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I deeply regret writing my novel. It took an agonising 8 years when I was desperate to get it out as soon as possible. The issue was that I wanted a certain level of quality. I ended up self publishing on Amazon :/

I try not to think about what I could have done with the time: study math, programming, do stand up comedy etc. etc.

It is what it is I guess.

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I understand your pain, but I want to ask: did you put much effort into marketing it after publishing? A lot of writers put 99% of their effort into writing, and by the time they've finished the book they're out of energy to pursue the marketing aspect. This is compounded by the fact that talented writers are not necessarily good at the marketing side of things.

The key is to persist with marketing until it either succeeds, or you've got clear evidence that most readers don't like it enough. If you're not good at marketing, find people who are.

Sometimes, the key to success, especially if you've got a quality product, is to persist after most people would have thrown in the towel.

Would you mind sharing a link to it?

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