SquarePeg Books

Now that I’ve published the first book, and I’m working on formatting the second, I’m struggling with a few things, mentally and emotionally.

One of the bigger “things” I deal with, is the feeling of being a burden. That’s part of why it took me so long to start self-publishing in the first place: How much of a time-suck will it really be? How much money is this going to cost per book? what is going to be my return on investment for this? Is it going to negatively affect my family’s finances?

Eventually I saved enough money to feel “safe” to start SquarePeg Books. I know it won’t be a financially viable business for quite some time, if ever. Every month. I transfer a small set amount of money from my personal account to my business account, to cover the expenses of the webpage, the email, and other associated costs.

Of course my sales are tiny. I’m not marketing. I want to get several more books out before I invest money and time in that direction. But I still feel bad about that. Being a one-man band takes time and money, both of which are a limited resource.

Am I being wildly irresponsible by pursuing this “hobby?” What about the time it takes to write and polish the words? Even at the top of my abilities, I wasn’t able to generate a manuscript from rough to finish in a year. It takes me longer than that. To be a financially viable business, supposedly you have to pound out 6-8 books per year, which is something I doubt I ever will be able to do.

Can I st least speed up my writing and formatting? Maybe cut corners?

I asked Daniel, my son, his thoughts on the subject. He’s 16 and starting to write his own stories.

He feels that it’s more important to focus on producing the best story you can, one at a time, and fuck the calendar, then it is to slam out one book after another.

I still feel like I’m being unfair to family and adulting, generally.

What do you think?

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