For each of us, the publishing decision is or will be based on the material we have, yes, but also on a host of personal factors.
One of the most important and difficult is timing: Where am I on the long road to 
perfecting my craft? When is my book “ready”? That’s a hard question, because it demands that we look deeply and honestly at our work, wash out as much extraneous ego as we can, and make a decision. Agents lament that their slush piles include a lot of not ready for primetime work. My solution is to let my critique groups’ comments drive me to a definition of my own writing maturity.
A hard question, because the road to quality never ends. At some point, you have to put the toe in the water, realize the water’s cold, say f**k it, and do a cannonball.
I hope to make a splash.
Next: Decision, Part Two
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Author: John Rogers
I have thought of myself as a writer for most of my adult life. In 2011, I became a fiction writer full time. I studied creative writing as an English major in college. Then came family and career. I worked in finance and biotech and did a wonderful stint in Vienna. Now, I have the opportunity to use those experiences as the substrate for my stories. My first novel takes on the world of Big Data and the very timely issue of cyber war. The second uses the manipulation of financial derivatives as impetus for attempted murder during a trip from Vienna to Budapest on the Danube.
I have taken writing instruction at the Cape Cod Writers Conference and from The Loft in Minneapolis. I am finding writers’ groups to be very helpful as concept editors, as well as practical advice from the published authors. I am in three such groups. I have taken writing instruction at the Cape Cod Writers Conference and from The Loft in Minneapolis.
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Well put, John. Does this mean you’ll be querying agents soon?
No agents yet. I have queried, no doubt too soon. I’m fixing to self publish.