A Shout Out For the Indies!
I recently joined a Facebook group for independent writers, (https://www.facebook.com/groups/indie...) in other words authors who choose for whatever reason to self-publish rather than be traditionally published. In the short time I have been a member I have made new friends, learned quite a bit about what it means to be an independent author, and gained valuable insight into improving my books and marketability. The support from author to author has been phenomenal. I posted a question about audiobooks and within hours had several responses with resources, advice and encouragement. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and have tried my best to give back as other authors post their questions, concerns and comments (though as a newbie myself, my help has been rather limited).
I’ve also been saddened as I read the woes of these talented writers: companies not taking their work seriously because they have self-published, traditionally published authors looking down on them, being rejected at a bookstore because of the printer that they went through and so on. So today I’m taking a stand for the indie writer. It takes a lot of work to self-publish. It’s the DIY forum in the publishing industry. And like any DIY forum, that doesn’t necessarily make it the easier one.
For starters, why would an author self-publish? There could be a variety of reasons. I’ll share mine with you.
1) I’m horribly impatient. It can take years to find a traditional publisher willing to take your work and then there are still months to wait before your name is in print and your book is on bookstore shelves. I didn’t want to wait years or even months to share my writing with the world. Self-publishing gave me a way to share my stories and see my name in print without a long waiting period. I’m still looking into traditional publishing because I see the advantages of that forum as well, but for now indie publishing works out well for me. People can find and purchase my stories and I can continue to share what I love most.
2) I am a control freak! I’m the oldest child in my family and am as stereotypical oldest child as it is possible to be. You remember your big brother/sister bossing you around? Yeah, that would be me. I’m bossy, sometimes controlling and things WILL be done MY way and there is NO highway option. Self-publishing lets me control my stories. I set my own deadlines and can, when life intervenes with my well-laid plans, change them as necessary. I can write whatever I want to and no one is going to tell me that it isn’t marketable or that it’s not what readers expect from me. There are always people interested in any type of story. And readers deserve to be surprised every now and again.
3) I did it for you, the reader. Being self-published allows me to make my book available to my readers and keep them in mind. For example, I have total control over my books’ pricing. My husband, my greatest marketing ally, is in school and our little family is living on a student’s budget right now. Anyone who has been in school knows how tight that is. We know that times are tough and we set the books’ prices accordingly. Yes, we make a profit off of our sales, but we also make sure that it is reasonable for our readers. As we can, we set up discounts and promotions to help make my stories affordable as well as enjoyable. I also control my website. When you visit it and send me an email, no one filters them for me. I get each and every one of them without having to wait.
Those are just a few reasons someone might self-publish. It doesn’t mean they aren’t talented or that their story isn’t worthwhile. Let’s be honest; we’ve all read books that left us wondering what the publisher saw in it. But just because I personally didn’t enjoy the story doesn’t mean that no one else in the world liked it either. The self-published author puts in just as much heart, soul and work into their craft as a traditionally published author. It takes the same amount of dedication and courage. I have to believe in my story and its worth because if I don’t, I’m not going to share it. I have to be dedicated to spreading the word and building my readership because I don’t have a marketing team to do it for me. My story is my own and I’m responsible for making it the best it can be. In a way, the self-published author puts in more to their story because they know that it’s only going to succeed if they push it themselves. Time is put into editing, revising, rewriting, and perfecting their story so that when you pick it up, they know you’re getting the story as they envisioned it. Some of us may dream of that big publisher, but at the end of the day how many of us actually know who published the books on our shelves? I certainly don’t know all of them. I know some of them because I took advantage of school book orders to build up my classroom library, which is now my children’s library. But for the most part, I have no idea who published the books on my shelves and it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that someone took the time to create a story worth reading and then had the guts to put it out there. Whether they did it by themselves or went through a publishing company, that’s quite an accomplishment and shouldn’t be looked down on.
