Why?

I have 2 books out, both self-published, that I am super proud of. I did all the work on the second one and after people read it, I was told it had a lot of small errors. I have over 20 other books started/plots but don't want to write because I don't have any help. It's hard to do it all, especially because I have a learning disability. I'm not making excuses, more venting. I am 3/4 of the way done with my third book and don't even want to work on it. How do any of you keep motivated to continue to write when life is stacked against you?

 

Did you hire an editor or proofreader?

On the plus side, despite the small errors, it sounds like the readers finished the book.

 

Whenever you put any kind of work into the public domain, whether that's writing or otherwise, you have to be prepared to take criticism.

Some of it may be justified, some of it may not. You don't have to agree with it, but you have to realise it won't be one smooth ride.

I imagine even Harrison Ford had lots of rejections before his first successful audition.

 

This is why people take the trad route, so the main thing or only thing you have to worry about is the writing. People will of course tell you even through the trad route, you're expected to do some self-promotion, but the extent to which you must take care of that, as well as in which scenario that is actually true for, both vary depending on a whole load of factors.

If you like the control but not the marketing and business side, a small press could be a good route to go - it essentially achieves similar results to good self-publishing (assuming a good press) without the financial risk and with less of the business side thrown in.

If you don't want the business side at all, go trad - eg. agent >> big pubs.

If you are happy self-publishing but are simply tired, consider outsourcing the work depending on budget and profit. Self-publishing, serious self-publishing that has success, is a business venture. You are the publishing house, so to speak, and publishing houses are not one-man shows. I've not self-published, but personally I'd throw money into cover design and marketing/ads/social media presence. BookTok is huge right now - ride that wave while it's there. My copy is pretty darn clean, so I'd personally see editing as a secondary concern in terms of monetary investment (it's not just me who thinks that - I've been told this by betas, agents and publishers, so at least in terms of SPAG I'm not too worried, honestly). Not everyone's like this though. So I'd probably prioritise which aspects you outsource depending on your own strengths and weaknesses.

Either way, there're many routes to publishing. If something isn't working for you, change tactics. No need to wallow in it and force yourself to push through. Pushing through is good, but you gotta be strategic, not just push on blindly. See why it's not working for you and see what the solutions are. That's what running a business is about, and if you're a self-publishing author, then you're running a business.

 

I think it must be hard to have 20 books going on at the same time. Motivation can come and go. It can be hard to move forward when you feel like life is stacked against you both with writing and life itself. Maybe it would be good to narrow your focus and really throw yourself into one thing at a time. Another thing that can help is having a routine or schedule that you stick to. As far as outside help goes, well, writing can be a lonely pursuit. Sure, you can always hire some sort of help with editing or whatever, but for the most part the writing is all on you. Good luck, my friend, and try not to get discouraged.