by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

When I was pursuing publication, there were many days when I stared at my computer in despair. I longed for the days when the steep learning curve was over. I dreamed of sitting down at my computer and pounding out words with confidence and clarity. Oh, I knew every day wouldn’t be a trip through the light fantastic, but I assumed that over time the frustration I experienced while writing would lessen.

I also thought it would be amazing to have author friends. Authors who have been there, done that. Who know how the process works. Who have it all figured out.

Yeah. About that.

It is a.maz.ing to have author friends. Phenomenal. But the rest of it? Not so much.

Published or pre-published, writing these days is tough. It feels like every author I know is struggling with something that is impacting their creativity.

We tend to talk about it in general terms, but sometimes we need to know we aren’t alone. And because my author friends are truly amazing, when I reached out to them and asked permission to share some of our texts/emails/FB messages with you, they graciously agreed.

What you’re about to read are real and unedited except when necessary to preserve anonymity. These are also representative samples of messages that get sent with some frequency.

(And it’s okay to laugh at our pain. We do it all the time).

First, I give you “my subconscious is messing with me”

This is “revisions have landed”

This is one I call “scream”

Here we have “It’s worse than before”

This is the recurring “wait, is this too much?”

“Can’t land the plane” is a frequent flyer

“My book is a dumpster fire” also is a regular in the rotation

Last but not least, I present to you “we all cry over our books” – I thought about not sharing this one because it’s tender and raw, but maybe somebody needs to see it.

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing romantic suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Unknown Threat, the first book in her Defend and Protect series, was a 2021 Christy Award finalist, and her previous titles have won the Carol Award, the Selah Award, and the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader’s Choice Award.

She is a frequent conference speaker and has taught writers all over the country. Lynn lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after by signing up for her newsletter at LynnHBlackburn.com and @LynnHBlackburn on Bookbub, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.