The Question Mark (and Martian Ballerinas)

This Ask Polly about writing a book is pretty much how I feel about releasing Takeout. Ok, yes, that day when a new coworker had already played my game, without me telling him about it, is still possibly the best day in my entire life.

But mostly, after really, really believing that finishing my game was a real massive milestone, the question mark is still there.

…Once you’re published, you think the question mark will be removed. But, SURPRISE! It’s still there. It’s there when you compare yourself to other writers or count the number of people at your reading or grind your teeth over a bad review….

When people say, “Oh my god, a book, you must feel great!” most writers get a little half-smile that tells you books are hard to hug close. …  With a first book, you also tend to care too much about reviews (if you get reviewed at all) or about how many people show up for events. You might think having a book in the world will finally make you feel LIKE AN AUTHOR, but eventually you discover that feeling like an author amounts to making bad small talk at cramped bookstores filled with indifferent strangers, all the while wishing you were drunk and stoned and young and gorgeous and a ballerina who lives on Mars instead.

Source: Ask Polly: ‘Should I Quit My Day Job to Write a Book?’