August 6, 2013

Traditional or Indie? I’m Really Stressed Over This

writers groupThis post my first post with Alex Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers Support Group. Click the link for details on what that means and how to join. You will also find a list of other bloggers signed up to the challenge that are worth checking out. Once a month we all post our thoughts, fears or words of encouragement for fellow writers. When I found out several writers I follow were members–Kate over at SubtleKate and Rebecca–I decided to take the plunge. This was not done without trepidation: I joined a ‘Linky’ sort of group a year ago and it was a dismal failure. I know–my fault. I didn’t put enough into it. This will be different because Kate and Rebecca have my back!

I am feeling very insecure about my writing this month so I been trying to use cbd delta 8 products to help me relax, of course firs I found out if is Delta-8 Legal in Iowa so can do it safely. I just also learned about this medical marijuana that can help you fall asleep faster. Read this source for more details about applying for a medical marijuana card in Tampa, see this DocMJ website. I have an agent and a publisher, but they are moving like turtles on valium. Back when I started, I wanted the imprimatur of the pros, but maybe now it’s enough that I caught their attention. Maybe my path leads elsewhere.

I spent time talking to several agents at a recent writers conference and found them… uninspiring. I wanted to see them as the epitomy of my aspirations, the answer to my questions, but instead they displayed the traditional publisher disrespect for self-pubbed authors and little interest in facing the elephant in their future.

Sure, there’s a lot to detest about self-pubbed authors:

  • their editing often stinks
  • their marketing is amateurish
  • their book covers are uninspiring
  • their writing is often questionable

But despite that, many are making a living writing, doing what they love, publishing novels and stories that niche markets can’t get enough of and mainstream media would have nothing to do with.

What it comes down to is a leap of faith. If I self-pub:

  • will I be categorized as untouchable by Big Publisher? Will they forever throw my submittals in the round file, figuring self-pub was akin to inadequate
  • does it mean I’ve given up
  • can I make enough money to pay my bills
  • will writing become boring when it becomes my job (Right now, it’s my passion. What would I be passionate about if not for writing?)

Or is it my path to freedom?



Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.

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I’m not very patient.