I wrote my first book in 2018, and I didn't really think about trying to self-publish it until close to the end of the process, when 1) I added ebook export to my writing tool and 2) I started looking at the kinds of things that were selling on the Kindle store. 1/

I'm still not sure if there's an objective way to measure success as a writer (Profit? Count of reviews and average rating? Some intrinsic quality of the story or prose?) but writing has brought structure and a lot of unexpected joy to my life. 2/

Sometimes the aspects of writing required for self-publishing become hard to deal with. Social media is fun, but it can be a distraction, and at certain times a source of negativity.

It's also easy to become distracted by trying to sell books. 3/

I have to remember those first few months when I got back into writing, when I was enjoying writing for its own sake.

I wasn't on Twitter.

I didn't know any other indie authors that I could compare myself with.

I didn't have a series, or even a title for the book.

4/

I didn't have a brand I was trying to create.

Etc. etc.

I don't want to forget what that was like.

And I want to always be able to go back. The main reasons that I write exist separately from self-publishing, and I want it to stay that way.

5/5