“The End” is so bittersweet. When you reach that point in your novel, there’s a fight that ensues within you. You struggle with several emotions. You are overjoyed that the work is finally complete. You feel proud. Then something else creeps in. A very distinct feeling of finality. You know you will miss your charcters as if they are real flesh and blood people. You are sending your “baby” out into the world. Much like mothers and fathers hold each other for comfort as they see their kid off to college, you are “letting go”. It’s real. It’s a thing. Here’s how to get over it.
- Know that the next phase is a good one. Be proud to share your book.
- Wait in joyful anticipation for those reviews. Reviews will remind you why you wrote the book in the first place. Readers will let you know what touched them the most and you can quietly reminisce about that very scene – playing it out in your head like a movie reel.
- Dive head first into another project such as revising your website to include your new novel.
- Put it away. Circle a date on your calendar. When that date arrives, pull out your novel (paperbacks work best for this bit of therapy), read it again from start to finish and you will feel that whoosh of delight flow through your heart.
- Re-decorate the house, clean out the fridge, re-organize your closet – in other words, keep busy.
- If none of the above work, do what I do….
…write a sequel.
