Thanks, Janice. No doubt, many people have unrealistic expectations. Too many people imagine that writing is easy and all they need to do is finish a book and the money will just roll in.

I am not averse to paying for expert services. When I consult for other authors, I charge $40 to $50 per hour and I would expect to pay the same or more for expert marketers. I had several rounds of negotiations with one marketer and was willing to pay his annual fee of $13k until it emerged that he only marketed to his contacts on LinkedIn. I think that’s a flip side of unrealistic expectations — some marketers offer limited services for big fees and too many only want to work with novice writers who have no experience in publishing and can be easily duped.