In brief: if you’re inspired to write fiction — go ahead. Even if you never sell a novel or short story (unlikely), writing fiction will improve ALL your writing.
So here are my top seven tips for self-publishing fiction in 2018.
1. Focus on short stories: you’ll sell more, build more visibility, AND improve your fiction writing skills
Here’s the thing about self-publishing: your ebooks can be as long, or as short as you please. Strictly from a money angle, if you can get $2.99 for a 10,000 word short story, OR a 60,000 word novel, it makes sense to write more short stories.
When you write short stories, not only do you build your visibility, you also improve your fiction writing skills.
Of course, you need to be writing novels, too. Look on your short stories as introductions to you and your books.