The book is published. But the to-do list keeps growing!
Last week, I celebrated publishing my second Mateo book.
Eight editions. Two platforms. Two days.
After months of writing, revising, translating, creating illustrations, and preparing everything for publication, Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word: From Abraham to Joseph was finally out in the world.
I thought I might have a chance to relax.
Apparently, nobody told my to-do list.
Because publishing a book doesn't mean the work is finished.
It means a whole new kind of work is beginning.
First, there are the websites.
The new book needs to be added. The links need to work. The English and Spanish editions need to be in the right places. The descriptions need to be checked.
Then there are the bookstores and book-discovery websites.
Some already know about Mateo. Others have never heard of him.
So I introduce him.
Again.
And again.
Sometimes I feel as though I'm taking Mateo from door to door, knocking politely and asking, "Excuse me, would you like to meet a twelve-year-old boy who travels through Bible history?"
Occasionally, someone opens the door.
And that's encouraging.
Then there are the social media posts.
Facebook. Instagram. Threads. LinkedIn. And a few other places where I've introduced myself and my books.
I create an image, write a description, post it, and wonder who might see it.
Sometimes a post attracts attention.
Sometimes it seems to disappear into the vastness of the internet.
And sometimes a camel spitting at a boy gets more attention than a carefully written announcement about a new book.
I'm beginning to understand that Jamil may be better at marketing than I am.
But beneath all the activity is a question that every author eventually faces.
Will someone read it?
When you're writing a book, the characters are always with you.
You know where they're going.
You know what they're facing.
You spend hours imagining their conversations, their struggles, and the world around them.
For months, Mateo, Abraham, Sarah, Suri, Jamil, and the others were part of my everyday life.
But now the book belongs to the readers.
And I can't make anyone open it.
I can tell people about the story.
I can make it available in different places.
I can share pictures and videos.
I can hope that someone will read it, enjoy it, and perhaps tell someone else.
But eventually, I have to let the book find its way.
That's not always easy.
Especially when you're the kind of person who likes to check whether anything has happened since the last time you checked.
Which may have been ten minutes ago.
Or five.
I'm working on that.
Meanwhile, something else has happened.
Book Three has begun.
I didn't sit down and decide that I needed another project to keep me busy.
The story simply wasn't finished.
New questions appeared. New possibilities opened up. And a character who once seemed to have a small part in Mateo's adventures began to suggest that he might have a much larger story to tell.
So now I find myself doing two things at once.
Trying to help readers discover the book I've just finished.
And discovering the story of the book I haven't finished yet.
Perhaps that's simply what being an author looks like.
You celebrate a milestone.
You take a moment to appreciate what you've accomplished.
And then you get up the next morning and continue.
I've been thinking about the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1:
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
There was a time to write Book Two.
There was a time to prepare it for publication.
And now there is a time to share it, patiently, with people who may not even know it exists yet.
I can't control how quickly readers discover Mateo.
But I can keep doing the work in front of me.
I can keep writing.
I can keep sharing.
And I can trust that the effort has meaning, even when I can't immediately see the results.
So, what happens after the book is published?
Apparently, you update the website.
You check the links.
You introduce the book to another potential reader.
You check the statistics one more time.
And then, when you finally have a quiet moment, you open the manuscript for Book Three.
Because somewhere in ancient Egypt, another adventure is waiting.
And the story doesn't seem particularly interested in my to-do list.
