When You Realize You Have a Backlist: An Author’s Honest Confession

From Edie: What does it really mean to have a backlist? One author reflects on publishing 15 books, wrestling with imposter syndrome, and discovering that a growing backlist is less about arrival—and more about God’s faithfulness.

When You Realize You Have a Backlist: An Author’s Honest Confession

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

I released a book this week. 

When you count my Love Inspired Suspense novels (2), my novellas (4), and my trade-length books (9), Last to Fall is Book #15. 

And I realize this may sound obvious, but it just occurred to me that I have a backlist! 

Wait. What? How did that happen? When did that happen? 

Apparently, it happened a long time ago. One source I consulted said you only need to have two books out to have a backlist, and if that’s true, I’ve had a backlist since 2017. 

But I have a track record for being a little slow to recognize what is often crystal clear to others. 

Case in point, I was in my mid-30s before I fully realized that writers have stories in their heads and they write them down. I still remember the moment when it dawned on me that maybe I wasn’t weird. Maybe I was a writer!

Or, more precisely, maybe I was weird, but it was because I was a writer. 

Regardless, while a part of my brain acknowledged that I had a backlist, I didn’t embrace that idea until I started doing the math at the end of this last series. Somehow, in my imposter syndrome-fueled brain, I could look at the stack of books with my name on them and know, intellectually, that they were a backlist. I just never believed it applied to me.

Why?

Because in my head, authors with a backlist are legit. They know what they’re doing. 

They have…arrived. (Please insert somber processional music. Lots of gravitas.)

Y’all.

I can assure you…The only place I have arrived is the intersection of “how did this happen” and “when will they figure out I’m clueless.” (Please insert the theme to the Muppets here. Lots of hand waving. If you can picture Kermit spazzing out, even better.)

So here’s why I’m sharing this with you today:

Thanks to the generosity of our own Edie Melson and her willingness to give a total newbie a place to share her thoughts, I began posting at The Write Conversation five years before I published my first book. Y’all, I didn’t know enough about the writing world to know what I didn’t know!

But the one thing I knew for sure then remains the one thing I know for sure now: God gives the stories. 

God is in charge of what happens with them. My job is to show up, to be teachable, and to follow His guidance. 

I wish I could tell you that this means that I’m impervious to negative reviews or harsh criticism. I am not. 

I avoid my review sections like my goldendoodle avoids bathtime. 

I wish I could tell you that I approach every blank page with confidence and joy. I do not. 

I freak out with every single book and am in total shock every time I finish one. 

I wish I could tell you that it gets easier. It does not.

I’m not sure how to put into words the terror of releasing the third book of a series into the world when readers have strong opinions about the characters, and the pressure to get it right is enough to make you second-guess every word! But the empty boxes of Thin Mints might give you a clue.

But here's what I can tell you: 

He’s been faithful through every blank page, every bad review, and every emergency Thin Mints situation.

Fifteen books that I had no idea how to write. 

Fifteen times He showed up big.

Others may see a backlist and say, “Look at what you’ve done.” 

But I see it not as a record of my accomplishments, but a record of His faithfulness. 

And oh, how great is His faithfulness. 

Grace and peace,

Lynn

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When You Realize You Have a Backlist: An Author’s Honest Confession from @LynnHBlackburn on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing swoon-worthy Southern stories—from nail-biting romantic suspense to butterfly-inducing contemporary romance—because her childhood dream of becoming a spy crashed into the reality that she'd probably dive behind the nearest potted plant at the first sign of actual danger. The truth is, she was more interested in those dashing fictional spies than in the actual spying. It's safer for everyone for her to live vicariously through her characters!

Lynn lives in South Carolina with her husband, children, and an overprotective goldendoodle. She writes her novels in between homeschooling, parenting an adult with special needs, watching her boys play baseball, and teaching at conferences. You can follow along with her real-life plot twists by signing up for her newsletter at LynnHBlackburn.com and connecting with her @LynnHBlackburn on social media.