I used to think that most indie authors' aim was to become rich and famous. The more I read, the more I've begun to question that. Of course there are writers who manage to grow a nice nest egg from their books, but most of us have become far more jaded. If riches were the goal, why do so many authors invest tons of money in advertising for a book that'll sell a hundred copies, if they're extremely lucky?
I've been in the position where it's taken me a year or more to complete a novel, and after all that hard, tedious work I was convinced it would be the next best seller. I honestly thought I'd written the best story ever. (Don't we all?) I carefully chose the top five agents to submit to, imagining some kind of bidding war commencing between them. When those didn't work out, I plucked a few more "really good" agents from the list and tried again. Upon receiving immediate rejections, I realized it was my query holding me back, so I revised and honed it and tried a few more agents.
Eventually my queries topped one hundred, and still I hit up the few remaining stragglers. 'Til I ran out of agents. I came up with a multitude of rationalizations for my rejections. My story was multi-generational, not contemporary. It involved rural life, not a single gal living in the big city. At the time I was unaware of the social buzz words all agents were (are) looking for.
My options depleted, I self-published. Regardless of their opinions (no agent actually read past the query), the story was good. I didn't publish in hopes of getting rich. The book had just as much right to be out there as any other. I published out of pride in my accomplishment.
And that's why I do it. I haven't made any money from my books, when one calculates the (minuscule) amount I spent on advertising. That first novel sold a grand total of one copy.
Having a published book, whether it sells thousands or sells one, is proof that we did it. Certain things can't be assigned a dollar amount.
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