In 18 days, my debut novel launches. When the book was finally completed, I felt relieved, as though I accomplished something I never thought possible. Now, however, I just feel nervous. All kinds of questions are filling my head. What if it’s not good enough? How will I handle the situation if someone leaves a bad review? Did I catch every typo and error in the book? What if no one buys it? Will my book rank as number 3,999,999 out of 4 million books in historical fiction?

While I am a first time novelist, I am not an unpublished writer so all these negative thoughts are somewhat surprising. I know these thoughts are irrational. My alpha and beta readers enjoyed the book so it’s likely I’ll sell at least one or two. I can’t help wondering if all new authors feel this way.

So here I am, with launch day looming, imagining my book languishing in obscurity or worse, getting a one-star review because someone hated my comma placement. But maybe that’s how this writing thing goes. Every novelist I admire probably sweated through this too. If they survived, I can. And if I sell three copies: one to my neighbor, one to my friend, and one to a random stranger who accidentally clicks ‘buy’—I’ll call it a win.