This is the overriding emotion I’ve been dealing with during the last few weeks. Not so much fear of failure, but more a fear that I haven’t represented my heroine as best I can. Of course, I won’t know the answer to that fear until the book is published and, if I’m fortunate, readers provide feedback.
I’m grateful to my editor who has scrupulously reviewed the manuscript. Additionally, a trusted writing colleague has read the edited manuscript to find any residual copy errors and cognitive disconnects. But, here it sits on my computer, waiting for me to “jump in with both feet.”
Those are Bill’s words. His advice, many years ago, on the morning I soloed our Cessna 152 at a pencil thin airport in New Jersey. “Just jump in with both feet.” he said. And, so I did, changing my life forever.
I love my heroine and the characters who populate her life. I want her readers to love her as I do; to admire her moral code; and to identify with her relentless pursuit of being a voice for the lost souls.
And, so I am taking the next step in this writing journey. I’m returning the edited manuscript to my editor today.
Yay! Go for it, Martha. You could get all the way past the second guessing stage, possibly eclipsing the thirty guessing stage, or even into the hundreds. Undoubtedly you have done your best to present Star the way you want to, and my guess is that your readership will love her. For what it’s worth, I’m extremely proud of you and your work and am honored to have shared a writer’s group with you if only for a little while. I’m waiting to buy the book, so keep on going.