Jeff Abbott | THE FIVE THINGS THEY NEVER TELL YOU WHEN YOUR BOOK IS ON THE SHELF

I’ve written eleven novels, and each one has been both joy and challenge. My latest thriller, Trust Me, was no different in that regard. I have found, though, that many readers and new or aspiring authors don’t know about the Five Things that happen once the book is done and on the shelves. These are the time-tested elements that you must brace yourself (and possibly your loved ones and your readers for) when you reach out and pluck down the finished book off the shelf:

You will remember some tiny bit of obscure research that you forgot to include. Oh, the hours you spent tracking down the correct serial numbers for a Belgian sniper rifle, or Ivan the Terrible’s underwear size, or the exact farm-to- market road your heroine would drive to reach Blooming Grove, Texas. And scanning over your scene, you realize that the tidbit is NOT THERE. How could this be? It must be the copyeditor struck it out and you didn’t notice. Or maybe you realized you didn’t need said tidbit because it slowed down the story and so like a reasonable person you took it out. But you don’t remember making that edit. Don’t worry. You can bore people with the obscure research for years to come. Look out, cocktail parties!

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