You're Pregnant and You're Having a Book!

I’ve pondered this for quite a while, and today I’d like to share my thoughts. Here goes: Writing a book is like giving birth!

Really. It’s true. I’ve experienced both, so I should know. (Unlike my husband, who has never had a baby, yet claims that his kidney stone was much worse than childbirth. I’ve told him that when he passes a stone the size of a grapefruit, he’ll know what childbirth is really like.)But, I digress. I am comparing childbirth to writing a book. As an author, I’ve worked on each of my books for many months, or even many, many months. Each project, like an unborn child, slowly grows and develops. All the while, my eye remains on the future, wondering what it holds for me and my new “little one”. Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, the labor begins. The final stages of tying the book together, working with the editor, deliberating over the illustrations, and making many last-minute adjustments is often very laborious (as in labor).

Then one day, when I feel I can’t wait any longer, the book finally arrives. So exciting! I clasp the new book in my arms and hold it to my heart. Each new book, just like a new baby, seems so familiar, yet at the same time, there is the nagging feeling that I‘ve never seen it before. I know that deep down I love it because it is all mine, yet I really don’t know it at all.

And just like having a baby, this is only the beginning, the first step in a very long parent-child relationship. So much depends on how I “raise” this baby. If I schedule promotions, market well, and put my heart and soul into the little newcomer, I will be a very proud parent indeed. And, if I am lucky, I will forget the short-lived pain and suffering and do it all over again.

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com