When I announced that Emergency Contacts would be published, one of the most common questions I received wasn’t even about the story or characters or setting. It was about what happened next on my journey.
I think that’s because most of us grow up thinking publishing looks something like this: You write a book. Someone says yes. A few months later, it’s sitting on a bookstore shelf.
I’d love nothing more sometimes than to go back to being blissfully unaware.
Signing a publishing contract isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting gate. The manuscript may be written, but the book is only beginning its journey.
From here, there are edits—oftentimes several rounds of them. Cover concepts begin to take shape. Interior formatting, proofreading, metadata, marketing plans, distribution, advance review copies, and launch preparation all happen LOOOOONG before release day.
And then there’s the part I never fully appreciated until I found myself living it.
The author.
While a publisher is building the book, the author is building everything around it. A website. A newsletter. An online and terrifyingly public presence. You’re building relationships with readers. Creating a place where people can discover not just one story, but hopefully many stories still to come.
It’s exciting. It’s overwhelming. It’s a little surreal.
One day you’re obsessing over whether Chapter 17 needs another page on your WIP. The next you’re debating fonts, color palettes, newsletter rebrands, and how to introduce yourself to readers you’ve never met. Thankfully, I’ve already got Kiss & Tell set up. It’s the rest of it (helloooo, Instagram and TikTok) that I’m figuring out.
I’ve discovered that publishing isn’t one big milestone. It’s hundreds of small ones. Every edit. Every conversation. Every decision. Every lesson learned along the way.
Over the next year and a half, I’ll be sharing those moments here. Because I think there’s something special about letting readers see the road before we arrive at the destination.
The book will be here in early winter 2027.
Until then, welcome behind the scenes.
I’m glad you’re here.
What’s one thing you’ve always wondered about the publishing process? I’d love to answer it in a future post.