Saturday, I got a box full of the galleys of Happier at Home. (For you non-publishing industry folk, a galley is a pre-publication, preview copy of a book.)
This should be a thrilling moment, and it was thrilling, but at the same time, for some reason, it sent me into a bit of a panic. I could hardly bring myself to open a book. I get the same feeling when I have a piece run in a newspaper or magazine. Most writers seem to love the moment when they see their work "in print," but not me. I'm not really sure why. Am I afraid of spotting a mistake? Or seeing something that, by this point, I'd do differently? Maybe.
Do you ever experience that? Something that seems to make other people wildly happy-that you think "should" make you happy-for some reason, doesn't?
Nevertheless, getting the galleys is an important marker on the road to publication, so it's exciting as a milestone. And it make me think grateful thoughts, as I do at least fifteen times a day, about how lucky I have work that I love so much. I'm so grateful to have galleys! even if they do make me uneasy.
Voila!
