Writers Cafe For Teens Forum Let's Talk

Hello all, I'm one year removed from actually being qualified as a teenager, but there isn't a 'no longer a kid but too young to be taken too seriously' group so I'm going to reach out to you all! I just want to start a conversation, see where we all are in our writing careers and what kind of plans we have for the future.

So I guess I'll start! I'm soon to be a self-published author (Wait I promise I'm not just spamming you!) While I'm excited about the opportunity it has afforded me, I have to admit a certain amount of unease going into it all blindfolded. With traditional publishing authors get validation simply by being picked up by an agent/publisher. My problem is that I don't get that kind of validation, the only assurance that I can possibly get will come after the book releases and I start to see reviews/sales.

As an author my biggest fear is publishing something that didn't deserve to be read. Is there anybody else having a similar experience? Or maybe you have questions about getting into the publishing world; I'm no expert, but maybe I can help. Lets keep this forum alive shall we!