I do experience Writer's Block now and then! I'm a Plantser (part Planner, part Pantser). When I find myself in a writer block, I tend to get back to the planning mode, and see if perhaps the story is too predictable. I sometimes will free write about anything, even doing it handwritten, that can help get me back on track.
I'll call it predatory publishing and marketing ploys. Vanity Press for sure, but I'm sure there are others that I'm not aware of, lurking in the shadows out there. With the doorway to publishing being open wider than it has ever been with the likes of Amazon, it's sad that so many businesses dangle that carrot of publishing to the unsuspecting first time authors, only to wrap them up in a very unfair (and usually expensive) deal that doesn't give them any bit of the fortune and glory they're promised.
Pace yourself! Don't get into the comparison game. There's plenty of authors who are independent but still pull in up to seven figure salaries or more. Your journey is your own, and your set of life circumstances is often not the same as these other authors. Stay in your lane, put the time in, build your audience and your community of like minded authors. Fast success CAN happen, but it is NOT the norm!
