I need to initially sell 15 copies of a short story to recoup the ISBN cost. I'll further need to sell 50 additional copies of short stories a year to fund the website in its current form, or 150 additional copies of short stories a year for the plan that would let me set up a nicer storefront.
The Truth
I don't remember precisely where I heard the phrase, or if I came up with it myself, but I've long enjoyed referring to myself, in a writing sense, as someone who tells lies and gets paid for it. Admittedly, I haven't managed the getting paid for it part yet, but hopefully that will come with more effort on my part. Unfortunately, this would-be professional liar is now confronted with the difficult task of being truthful.
A Place to Start
Maybe, if I were some kind of amazing author, a writing protege, with nothing to do but labor lovingly over my works of fiction, I could think about doing this the "normal" way, if such a thing even exists. There's something attractive about traditional publishing, mostly that the publisher usually takes care of all of the logistics, advertising, and social media outreach. In other words, the traditional publishing route (at least as I imagine it) would allow me to hide in a cave and write, without worrying about all of this publicity and business.
