The Disillusionment of Real Moderate Success in the Self-Publishing Industry

Probably one part that shocked me the most to learn about online self-publishing and taking that route INSTEAD OF regular publishing with a traditional publishers, is first of all just how it's a completely different Beast than Traditional corporately funded and backed publishing. It's not the same journey at all. A whole shitload of the privileges you assumed you'd get when you grew up fantasizing about having a publishing career, are actually entirely absent from the career you've chosen, not by any failing or fault of your own, but because the two industries (traditional publishing and online self-publishing, just aren't the same thing, and therefore will not yield the same results.

• Comic Book Conventions, Signings, Autographs, Book Signings, Paycheck Advances, The Guidance and Expectations of an Editor and Agent, TV Appearances, Magazine Articles, Author Interviews, Movie and TV Deals

You can pretty much hit the delete key on ALL of those things.

And the career you DO HAVE and end up having won't bear a very strong resemblance to the one career you may have once fantasized about yourself having. But that's okay. It's not better or worse of a path. Just different. And that pre-fantasized glory fest of a dominant media celebrity, like JK Rowling or Stephen King? Forget about it. That path is reserved for Beautiful people backed by Beautiful Publishers and Agents, and a path that is completely false in terms of it being You're path, which is not one of fame and glamour, but hustle, hard work, and like it or not, humility.