Hey Reader,

Longtime readers might remember when I used to do the 3@3. New readers, welcome to the explanation: a few years back, I used to go live once a week at 3pm and answer 3 questions that had been pre-submitted. It was all live, no editing, just raw talk. Turns out, I've got a pile of those clips sitting around, and honestly, most of the advice hasn't aged a day. Would I add some information or say it a bit different? Maybe. But these are still so solid, I decided to resurrect them and share them with you again!

The question this time was one I could talk about for an hour:

What are the factors that will lead to a successful self-publishing experience?

A few things I said that I'd still say today:

You can't answer that question until you define what success actually means to you. Not to the author next to you, not to whoever's topping a bestseller list this week. To you. Are you doing this for money? For readers? For the pure joy of telling the story your way? That answer changes almost every decision after it.

And the other one I keep coming back to: stop comparing yourself to other authors. Comparison is the thief of joy, cliche as that sounds, and it's true because you genuinely do not know what's going on in anyone else's life. You don't know their finances, their kids, their health, how fast their brain works. You only get to compare yourself to yourself.

If you want the rest, including why I think treating your publishing career like an actual business matters more than almost anything else on this list, here's the video.

If a clip like this hits and you want somewhere to talk it through, Just Keep Writing is free and open 24/7. It's a low-pressure place to write alongside other people and ask questions when you get stuck.

One more thing before I go: would you want live 3@3 back, or something like it, where you could ask your own questions in real time instead of just watching old clips?

Happy writing!

~Angela

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