The End of the Beginning
- susanmansbridge101
- Oct 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Writing a book is a painstaking process. From initial idea, to carefully and lovingly crafting each sentence, to the pain of editing, until finally, many moons later, you hold a finished product in your hand.
It’s a wonderful feeling, terrifying and exciting in equal measure, as you consider throwing yourself upon the reading public, hoping for a good reception. It’s easy to think, in that moment, that you’ve reached the beginning of the end. All the hard work is done, all that’s left is to put the book out there to see the sales and the reviews roll in.
Right?
Right?!
Sadly not. Finishing the book feels a little more like the end of the beginning. That one task is complete, but now comes the job of marketing it, letting the people of the world know it exists in a vast ocean of other titles. Now comes the fight with that inner whisper telling you no one will be interested; that your readers would surely be better off with a different offering. Now comes the challenge of considering the next project.
It would be easy to stop there, throw up your hands and say, ‘well, I tried. That’s enough.’
Isn’t that so often the case in life? It’s all too easy to drop those tasks that really matter, those things we know have the potential to make an impact in the world, even if they cost us in blood, sweat and tears. We reach what we thought was the top of the mountain, only to see the real peak far above us, wreathed in cloud, and feel the climb is an insurmountable obstacle. The beginning of the end? No. Only the end of the beginning.
Don’t feel disheartened by the climb. Don’t give up.
I am a firm believer that each and every one of us has the potential for brilliance. It looks different in every life, but it’s all too easy for that brilliance to be squashed by the weight of what lies ahead. It’s all too easy for us to settle for the ridge where we find ourselves, perhaps wishing we had the strength and endurance to keep climbing, but feeling beaten down by circumstances.
It’s easy to say, of course, and as I look on my monumental to do list, filled to the brim with tasks for marketing my new book, I feel the growing temptation to hide in a cupboard. I'm not going to, though. No matter how difficult the next weeks may be, I’m going to dig my fingers into those crevices and haul myself up the mountain, because no matter what happens, it will be worth it.
My husband and I visited America last year, and decided it would be a good idea to undertake a twelve-kilometre hike in the Grand Tetons national park. At altitude. Up a mountain. After walking no further than about twenty minutes a day for an entire year.
On our way to the summit we paused, exhausted, sat on a rock and looked out at the view. It wasn’t bad. It would have been easy to settle there, to say it was good enough. We seriously considered stopping, turning around and trudging back down the mountain. But we didn’t. We continued. We beat our bodies into submission and trekked up the final part of the trail.
It was incredible. The view was spectacular, but more than that, the feeling of accomplishment was a literal joy beating in my veins.
The climb is not easy, but it is worth it, every time. Keep going, keep moving forward. I’ll join you – ticking away those tasks to help give my new book the best chance I can.
If I can do it, so can you!
Becky Waterman is an author, currently living in the country of Liberia in West Africa, with her husband Dave and working with the world’s largest humanitarian airline, Mission Aviation Fellowship. Becky’s first novel, A Year in the Life of Jack Meadows, was published in 2017. She has recently launched her latest book, No Mountain Immovable: How to Activate Your Faith, a Bible study guide, exploring the lives of real, ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives, by faith.
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