Okay, I just looked at last night's hasty entry. I'm reminded (to my chagrin!) to respond to your question, Jaw-Jaw, about the down-side of POD publishing. It's EDITING! I carefully edited my book, chapter by chapter, as I wrote. I used a word-processing program that marks spelling and grammatical mistakes. I had two colleagues edit the finished product. And I still went through about 4 galley proofs--and POD galleys aren't cheap to do.

Part of the problem with self-editing is the temptation to re-write with each new proof. You see nuances that could be said just a little better. You get hypnotized by your own Muse. It's a sure way to NEVER get your book out--and to spend a lot of money not doing it. And still, in the final edition, you see typos that "should" have been obvious to you in the first place. I hear that complaint from authors who go through publishing houses, too, but it seems to be less of an issue when a professional copy editor has had the final say. Copy editors not only help with the nuts and bolts-- good one can make the manuscript sing louder. I'll hire one if I publish another POD work.

I'm reluctant to read my own publications because my inner editor wants to go back in gear. It's much more productive to have readers who resonate with the work's message. A book is really an ongoing project between the writer and the reader anyway--that's what makes it such a blessing to the author.

Which brings me to your comment, Dotsie, about duty and resentment. Servanthood vs. servitude says it well, whether we are serving an art form like writing or clients or readers or family or community. The servant is exquisitely conscious of whom or what is being served. She feels privileged to do holy work. The slave, in bondage to servitude, is duty-bound, and prone to resentment. She loses consciousness of her real worth, and feels no choice--only the numbing autopilot that we keep talking about here. As a beast of burden, her humanity is constantly violated. In midlife, we either get conscious with our choices or we fall into mindless duty which leads to resentment which leads to bitterness--and bitterness ultimately petrifies the soul.