PLAIN JAYNE Publication Day

I'm getting cocky. Second Pub Day of the summer for me, and it might as well be just another day. I mean, I haven't had diarrhea once. I even left my house to have brunch with some friends, which means I couldn't sit at my computer and hit the "refresh" button on my sales reports. Or obsessively monitor Facebook for encouraging comments from readers, friends, and family. I hit that "publish" button like I was hitting "send" on an email to a friend. No biggie. Plain Jayne is out there for all to see. All 93,000 words of it.

cover image copyright 2012 by Laura Sellars

Yeah. It's really long. I'm sort of worried about that. I mean, readers of my books often say, "I didn't want it to end," but you want to elicit that response. You want to leave them wanting more. You don't want to have them continuously checking to see how much further they have to go. "Is it over yet?" is not something you want them asking themselves. We'll see if I've pushed the envelope too far with this one. Obviously, I think every word in the book is necessary. I think the story's complete and that every chapter has a purpose. I hope readers agree.

If they don't, I'm sure they won't be shy about telling me. Very publicly. And none-too-gently. What did one reader recently say about The Secret Keeper Confined? "It felt like a book-length epilogue." Ouch. In my defense, it is the second book in a very character-driven series. It's not supposed to be action-packed. But still... Ouchie. Shake it off, Brown!

Today, though, I feel good about Plain Jayne. I didn't even panic when I found out AFTER publication that there are a few other books with the same title. Same spelling of "Jayne," and everything. And I thought I was being so clever. Hmmm... Ego alert! Where's Smart Guy when I need him to knock me down a few pegs and tell me to keep working, keep tweeting, and stop resting on my laurels (and stop using cliches)? I'll have to settle for having boogers wiped on me and Pop Tart pieces sneezed into my face. It's almost as humbling.

Anyway, all kidding aside, I'm really not taking Publication Day for granted. I'm currently closely monitoring sales and wondering how long it'll take for the first reviews (for better or worse) to come in. I'm nervous, hoping I didn't forget something huge or overlook a bunch of typos. Brunch was a lovely diversion, but as soon as it was over, Pub Day was the first thing on my mind again. I've tried to work on my next book in the pipeline, but I have the attention span of a hyperactive dog in a rabbit hatchery. Every encouraging comment I get on my author Facebook page is greatly appreciated. I sort of need a hug. I'm as needy as ever.

The good news is, I have a lot to keep me busy, if I'll only focus. And this Pub Day will pass like all the others. And I will have survived. It's only fiction, after all. Can you imagine if I had a really important occupation? I'll pause here for the collective shudder amongst family and friends. Yeah. Writers are so weird.



Wanna spend even more time with me? You know you do. "Like" my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or drop me an email. My chick lit is available exclusively on Amazon, to the chagrin of the six NOOK users out there who keep trying to persuade me to give up my cushy exclusive Amazon benefits and publish on NOOK, too. Probably not gonna happen for a while. Sorry. In the meantime, you can download Kindle apps for FREE and read my books on your PC, Mac, smart phone, or tablet. I hope you will!