Sell, sell, sell! Sales often seem to be the overriding motivator to the indie author. We all want to see huge sales of our work, putting us in that rare position of earning a comfortable living from said sales.

But that isn't always the case. That's not even close to being a reality for 98% of us who've chosen the indie route for publishing our work. I've spoken of the struggles of self-marketing we all face--even with a fantastic tool like the internet at our fingertips. The truth of the matter is really quite simple: There are a million other authors out there scratching and clawing for a share of the book-buying marketplace. Indie book sales are on the rise, no doubt about it. CBS Sunday Morning ran a segment some months back touting the bestsellers in the bunch, quoting market watchers' claims of indie being the wave of the future, a threat to traditional publishers.

Then how come the majority of indie authors aren't seeing this amazing trend? Because there are so many of us out there. And this truly is unexplored territory, this notion of publishing and promoting our own work without a budget, without the big machinery that is able, with a phone call, to put you on Jay Leno's couch, telling all of America the plot of your latest. We have to search for sites, send review requests, and hope a handful of readers will be willing to part with the price of our work.

This notion of indie writing takes patience, determination, and talent. If your work is good, word of mouth will be a small but acceptable side effect. I've read many really good indie efforts. I've even managed to discover a few truly great offerings. Unfortunately, there are many more subpar and downright awful novels saturating this seriously clogged market.

Not to worry, though; cream always rises. If your work is good, worthy of spent money and time, it will find readers. All you need as an indie author is talent, patience, and determination.

So why do we do this? Why do we subject ourselves to the aggravation of dismal sales and those feelings of abandonment? I can't speak for all writers, but this author loves the act of creating that character and place and storyline that previously never existed. I just NEED to write. For me, it's almost as important as eating and breathing. This should be the main motivation for our creative endeavors. Sales are nice. They make us all smile when we find them. But finishing a story that excites you as the author, well, that has to be worth something, doesn't it?

We're not all going to sell a million copies and find our work atop the New York Times Bestseller list. But, hey, I'll be excited to sell a thousand copies, hear from readers who enjoyed the story, and find my name and work atop the Indie Tribe Top Ten Indie Books weekly list. If we set the bar too high, we'll surely fail. Set it realistically and we'll certainly be pleasantly surprised.