Launch Day
By Jael McHenry | April 12, 2011 |
Today, your book comes out.
It’s your launch day. Well, the book’s launch day. The day you’ve been waiting for, hoping for, working toward, for so long. You are a published author, and anyone who wants to buy your book can buy it. You don’t have to say to friends and family “soon, soon,” and you don’t have to answer the question “But why does it take so long?” for the umpteen-trillionth time.
It’s out. The book’s out. Soon has become today, at last.
And today the book isn’t yours anymore.
Actually, that process — the unbelonging of the book — has been going on for a while. And not because of your agent’s involvement or your editor’s or the copyeditor’s or the cover designer’s. The unbelonging of the book takes place at the hands of another type of people entirely.
Your readers.
(Moment to pause and rejoice, here: YOU HAVE READERS. How cool is that? Never lose sight of that.)
It began months ago, when the first Advance Review Copies went out. For the first time, your book was being read by people you didn’t know. And if you succumbed to the siren song of Google (which of course you did, let’s not fool ourselves, everyone succumbs) you started to see them talk about what they thought. You started to see reviews online. And not always reviews — sometimes just mentions. I’m looking forward to That Book. What have you heard about That Book? Ooh, That Book has a great cover, don’t you think? And at first you scoured the web for these mentions, because they validated the fact that That Book had an existence outside your mind.
But that’s the same thing that scares you today. That Book is their book now. You can’t take it back, you can’t change it, you can’t cradle it to your chest and keep it away from prying eyes. Those eyes aren’t prying. It belongs to the world.
This is exactly what you wanted, and that doesn’t make it any less terrifying.
Today, the process of unbelonging is complete. And I can tell you not to be terrified, but when has that ever worked? Don’t be terrified. Don’t think of polar bears. Don’t let the thing you’re afraid of scare you. Ha! Plus, I’m not just telling you not to be terrified. I’m telling me not to be terrified. Because this is my Launch Day — the day The Kitchen Daughter comes out — and I am nervous and worried and fearful and I feel like wrapping my arms around a copy of the book and squeezing it tightly to reassure it. As if the book were the one who needed reassuring.
And I am writing this.
And I am telling you — the actual you, now — that I couldn’t be happier. That I do know that this is the day I’ve worked for so long, that I have readers now (still so cool!), and that the book belongs to them as much as it does to me, if not more. That I am going to release the tension and take advantage of the air of celebration. That when this day comes for you and your book, it’s the most spectacular crash of joy and fear and relief, but it’s also the first day of the rest of your life. It’s the wedding, not the marriage.
Raise a glass. Smile ’til your face hurts. Kiss your book (literally or figuratively, your choice) and set it free, send it off, out into the world.
That’s what launch means, after all.
(Image via Flickr’s Creative Commons, by Steven DePolo)
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
What a lovely post!! Thanks for sharing the thoughts/feelings so we can live vicariously. And congrats and good luck and best wishes and everything else!
Also, lol, polar bears??
Congratulations on this day, and thanks for sharing these beautiful and intimate insights. My copy arrived yesterday, and it is simply gorgeous.
CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK WITH THAT KNOCKOUT OF A BOOK!
Oh, and if you see any polar bears, offer them peanut butter. Works every time.
Congrats, Jael!!!!! It’s a big day, revel in it!
This is beautiful, Jael! I hope today is just the start of many wonderful things for you!
Congratulations, Jael. Heading to my local indy this afternoon to get my copy.
Here’s the power of social media–we really only know each other virtually and I am SO excited for you like I’ve known you for ages “in real life.” The book arrived yesterday, actually, and it’ll be my #FridayReads in a few days.
Enjoy your special day!
If it belongs to us now, it was a gift, right? A special, precious gift. From you. So thanks. I’m ordering my gift today, just ’cause I want my own copy to keep.
A special kind of immortality is now yours, Jael. And today is the first day of it. Enjoy!
Happy day! Congratulations! Great post as well. The “unbelonging” of a book–I love that!
Congratulations, Jael! It is a beautiful cover, and I can’t wait to read it. I love, too, the idea of the “unbelonging” of a book.
Wonderful essay. Enjoy your launch day!
Congratulations, Jael!!! Best wishes to you and the book today!
Congratulations, Jael. You look totally awesome in white.
Happy, happy, happy release day! I woke up smiling for you!
Congrats, Jael! You said it so well… Enjoy the thrill of this release! :)
Happy Launch Day, Jael! I’m so excited for you, and this post just reinforced that. I can’t wait to read the book!
Congratulations Jael! Love the red launch button! LOL! Thanks for sharing the joys/terrors of launch day! Sounds fantastic!!
Congrats to you and thanks for sharing how it feels to launch!
Thank you all so, so much! It is a crazy day, I can’t even keep up with all the congratulations, and I am feeling so loved and supported by my writer friends, it’s truly wonderful.
(And if you happen to pick up the book, you’ll see Writer Unboxed in the acknowledgments for a good reason — there’s camaraderie along with content here, and I just love that.)
Big congratulations! I love the word “unbelonging”. What an apt description of this process that I will soon, soon be going through too. Best of luck on the book!
Magnificent inspiration for writers at every stage. Thanks so much. May readers flock to the check out line in stores and on-line. I will be among them. Cheers
Congratulations! And what a lovely post. Thanks for sharing and good luck!
Happy release day! I was recently reading Katherine Paterson’s A SENSE OF WONDER where she said something very similar about our books no longer being our own. Very liberating.
What a glorious day, Jael! Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!
“It’s the wedding, not the marriage.”
Such a beautiful analogy. Congratulations, and thank you for your inspirational advice!
I pre-purchased for my Kindle and this morning – like magic – it was there. And I admit. I started reading it right away and was pulled in by the first words, first scene. Can’t wait until it’s bedtime and I can read again. Bedtime’s 7pm, right?
Congrats, Jael. You deserve this whirlwind of attention and success — and much more.
Congratulations! So happy for you :)
What a wonderful way to look at sharing your material with the world. It can certainly be a very anxiety-provoking experience, but it would be a shame to miss all the HAPPINESS :)
Congratulations, and I can’t wait to check out the book!
BTW, I echo everyone that the cover is gorgeous.
Wishing you huge, well-deserved congratulations for an outstanding debut!
Beautiful post. I am so excited for you. Congratulations. I’m adding The Kitchen Daughter to my TBR pile.
Congrats on the launch, Jael! I bought The Kitchen Daughter today and started reading–I love your (Ginny’s) voice.
Awesome! May your book be noticed by Oprah and hit the bestseller list.
It was wonderful reading your experience, thanks for sharing that with us all! What an exciting, terrifying time. Happy Launch Day!
A wonderful, wonderful post. And congratulations!
Ordering a copy now. Enjoy your celebration!
I love your enthusiasm–the giddiness comes through in your language:) Congratulations! Your book is next on my list!
HUGE CONGRATS TO YOU JAEL! I LOVE, love, love the word “unbelonging”. It truly defines what it would be like to release your book out into the world and it is no longer totally yours! Wow! Have a great time!