To Do, or Not To Do?

Let me begin by saying that I've been a writer for as far back as I can remember, however I did not take my God-given talent, as I like to call it, serious until the age of twelve. After I discovered a website that some of you may or may not be familiar with called 'Quizilla', I was opened to the world of fan fiction, whereafter I began writing short stories including bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, 30 Seconds To Mars, and AFI. Over time I created an original character, whose name is Angel, which I use for every story I write. After some time of using this character who I'd become so close to, I started to become fond of the idea of being original; it made things much more interesting.

During the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, I wrote a thirteen chapter story titled "Strength Of The World", which of course included Angel and the five members of Avenged Sevenfold. Little did I know what writing this story would open my world up to.

Just around the corner of completing this story, was my birthday. My husband (boyfriend at the time) took a lot of my short stories and put them into a book through the site lulu.com. About a month later, I took it upon myself to self-publish Strength Of The World through this site, changing names of the characters of course; no one wants a lawsuit on their hands. It received a few sales and good reviews, which made me oh so very happy, yet something was missing. Because of trying to sale my book, I removed it from all websites so no one could obtain access to it, which then meant I was losing readers. I've always been the type of person who would rather write a story for many to enjoy than to receive money for people to be able to read my work. I write for entertainment purposes only, not to add up money in my pocket. Even still, it is a dream to one day be published through a big publisher and see my book being advertised on a billboard in Atlanta. Which brings me to the reason I'm writing this today.

At the beginning of the year, I began rewriting my story "Strength Of The World", changing the story-lines, adding more, changing the characters and their appearances, yet of course, keeping Angel the same. I've been deeply thinking about publishing this book once I finish it, however long it may take. Yet the thought alone is not motivating me to continue my work. I miss being able to post my chapters one by one to let others read and enjoy them. Do I really want to try and publish this rewrite? Or do I want to just get it copyrighted and post it for all to enjoy for free? I feel as if I've hit a bump in the road that my mind is stuck on.

For now, I suppose the question remains as is, to do, or not to do?