Last night, my husband and I stayed up until midnight, watching the countdown on my Instagram Stories tick off the seconds until a lifelong dream came true.
At 12:00:01 we both cheered (quietly as the kids were sleeping) and I refreshed the page on Audible where my debut novel switched from “Coming Soon” to “New Releases”.
Just like that, I was officially a published author.
And it’s official!
CAN’T TAKE IT BACK is out in the world and I can’t believe this day is finally here. 😭🥰📖🎧#audibleoriginal #debutauthor #2020debuts #WritingCommunity pic.twitter.com/yz59Gwi4qC
— Kelly Duran 📚 ☕️ (@ByKellyDuran) April 16, 2020
There was no great fanfare or even champagne to pop (thanks pandemic) but I didn’t need either. The feeling of accomplishment I felt deep in my soul was proof enough that something had changed in my life and was never going back.
A few minutes after midnight I got a text message from my mum: “Oh my god! I’m listening to your book!” (mothers really are the best cheerleaders) and then a few minutes after that, I got an email from Audible saying my pre-order was now available in my library.
I spent 20 minutes updating my website and social media channels from “pre-order” to “now available” messaging and then I tried to sleep. I got about 5 hours before my eyes sprung open and I thought: “Holy shit. My book is out in the world.”
No more sleep after that.
After getting up and making my first coffee of the day I opened up social media and read through all of the posts of support and encouragement. Writing is (for the most part) a solitary pursuit. But a book release…well that’s a different story. That is when the Writing Community is at its very best. It’s something to behold.
I responded to all of them. Cried at several of them. And tried to remind myself that it was MY book they were talking about. My little book was being shared by one of my favourite authors. This was real life.
When my family woke up there was another big round of congratulations and cheers. My youngest offered to make me pancakes. I said pancakes would be lovely. What shape do you want? she asked. Surprise me, I said.
Then she served me these:
Cue the waterworks again.
It’s now 2pm and I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling all day. I know the feeling won’t last forever. I know my first bad review is coming and it will crush me. But for now, I am going to soak up every last moment of this day.
The day I became a published author.
