Chris Orcutt writes about BTTA and the perils and rewards of the writing process. He uses a very clever analogy.

Of course when I reach port one year from now, I’m hoping there will be a much larger crowd of fans, readers, book buyers, supporters, journalists, etc. than the crowd that saw me off at the beginning. I’m confident this is what will happen. But while crossing the Black Pit, I had a realization.

Even if there’s no one at the destination to greet me next year, it doesn’t matter because I will have accomplished something unequivocally, indisputably great. I will have safely shepherded a nine-book convoy across an overwhelming chasm of ocean, and done it to the absolute best of my ability.

I will have given the books everything I have, and I know they will stand the test of time. And even if I were to die soon thereafter, the books I leave behind are forever.

Please read the whole thing at Chris’s blog.