Thread by @UrsulaV

Lot of stuff going around about debut author life today. A lot of people talking about despair and hard work. More power to them.

Let me tell you that mine was different, because my ignorance was so vast it very nearly circled around to enlightenment.

I did not know what I was doing and sold a book largely by accident. They gave me more money than I had ever seen in one place. It was cool.

But I was not really plugged into the authorsphere. I didn’t know anything. I took my money and was happy. And I thought if I wrote another book, there might be MORE MONEY!

I did not fret about bestseller lists or critics or my peers or my future career because those seemed as distant as the sun. I had written a weird little book, and they gave me money.

I opened a box of books and it was cool. Stores rarely had it, but occasionally they did. That was also cool.

Honestly, it’s all still weird to me that I can write words and people give me money that I can buy real things with, like sandwiches and dog treats and goldfish. What the hell, people? Do you not realize I’m making this stuff up?! AND THE WORDS TURN INTO SANDWICHES?!

This is not to invalidate anyone’s fear or despair or courage or stubbornness with their first book. I think it may just be to validate other people’s bafflement.

Anyway, my first book didn’t do very well, but I didn’t know it until my second book did great and my agent explained the difference, and that the first one was normal and the second one was doing abnormally well.

There is no moral here, except maybe that you’ll have an easier time if you think of your book as a neat thing happening rather than the gateway to the future.