4 more reasons to give indie publishing a go

We’ve looked before on this blog about the reasons independent publishing is something it’s definitely worth trying, but just in case you’re not yet convinced or are still uncertain about the whole thing, here are some more to give you some food for thought…

It can increase your confidence. I think it’s common to pretty much all writers that we have a fear of failure and rejection. In many ways, that fear can be greater when you look for a traditional publishing deal, as there are more people involved in the process – other people’s money and jobs as well as your own time and prospects. A bit of fear is healthy, but independent publishing gives you the opportunity to take control, learn more about the wider business and try out different styles of writing. Even if you don’t hit the big time, you’ll still have that confidence boost that comes from publishing a book on your own – it’s a great achievement.
People buy stories, not publishers. Plenty of writers dream about getting a publishing contract with one of the big publishers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, the vast majority of readers tend not to buy books because they come from a certain publisher. They buy them because they like the look of the book and want to read the story the author has written. As long as you write something people want to read, the lack of a traditional publisher shouldn’t put them off.
It removes the gatekeepers. If you go down the traditional publishing route, there are lots of barriers to entry, from the need to have an agent to the difficulties of finding a publisher to finding the right editor to needing to fit into the wider financial and publishing picture. That isn’t the case with independent publishing – essentially you are the only gatekeeper (well, you and readers). Of course, there are arguments in favour of those gatekeepers (keeping quality up, and so on), but when it is so difficult to get even a great book published the traditional way, independent publishing becomes more attractive.
Keep up to date with your results. One of the benefits of independent publishing is that you can usually track your sales in what is essentially real-time. You also usually get your royalties paid much faster than if you go down the traditional publishing route. Most of us don’t just write for the money, but we still have bills to pay and so it’s nice to know how many books you’ve sold, when you sold them, when you’ll be getting paid and how much you should be getting – indie publishing helps to simplify all that a little.

What are your top reasons for going down the independent publishing route?