When I was exclusively publishing and selling my poetry, I had the following conversation all the time: Reader: "Oh, wow! Your book covers are so pretty! What are they about?" Me: "Thank you! Each of my poetry collections covers a different sub--" Reader: "Oh... these are poetry?" puts book down and awkwardly walks away It never fails. To this day, any time I sign up for an event, 7 out of every 10 people who walk up to my table admiring my poetry collections will realize it'

There, I said it: self-publishing isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Honestly, it's rarely ever sunshine and rainbows. Even when I'm writing, I sometimes find myself resisting the urge to rip my hair out or scream at the ceiling.