Publishing your own work can be difficult, not that I’d know. I’ve read the story from others going through the ordeal several times. Jonathan Moeller, one of my favorite authors (I own all his books, so yeah, favorite), has detailed the process and the benefits. He writes:

…end of March (2023) I had also reached 2 million ebooks sold. Twelve years! That’s a long time. That’s honestly the longest consecutive time I’ve ever done anything. The longest traditional job I’ve ever held was for ten and a half years. Like, in the US, you can only be president for a maximum of eight years (barring a technicality with a vice president who becomes president and then is reelected twice), and I think only six(?) UK Prime Ministers have held the office for longer than twelve years.

Two million ebooks is also a staggering figure. (source)

If you love sword and sorcery stuff, Moeller’s writing is the best, especially The Grey Knight series. I LOVE it.


Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Guy (name pronounced the way you’d say the “gui” in guillotine) LeCharles Gonzalez agrees:

Authors who are able to think like entrepreneurs, diversify their income sources, and build effective support teams are the ones with the best shot at a long-term sustainable career. (Source: As in guillotine blog).

What are the basics of every author’s platform? Guy suggests that it should be the following:

  • A website
  • A dedicated email account
  • A social media account

It’s possible that big tech and business is working at undercutting these basics, or at least, ensuring that you rely on them to get that work done. I can’t complain, I’ve scattered my creative work across multiple sites and platforms. Rather than try to concentrate it on one, I figured something might survive over the long run.

Of course, I’m not selling anything. I’m not trying to make money, or monetize my work. My family says, “You should write a book. You like to write.” That’s the same reason people told me to get a doctorate…“You like to write, Miguel.”


Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

I’m not so sure anymore. It’s not writing to make money. This may be just a dude staring into space, talking to himself…not to sell tickets to the obvious, but hoping somebody far away will respond.