AUTHOR = WORK

We found ourselves pushing through the underbrush in order to avoid the water-soaked trails. In some places, we had to balance across logs to make it from one dry patch to another. The trail was flooded in several locations, but we weren’t going to let that stop us from hiking this thing.  
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A long time ago, but still in this galaxy, my wife and I decided to take a day hike. I had a new action camera I wanted to test out in the wilderness. The camera mounted to my hiking bag strap and was ready to go. I was so excited. After about thirty to forty-five minutes of hiking, we came across some major flooding. It seemed some rainstorms had turned parts of the trail into shallow rivers. A couple hikers had passed us going the other way at one point and assured us it got dry a little farther on. So, we decided to go for it.  

In places we could, we went around the flooded areas. That meant cutting through underbrush and fighting thick plants. In other areas, we were able to walk through only an inch or two of water. Some places we found things to balance across to stay out of the muck. You must be careful in territory like this. The Cottonmouth snake is a common one in watery places in the woods here in Florida and their bite is deadly. Luck for us, we never came across one.  

Even though the trails were flooded and moving forward was sometimes a slow and challenging process, we enjoyed ourselves. We weren’t going to let a little water ruin our day hike. And now I have a memorable adventure out of it. This can be applied to almost anything else in life. But since this blog centers around authors and writing, I think I will focus there.  

Does self-publishing seem like a lot of work? Does it seem like you’re trudging through water and not making any progress? Is all that work necessary or worth it? Well, let me tell you from experience. Yes, it is worth it. Self-publishing is a lot of work. I mean, you’re in charge of everything. And when something doesn’t go right, there’s only yourself to blame. The book launch was a dud. Can’t blame your agent. The description of your book sounds mediocre. Can’t blame your publishing agency. It’s all on you. But much like our adventure through the flooded woods, it’s a lot of fun. And you have crazy stories to tell of the things you did and how you learned what you did. It’s worth it. Trust me.  

Yes, I have a lot of work to do as a self-published author. I have to write the book, edit the book, format the book, edit, promote, market, etc and etc. But I get to decide what is done. No one else. I don’t have to wait for my publisher to tell me I need to cut out X number of pages. There are no requesting sales pricing. I can put the book on sale whenever I want. I think of it this way. If we had a trail guide with us that day on our hike, he might have told us to turn back. Had we, I wouldn’t have this fun story to tell. Same goes for my books.  

So, in the end, self-publishing is a lot of work. I have to take on a lot of the responsibilities myself. But it’s also rewarding and a lot of fun. It gives me full creative control, and I like that. Something to consider if you’re torn between trying to go traditional or self-published. And if you ever find yourself hiking in the middle of the Florida summer, maybe bring some rain boots.  
 
Until next time, keep wandering. Just not alone.   ​