REMEMBER: To be a writer, all you have to do is write. Being
   published is a business activity that has nothing to do with
   being writer. Getting recognized as an author is a social
   activity which has nothing to do with writing. Writers write. If
   you want to organize it somehow into a book that sells and gets
   people to like your way of thinking, well then you have to
   coordinate a whole bunch of NOT WRITING things... things that
   actually take away from being a writer. That's why so many
   people who make money writing have agents, to handle that stuff.
   So to me? Just write. Don't worry about the rest of it. I'm not
   a role model btw - I don't even edit. I just produce, produce,
   produce wherever I go and I'm a writer, not a published
   author... although I *did* self publish two books on Amazon,
   which I did as QUICKLY as I could because I wanted to avoid all
   the stress over publishing THE PERFECT BOOK. I just wanted to
   understand the process of getting it up there - and it's not
   hard. So, no heartbreak required