Writing Without Publishing

I’m a writer.  That means I write.  However, I also want people to read my work, so that also means I publish.

Unfortunately, in the indie circuit, publishing isn’t cheap.  Sure, it can be if one is just looking to upload a generic word document to Amazon with a solid color cover, but that’s just not a book to me.  I want a good cover.  I want a bound book with a back cover synopsis.  I need a proof copy so I don’t have to find mistakes after publication.  If I want to continue publishing, I’m either going to need to sell more books, which hasn’t happened yet, or I’m gong to need to put more of my own money into it.  Since I need to do strange things, like eat and put my kids through college, I can’t afford to be a bottomless pit of cash.  It costs at least $750, bare minimum, to bring a book out right, and I don’t know if I can keep doing that with all of my other obligations.

So why did I bring all of this up?  Am I looking for pity?  Nope – I just wanted to say that even if I decide I have to discontinue publishing until I have a larger cash flow(if ever), I’m going to continue to write.  Writing is in my blood, and any writer worth his or her salt will tell you they feel compelled to write.  It’s not something easily discarded – it’s like eating.  It’s just comes naturally regardless of our financial situation.

Maybe I can find other ways to keep publishing – crowdsourcing, perhaps? – but I have to keep writing.  I’ve just started designing an intricate new world that my brain can’t let go of, so it’ll soon start to take shape on paper.  Whether y’all see it or not is another story.