Pride begins sharing space with disappointment - Liza Marie Garcia

Imagine this: The box finally arrives.

Inside is the book you have been thinking about for years. The one people have been telling you, you have to write. The one you worked on after work, between zoom’s, or whenever the house was quiet enough to hear yourself think.

You pick it up. Your name is on the cover.

For a moment, you let yourself feel it. You wrote a book. You actually finished it, and now you can hold it in your hands. Without question is brings happiness!

Then you open it.

Perhaps the font looks smaller than you expected. A sentence you meant to change is still in chapter two. The cover, which seemed beautiful on your computer, feels different in print. Or it all looks amazing but then you start to realize you have no idea how to get anyone to buy it.

Somewhere between opening that box and explaining the book to a friend, your pride begins sharing space with disappointment.

How did I miss that?

Why didn’t I proof it a little more, why did I ask more questions about book promotion?

I should have known better.

That last sentence is the one I want first-time authors to reconsider.

Should you really have known better? Based on what experience?

You may have built a successful business, earned advanced degrees, raised a family, led an organization, or become the person everyone calls when something complicated needs solving. None of those accomplishments automatically teaches you how to publish a book.

And yet, accomplished people can be especially unforgiving when they become beginners.

They are accustomed to knowing what to do. They know how to prepare, how to deliver, and how to recognize good work in their own field. Publishing introduces an unfamiliar set of decisions, often before they have enough experience to understand what those decisions will mean.

Editing. Formatting. Book Cover design. Marketing Strategy. Channel Distribution. Pricing.

Each sounds straightforward until it is your book, your money, and your name attached to the outcome.

Sometimes, you don’t even know which question to ask until you are looking at the answer you wish you hadn’t received.

In our work with more than 200 book authors, we have helped more than a few republish their first books because they were unhappy with the original results. They came to us wanting another chance to present their work in a way they could feel proud of.

The disappointment mattered. So did the decision to try again.

Republishing requires an author to revisit something they thought was finished. There may be another round of editing, a different cover, a better interior layout (format editing), or a more strategic promotion plan.

But there is also something encouraging about an author who says, “This book still matters to me. I want to get it right.”

I respect that, and even with the publishing of my own first book, I was given this advice and I’m happy I listened to it.

A disappointing first experience does not have to be the end of the story. Sometimes it becomes the reason an author finally learns how to ask better questions, choose the right support, and participate more confidently in the process.

Still, I don’t want the lesson to swallow accomplishment.

Before you had publishing lessons to learn, you had a manuscript to finish. You had to decide that your story, your knowledge, or your imagination deserved a place on the page. Then you had to keep going long enough to bring it to publishing. And ONLY published authors understand what a tremendous amount of work that took!

Please give yourself credit for that.

There are people who have been saying, “Someday I’m going to write a book,” for decades. You moved beyond someday. You became a published book author.

You are allowed to celebrate that without adding a list of everything you wish you had done differently.

Show someone your book. Take the photograph. Enjoy seeing your name on the cover. Let the people who love you be excited for you.

You have earned some grace for being new. However, you also have a responsibility to use what you now know.

Before you publish again, ask yourself where the first experience went off course. Did you rush because you had announced a release date too early? Did you approve something you hadn’t carefully reviewed? Were you unclear about what your publishing agreement included? Did you assume promotion would somehow take care of itself?

Be honest, and be specific.

“I’ll do better next time” needs a few practical decisions behind it.

Perhaps you need more time to review your proof. Perhaps you need to understand your distribution options before choosing them. Perhaps you need a publishing partner who explains the process clearly and welcomes your questions.

Write those lessons down before the excitement of the next manuscript carries you past them.

I want authors to approach their second books with greater confidence because they have paid attention to their first book.

But I also want them to remember the person who opened that first box.

That person took a chance. That person finished something difficult. That person deserves an enormous amount of admiration!

Learn everything you can from your first book.

And when someone asks whether you are an author, allow yourself to answer with pride.

“Yes, I am.”

Liza Marie Garcia is an Active Partner with Tampa-based NOW Global Media and its CEO Book Publishing division, where she has worked with hundreds of authors and helped publish more than 90 books across multiple platforms and genres, including business, leadership, faith-based, memoirs, children’s books, and more.

A former tech CEO from Seattle and new TEDx speaker, Liza Marie is a seven-time author. Her first book, Never Drink Coffee During a Business Meeting, was featured on a Barnes & Noble West Coast tour. Her latest book, Tell Them of My Greatness, is her first Christian title and led to an extensive Barnes & Noble national author tour. She is also a 3-time podcast host and influencer on LinkedIn.

Liza Marie founded one of the first professional services firms in the telecommunications industry at age 27 after beginning her career as a software design engineer at IBM. She later expanded her company in the Pacific Northwest before relocating to Tampa Bay. Today, she mentors entrepreneurs through organizations such as Tampa Bay Wave, Techstars, and Junior Achievement 3DE, and has been a business owner for more than 24 years.

She chairs as Chairman of the board for WIM entertainment out of Arizona and also serves as an Ambassador Leader for the United States Christian Chamber of Commerce. She is an avid tennis and pickleball player, golfer and remains active in faith-driven leadership and community initiatives. A proud mother of two daughters, Liza Marie credits her faith and family as the foundation of her strength, resilience, and purpose.

Find out more at https://nowgc.com.

Article published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - November 2026.

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