I enjoy writing. I like expressing my thoughts on paper or on my blog. I wish I could get more people to read my stories and poems, but that's not why I write.
I have written a couple of novels. They have been revised over many years. I have been tinkering with one since university. I have carefully sculpted the other over the last 20 years. Neither has been published. I have tried the Literary Agent route, which is very frustrating. You wait so long only to get a form letter rejection. I understand why. The number of "writers" worldwide has grown exponentially since the advent of word processing programs and the Internet. Literary agents are inundated with story pitches. I'm sure they can barely keep ahead of the avalanche. I'm not criticizing them, but rather just sharing my observations.
The non-literary agents in my life - friends and relatives - advise me to self-publish. I am reluctant for a few reasons. First, Literary Agents want to avoid handling spoiled copy. They want the princess to be intact, so to speak. If I self-publish, my novels will be sullied. It is an all-or-nothing strategy.
Second, to self-publish successfully, you need to be able to promote yourself. All authors do marketing, but if you have a Literary Agent, you have some guidance and access to tools unavailable to lone wolves.
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