If you’re a published author, odds are that you’ve experienced some degree of Release Day Blues. You’ve written an awesome book, it’s been revised, rewritten, polished, and outfitted with the most magnificent cover. It’s ready for publication, and you’re certainly more than ready, too. In fact, you’ve been preparing for weeks, sending out ARCs, written blog posts, organized a blog tour.

And then it comes.

Release Day.

With a side of RDB.

Release Day Blues.

You’re a smart and logical human being, so you know that no one will ever care as much about your book as you do. You know it as the absolute truth. But there’s this one little part of you, a sliver of your heart or a tiny part of your soul that doesn’t believe it can be so. How? Why? It’s a great book! So on Release Day, something’s bound to happen, right?

Anne Lamott writes about it in Bird by Bird, where she paints a picture of herself waiting by the phone on Release Day, just waiting for the world to call. And no one does. Which is when the doubts authors have so many of set in. You blindly forget that very little can happen on Release Day. People can buy your book, but they’re not likely to plop down in a chair and read the whole thing in one sitting, write out a review and post it, call you to congratulate you on writing the finest piece of literature in existence, and have a fruit basket delivered to your door. Right? Right. You know this. But you’re so primed and ready for Release Day that you still expect something to happen. I doubt you know what this “something” even is.

“I always feel a lull on the day. Like I’m waiting for something amazing to happen…but nothing does.” – M.A. Stacie

So when nothing much happens, you’re hit by RDB. This was supposed to be such a great day. And it was just like any other day. Anti-climatic? Yes, ma’am. What the hell happened? And how will you ever find the strength to write another word?

Thankfully, RDB don’t last long. Because you’re a writer, and writing is what you do. You can’t just stop. There’s another book to be written, another Release Day to look forward to. RDB won’t happen next time. You’re too smart for that.