Waiting

Well, it is coming up six months since my book was released into the world. I am proud to report that at this point I have managed to wrestle the frequency with which I check the view count down to just once a week.  It took a lot of discipline to get there.

At this point I think i can safely report to any interested parties that the enduring experience of publishing a book is........needing to be patient. I knew the publication process itself would likely be drawn-out and frustrating. But I hadn't really thought about what to expect afterwards. If I had sat down and thought about it I could have worked out that it would likely take a long time for there to be any kind of reaction.  I know that a few people have agreed to review my book. But its pretty long, so reasonably they'd need a month or two to read it. Then more time to write the response. Then if there is any kind of editor involved there will be extra time added for emails to get read and actioned. And then there is whole publication time line all over again, but the journal version this time. And all that's ignoring the fact that book reviews are rarely top of anyone's to do list. And the fact that in some cases it took months just to persuade the publisher to send a copy of the book out. Judging by the timelines i see for other academic works, i can probably expect reviews to start being published around 12 months after the book's release - i.e. June 2026.

Of course I'm happy and relieved its getting reviewed at all. And I have had short and positive responses from friends and colleagues. But let's be honest, a year is a long time to be chewing my nails worrying whether its any good or not. Is it unhealthy that I'm weekly scanning reddit and google and even asking chat gpt if it likes it? What if it got reviewed already and i just haven't found it yet?

What if the radio silence continues even after June 2026?  How long is too long? If nothing at all is written about my book this time next year, would that still be too soon to declare it 'stillborn from the press'?  How does one even come to know if you've written such a turkey that nobody even wants to say so?

It is well known that people often experience post-phd blues, because they've been so wrapped up for so long in their project that once its complete people often don't really know what to do with themselves. It's a Herculean effort followed by a major anti-climax. But at least with a PhD you get a viva a determinate amount of time afterwards, where you get a clear verdict.  With a book you just shout it out into the void and hope someone answers, at some point. At least i'm too busy to waste time more than once a week checking for responses......well maybe once more couldn't hurt.