Expectations

For starters, here's number 2 as promised:

2. Although it only took one month to write, Corruption took far longer to edit. It initially went through two rounds of editing, for continuity and errors, and then later went through a third round shortly before publishing. On top of that, my roommate became my first beta reader. Another dear friend of mine who aspires to be an editor is going through another round of edits for a second edition release.

Corruption released yesterday. Filled with panic and trepidation, I spread the word via various internet resources, and then waited on bated breath. I think all authors at heart have unrealistic expectations about their works. Even if you're not sure if your work is any good, you still somehow expect it to be a breakout success, no matter how the odds are stacked against you. You want it so badly to work out well, that you put yourself in a funk when it doesn't, or at least doesn't immediately live up to your unrealistic expectations. We all know better, but we do it anyway.

I remember answering a question once about what you would most like your book to end up. As a bestseller, as a 'classic' studied in school classrooms, or a few other options that escape my memory. I remember taking AP English courses in high school and all the books we had to read (or pretended to read). Even if the books themselves weren't very good, at least from our views, I remember loving the discussions about them. For all of my 'serious' works, I have always tried to write with depth, so that one day in the far future students could sit in a circle and discuss my book. What did this symbol mean? What was the author trying to tell us with this reference? What affected the main character's choices, and do you agree with them?

So, really, in the long run it's impossible to see if Corruption will meet that expectation. How am I supposed to know what my book will do long after I'm gone? For now, I hope that those of you that choose to read it will find it satisfying, interesting, and pass it on to a friend to check it out as well. I hope you can sit and mull it over a cup of coffee. I hope you can ask yourself: "What would I do when faced with corruption? Could this really happen? How would that kind of world really work?"

I also hope that somewhere along the line, someone will write bad fanfiction about it. I would read it, and give them feedback, no matter how atrocious. Because I could think of no better compliment than someone writing about a story they loved, even if they butcher it. If someone writes good fanfiction about Corruption, I would love it even more. But my expectations are not THAT unrealistic.

Until tomorrow, my dear readers. I leave you with this one last hope from an anxious author.

If you do not buy Corruption, if you can only afford the free preview, I understand. I've been that stringent with my finances before. But if you find it interesting, if you wish to support me, tell a friend. Share it on facebook. Tweet about it. Hell, even try out the new Google+ that some of you may be using now. Help me spread the word that it is out there for people to enjoy. And please, tell me if you enjoy it. I would love to hear from you.