There's No Such Thing as Self-Published

I'm writing two children's books, and I've been telling people I'm planning to self-publish them. The more I say that word, the more it feels like a lie.

Here's why. For months I'd been trying to find an illustrator. I didn't find one through research or by hiring a service. I found the answer through a chain of relationships I never could have planned.

My friend Elmer introduced me to a guy named Kenneth a while back. Kenneth and I stayed loosely in touch. Recently he reached out, we got to talking, and I mentioned the books. He said, oh, I've got someone you need to meet. That someone was Justine, and Justine told me about Reedsy, the marketplace where I found my illustrator.

Follow that line back. The book that will one day have my name on the cover exists because Elmer knew Kenneth, and Kenneth knew Justine, and Justine knew about Reedsy. I didn't build that chain. It was built by years of other people staying connected.

That's when "self-published" fell apart for me. We love a good self-made story. The lone genius. The founder in the garage. But nobody makes anything alone. Not a book. Not a business. Not a life.

The truth is quieter and more beautiful. I'm held up by an ecosystem of relationships, most of which I didn't engineer. Some of the people holding it up have never even met each other. And if the relationships are what make the work possible, then tending them isn't a distraction from the work. It is the work.

Read the full piece on Substack.

Learn more about the adventure at www.heart-strong.org