To summarize:
1) Step away from your work. If something feels forced, then, like a jigsaw piece, it's likely not the right fit.
2) Get some fresh air or listen to music that inspires you or gets your blood pumping.
3) Break glass in case of emergency, be 21 or older and break the dam of your literary inhibitions with a little liquid courage (and also drink responsibly).
I believe the present and future are synonymous in this context. The publishing industry can be incredibly picky. They typically flow wherever the market seems most monetarily abundant. In any genre, they want to see particular people of a particular community of the current time. Not following this formula may not provide a large audience, but e-books have given people like me a chance to walk around traditional publishing and plug in our own work.
I wasted over half a year accumulating nearly a hundred rejections, but I refused to trash my work. I like what I made, and I like where it'll go. In a world of nearly eight billion strong, the Law of Averages tells me at least a couple people will stick around until the end of The Infinity Series. There are freelance editors, artists, and the likes looking to help, and not everyone cares about the direction of market demands. Self-publishing doesn't have to carry stigma. It's changed reading by broadening what's available. Innumerable variety is a gift and a curse in society, but, at least this way, there should be a book for everyone, rather than what The Man expects you'll read.
I would say I dreamed of it, but never quite saw it. Hell, I still dream of it. Ever since the fifth grade I've wanted nothing more than to put out a story people would enjoy and use as an escape. That was, what, 2003-2004? Christ, where does the time go? It's been a long path, and I've still got a ways to go, but, as they say: "Nothing ventured, dotdotdot."
It's cute you think I'm recognized in public. I only published in April 2020, during prime-time quarantine. I've no reputation backing me, except the friends and family I've amassed along the life I live. Occasionally I'll find strangers' reviews or an unanticipated high rating, but I'm stuck in that self-degrading, cynical space where I'm afraid to ask people what they think and only believe they're being nice when they say it's good. What really helps is seeing when people download Overture via Kindle Unlimited and I can see pages are being consecutively read. Those are the moments I feel accomplished for creating something captivating.
