Being Invisible in a Fast Paced, Changing World

The world is changing at an amazingly fast rate. Everything is online. There are benefits to that new world and there are disadvantages.

Indie publishing means that anyone can self-publish instead of going through a traditional publisher. It's not just about getting accepted with a traditional publisher that makes Indie publishing so attractive. There's the immediate gratification. With traditional publishing it can take 1-2 years before an acceptance turns into a physical book. There's the control over all aspects; cover, pricing, and where to publish. And, of course, there is the ability to publish what you want instead of trying to get into a limited niche with traditional publishers. It's a great new world for authors.

Yet, all those authors self publishing means that the field is swamped. Standing out in the crowd is not always easy, especially for shy, reticent authors whose strength is in writing a great story, not necessarily in promoting and selling that story. Being Invisible is what I call it. I have a new, deeper understanding of why celebrities do bad things to get attention because attention is necessary to lose the invisibility of being in a crowd.

I never once considered becoming an actor. There were times when I thought I might be pretty good at it, but so are thousands upon thousands of struggling actors. I never had the drive or sense of acting being a strong enough calling to put myself through the grind that it takes to crawl to the top. So an acting career was never, ever in my goals. I do have a passion for writing, however. I am slowly realizing that being a successful author could be as much a struggle as being a successful author. By successful I mean the ability to make a living as an author in order to be able to keep writing.