A Puppy's Expectations

When you watch the big dogs do it, it looks easy.

The water was calm, the big dogs were splashing and happy. Midget thought she'd try it out. It felt a lot different than she anticipated. I'm not saying she didn't enjoy the experience, but it certainly wasn't what she expected.

Her belly got cold. Her ears got wet. The wet sand squished between her toes and got stuck in her fur. In the end, she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

This is true of many things in life. When you see someone else doing something and it looks fun and relatively easy, we think, "Hey, I can do that!" More often than not, the experience is not quite what we expected.

Expectations are tricky things. I tend to be an optimist and a dreamer, and my expectations usually climb way too high, leaving the actual event to be more of a let down.

This is true with raising kids, and it's especially true in publishing. I was so-so-so excited when I signed my first contract. And then it took a year for the book to be released in ebook format, and I'm still waiting to see whether it will printed as a paperback. Sales numbers in this economy are not what I expected, and self-promotion for a new author is not as easy as it sounds. Especially not while raising aforementioned kids.

Other authors make it all look so easy. On the outside looking in, I thought, "Hey, cool, I can do all that, too." It's not as easy as I thought it would be. I guess if it were, everyone would quit their day jobs and become authors.

With this second book contract, I'm trying hard to temper my expectations. I'm excited, but I'm not crowing about it. Yet. Let me get through the revision process. And the cover art negotiations. And the copyediting procedures. And the waiting game.

I'm sure it will all go smoothly, and I'll be crowing soon enough.

Just like I'm sure the puppy will go back in the water and actually swim one day soon.

Next time, she'll know what to expect.