The dream haunts all of us who write: "This is a great book! It's going to get out there! People are going to find it! People are going to love it! Word will spread! Bestseller lists!"

And then reality hits. 

Self-publishing, alas, is a form of publishing, not a form of writing. That's a business at which most of us aren't all that good. Of the dream, everything between "This is a great book" and "bestseller lists" is closer to magical thinking than it is to a plan, in most of our cases. It certainly was for me.

You're not alone. There's nothing to be ashamed of in dreaming it. Beware, though. That dream could leave each of us bitter and broken, if we let it.

There are two paths forward, once we discover how hard all those middle steps are.

We can be proud of the book. We can look at the paperbacks and smile. We can enjoy the story ourselves. And no one should mock that choice. Art is beautiful; it does not require fame to be so.

The other choice is to become a publisher. Learn WHY some books are in airport bookstores. Learn WHY some books are face-out on shelves. Learn WHY some books get magazine articles about them.

I'll get you started: Quality of writing has very little to do with it. The tools of the publishing trade are what get those things for books.

Pride in our work and the joy of creation are perfectly sound choices. I love Seer's Blade, even though it might be the least-read thing I've ever written. 

But if I want others to love it, I must master the business of publishing.

(Inspired by a conversation with a mutual.)