On Completing a Novel

I recently completed seven months of work on my novel, The Pastor's Inferno, and have sent copies to my small band of critical readers. Although I did not have to undergo labor, I feel like I have given birth in some ways. I am protective of my creation, a little nervous about how my readers will accept it and hopeful that it will make a contribution to those whose paths it crosses. I also feel the separation from a work which has been an integral part of me for so long and now has to stand on its own. I want it to do well, but I realize there will come a point where I will have to let go and allow it to survive on its own.

(Scene from Dante's Inferno)