THE QUIET JOY

I’ve been writing my whole life. Dreaming of being a published author. And so, naturally, I’ve been following the journeys of other authors—some well known, others up and coming.

A common thread I witness among many debut authors is this moment…

A dramatic reenactment performed by Sheena, a character from The Elevator.

There’s this kind of overwhelm—shock, even—after they set up the camera and open a package containing physical copies of their book. The copy they haven’t yet seen or touched.

They open it, and at the very first sight, emotion wells. They have to pause.

Slowly, the author lifts the book into their hands. A smile forms. They hug it. Tears begin to flow. And after a quiet moment, they gaze into the camera and express a quiet joy:

This is my book.

They marvel at the craftsmanship of the cover, grateful to the designer for so warmly and accurately embodying the heart and soul of their story. They weep over the culmination of so much hard work—returned to them in a beautifully packaged paper or hardback representation of everything they poured into every page.

They exhale.

It’s final. It’s done.

All that’s left now is to give it to the world. Their publishers handle the heavy lifting—the marketing, the distribution, the tours. Not to say their job is finished. There’s still much an author must do to find readers. But the book itself? That part of the journey—that chapter—is complete.

But as for me...

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