Today I went to my paid position, unable to make progress on my hobby as a writer, fretting about my publication date. As I went through my day the date of October 12 fought for my attention more than once. 

Why, oh why, did I choose this date? Is the number 12 really that important to me? Couldn’t I have just inverted it to 21 and give myself a little more time? 

The most daunting question, however, is: will I be able to do all the things on my ‘to do’ list in order to upload my finished manuscript on time?

Instead of eventually finding myself in a state of panic, I’m deciding to take a more logical approach. Instead of having a list that goes all the way down to my feet, I’m separating what must be done from the would be nice to accomplish tasks.

MUST BE COMPLETED TO PUBLISH

• Book Cover (talk about last minute!)
• **Finished Manuscript**
• Back Blurb
• Back Matter
• Formatted everything
• Upload to all the sites
• Author Photos (another last minute task!)

That’s it! Yes, some of these tasks could take days, weeks, or months to finish, but I’m nearly done with most of the above. Now it’s time to convince myself that the remaining tasks on my list are ‘nice to have.’ Keep in mind that my opinion here is from the seat that has ‘Newbie Self-Publisher’ written in all caps on the back. 

I have three weeks to go, and my ‘icing on the cake’ list seems to be multiplying, even as I cross items off.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

• Finished Novella as a bonus/newsletter cookie
• Send out/tease the first 2-3 chapters
• Make a landing page on my website
• All the marketing
• Countdown to the book launch
• Get set up on Wattpad and Goodreads
• Get t-shirts with my logo on it

Hmm, now that I see this ‘nice to have’ list it’s not nearly as scary as what has been built up in my mind.

As I go through this self-publishing process, I keep reminding myself that although I want a spectacular launch, I don’t have to check all the boxes. After all, this is by far the only book I will publish. As my (dare I say it?) career as an author grows, so too will my knowledge. Even more importantly, my preferences of launching my books will craft into my own booklet of procedures.

My book will be launched. It might not be perfect. I more than likely will make some mistakes. I take comfort that I’m by far the only person who has accomplished these tasks. Overall I am being kind to myself and remembering…progress, not perfection.