I spent (wasted) a year of my life writing query letters to agents. Meanwhile my book was developing and becoming too long for the practicality/convenience of publishers. When I realized I could self-publish, and be free to publish the book as a trilogy, it was like a massive weight was lifted off me. I've self-published smaller books of poetry and/or essays, but this is The Big One. I've found great help at ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) though I don't know if we're allowed to mention competitors to SheWrites, so I hope this is okay. My "discussion" topic would be to ask who else is self-publishing, and maybe share resources. For example, I need a basic line-edit proofreader, and don't have a lot of money. I think there must be some writers who do this on the side, who would be very reasonable in cost or even trade edit/proofread services. Also, questions about how to establish beta-readers. Any ideas?