On my bi-weekly Visions zoom call this morning, I was taken aback by the advice given to me by two people I highly esteem. My memoir has been out for almost two years, has been listed on Amazon and other sites for that amount of time, and continues to sell, albeit not as quickly as I’d hoped and dreamed. Sound familiar? I also have 100 copies on my bookshelf along with large, padded envelopes in which to mail them. With that direct-to-consumer opportunity comes the responsibility of filing New York State Sales Tax quarterly. The February deadline is upon us, and I’m resistant. It’s another online thing that is a challenge, even though I’ve been doing it for a few years now. I always miss something–a taxing jurisdiction–and have to call the helpline for assistance. BTW, they pick up on the first ring and walk me through.

Still, I want to let go of my Sales & Use license and let Amazon and Etsy do that for me. While looking for support from this group, I didn’t get what I wanted.

Instead, I got what I needed. Both of them said, “Suck it up! Be uncomfortable for 15 minutes quarterly and keep the ability to sell directly to your readers.”

When I look at that wisdom, I nod and think, of course. But my whiny, inner childlike-business owner wants someone to do it for me. I wanted to substitute short-term gratification for long-term gain. Rather, I pulled up my big-girl pants and marched forward.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you have trusted allies to listen to you and set you straight? I feel so lucky to have several support systems in place to remind me of what to let go of and what to hang onto.

This being said, here’s a link to purchasing your copy of my memoir for $15 (postage paid) for which I will track the sales tax. If you haven’t read it yet, here’s your opportunity to own an autographed, hard copy of Too Much of Not Enough.