When you are a totally self-published author without the benefit of a "hybrid" career (a traditional and self-pub mix), there are a few realities that sink in over a period of time.

1 - This is a long game, not for the faint of heart or impatient.

2 - This is a labor of love. I could make a best-seller list and still not recoup much more than minimum wage for the hundreds of hours I pour into each of my books. The get-rich-quick circuit has very few seats, and a mob of people are already there who will hip-check you off the platform.

3 - I've had many jobs over the years, some of them in respectable publishing circles. But none of them is as satisfying as self-publishing.

4 - If you believe in "Writer's Block," you will not make it. You have to just sit down and write. You need to produce at least 3-4 titles per year to beat the above-mentioned odds. I do have a small edge there after 30 years as a newspaper writer and editor.

5 - Social media will not get you where you want to go. It can give you followers who will recognize you once you get there, but only great writing will get you there. Write. Read. Repeat.