere in me. I never seem to actually do the writing though so I’m terribly impressed by people who do. All the best in this new chapter! Ha! See what I did there?
😊 I bet you have a few chapters in you!
Impressed with your attitude. Write, write, write. And you may want to join SCBWI or check out a program for beginning picture book writers; 12 x 12 picture book writing challenge. Julie Hedlund developed this skill-building program. I’ve taken it twice.
Thank you Pam! I will definitely look into it!
Good luck!
That’s so great that you have stories that are already finished. Best of luck 🙂
I think the bookish community is one of the best and most supportive communities out there so you should try to give your books a chance by sending them to a few betas. Will that mean they have to like them and praise them? absolutely not, but that would be better than just leaving them in a word file! Best of luck
It is scary putting yourself out there!
Bravo! Go for it – take a deep breath, my dear, and just take the plunge. You’ll do just fine. 🙂
GO FOR IT, friend.
Well done Angela for taking the leap, it take guts to put your thoughts out there, but the biggest relief for me was getting my first 5 star review. Publishing is one thing, but knowing that at least one person in the world thinks it was worth it gave me the courage to start my second book! Good luck with finding an agent, I am still trying to get someone interested in taking me on! Happy to read a draft for you if you want to send me one. Robyn
Thanks Robyn, and best of luck to you as well!
Good luck to you. It’s a brave step to take. I sincerely wish you all the best and wish you lots more confidence to continue to share your work and promote it.
I have a couple stories I have started, but always have a hard time trying to figure out how to end them.
Me as well, but I always try to go back to them! Scary sometimes, as I’m afraid I won’t be able to come up with anything to add to the story!
That’s exactly the way I feel!
Thanks for sharing this!
Good on you. Keep us posted.
Thanks Cathie, I definitely will!
I’ve starting writing “seriously” for the last 18 months, compared to the wishy-washy writing I’ve done for 18 years. It’s a challenge because so often authors feel like they’re in a vacuum. Hopefully you can find a good circle of writers where each can be encouraged and receive the right constructive criticism. Keep in touch and tell me when you find your agent!
Thanks for sharing, and I certainly will!
I wish there was a secret to sharing stories fearlessly! I typically fluctuate between giddy and terrified myself! 😉 I’ll start following your journey now though and wish you luck and success!
Thank you so much RSJ!
My mom will probably be self-publishing her romance, “The Optimist’s Apprentice,” in September. I’m thinking about publishing a manuscript I wrote but I’m unsure of whether to self-publish or go for publication in a small indie company. I’m nervous about what other people would think of it but I’m mostly afraid that I’d eventually regret putting it out there. I need to prove to myself that it’s good, but I don’t know how. What’s the book you’re planning on publishing about? 🙂
You can find beta readers who will read it and let you know what they think of it! I am working on two different cozy mysteries, and another story with a base in Irish folklore.
Baby steps – share a paragraph or two on your blog, and ask for comments.
I understand your concerns, but a word not read is a word half dead- so be brave and get your work out there. You can write- the blog post is enough to tell me that- so be brave.It s a step into the unknown for all of us each time we post a blog.
I’m entering the fray, too, and am just as terrified. Let’s soldier on together!
Best of luck to you!