Yes, I want to be a writer. That’s all I want to do when it comes to this business. I want to write and send my manuscripts to someone who will turn them into books and market them and promote me and make me lots and lots of money like the authors portrayed on TV.

A girl can dream.

While I don’t mind public speaking–actually enjoy meeting everyone in person–and I don’t mind playing on social media, I don’t like marketing. There seems to be something inherently wrong with tooting my own horn. That idea was probably ingrained in me from the first time I learned the verse saying “pride goeth before the fall.” But I’m learning (still) about marketing/promoting/public relations, etc. because it is part of the job.

I’m also learning how to format. Originally, I thought that if I wanted to get some books out on my own, like A Ride in the Shadows, I could save some money if I at least learn to format. I know several authors who know how to do it and have the procedure down pat. I’ve resisted all this time, because it’s simply not something I want to learn. I just can’t muster up the interest. But I signed up for a course through my editor’s organization, The Christian PEN, and I’m going to try to learn.

Since self-publishing became so popular, we’ve seen a rise in entrepreneurs to serve those enterprising authors. Editors, cover designers, formatters, video producers, promotion experts, organizations with huge followings that’ll mention your book for a day at a price. An author can spend a lot of money just trying to catch a ride on the highway to success. Like most writers I know, I sink what I earn back into my business and have to decide how it’s best spent. I can, will, and have paid folks to help promote my books. When the original publisher released Give the Lady a Ride, I paid for someone to help get it back out. She did the book cover and formatting, and got it with the right distributors. Things I don’t have a clue how to do–not to mention how to manage all my releases once they’ve been out for a while

It would be great to do this all myself, and I’m trying to learn, but at this point, if I have the money to hire someone to help, I think I will. All this is among the reasons I want to remain with a traditional publisher. Yes, I’ll still have to do a lot of my own marketing, but the rest of it would be someone else’s headache.

In the battle between traditional and independent publishing, I may have to come down on the side of traditional simply because I don’t have the brains to go indy.