There are a lot of myths about self-published authors. Some think they only do it because they can’t get a traditional publisher. Not true! Many of these indie writers would be more than capable of getting a traditional publisher interested in their work. It’s a matter of whether or not they wanted to put that work in to get the publisher. Others may think that there would be an overabundance of spelling/grammatical errors. Let me tell you, that’s true of any book whether indie or traditional. I’ve read traditionally published books with terrible grammar and creative spelling. It’s not a problem found only within the indie realm. And for those who think that indie writers aren’t as good, you’re missing out on some great stories. In some ways, the indie writer has to try even harder to have a good story and takes a bigger risk in releasing it. When an author has gone through a traditional publisher, they’ve had someone unrelated and unbiased say that their work is worth reading. The indie author doesn’t have that same advantage. While Mom is awesome and we love her, she’s just a little biased and is definitely going to think our writing is perfect! (Love you Mommy!) The indie writer puts his work out there hoping that it’s as good as his mom thinks it is.
So here’s to the indie authors! If you are a writer thinking of publishing, give some thought to going indie. It isn’t for every author, but for some it’s the best thing in the world. Who knows? Your story might go farther than you thought it would.
I’ve also been saddened as I read the woes of these talented writers: companies not taking their work seriously because they have self-published, traditionally published authors looking down on them, being rejected at a bookstore because of the printer that they went through and so on. So today I’m taking a stand for the indie writer. It takes a lot of work to self-publish. It’s the DIY forum in the publishing industry. And like any DIY forum, that doesn’t necessarily make it the easier one.
For starters, why would an author self-publish? There could be a variety of reasons. I’ll share mine with you.
1) I’m horribly impatient. It can take years to find a traditional publisher willing to take your work and then there are still months to wait before your name is in print and your book is on bookstore shelves. I didn’t want to wait years or even months to share my writing with the world. Self-publishing gave me a way to share my stories and see my name in print without a long waiting period. I’m still looking into traditional publishing because I see the advantages of that forum as well, but for now indie publishing works out well for me. People can find and purchase my stories and I can continue to share what I love most.
2) I am a control freak! I’m the oldest child in my family and am as stereotypical oldest child as it is possible to be. You remember your big brother/sister bossing you around? Yeah, that would be me. I’m bossy, sometimes controlling and things WILL be done MY way and there is NO highway option. Self-publishing lets me control my stories. I set my own deadlines and can, when life intervenes with my well-laid plans, change them as necessary. I can write whatever I want to and no one is going to tell me that it isn’t marketable or that it’s not what readers expect from me. There are always people interested in any type of story. And readers deserve to be surprised every now and again.
3) I did it for you, the reader. Being self-published allows me to make my book available to my readers and keep them in mind. For example, I have total control over my books’ pricing. My husband, my greatest marketing ally, is in school and our little family is living on a student’s budget right now. Anyone who has been in school knows how tight that is. We know that times are tough and we set the books’ prices accordingly. Yes, we make a profit off of our sales, but we also make sure that it is reasonable for our readers. As we can, we set up discounts and promotions to help make my stories affordable as well as enjoyable. I also control my website. When you visit it and send me an email, no one filters them for me. I get each and every one of them without having to wait.
Those are just a few reasons someone might self-publish. It doesn’t mean they aren’t talented or that their story isn’t worthwhile. Let’s be honest; we’ve all read books that left us wondering what the publisher saw in it. But just because I personally didn’t enjoy the story doesn’t mean that no one else in the world liked it either. The self-published author puts in just as much heart, soul and work into their craft as a traditionally published author. It takes the same amount of dedication and courage. I have to believe in my story and its worth because if I don’t, I’m not going to share it. I have to be dedicated to spreading the word and building my readership because I don’t have a marketing team to do it for me. My story is my own and I’m responsible for making it the best it can be. In a way, the self-published author puts in more to their story because they know that it’s only going to succeed if they push it themselves. Time is put into editing, revising, rewriting, and perfecting their story so that when you pick it up, they know you’re getting the story as they envisioned it. Some of us may dream of that big publisher, but at the end of the day how many of us actually know who published the books on our shelves? I certainly don’t know all of them. I know some of them because I took advantage of school book orders to build up my classroom library, which is now my children’s library. But for the most part, I have no idea who published the books on my shelves and it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that someone took the time to create a story worth reading and then had the guts to put it out there. Whether they did it by themselves or went through a publishing company, that’s quite an accomplishment and shouldn’t be looked down on.
There are a lot of myths about self-published authors. Some think they only do it because they can’t get a traditional publisher. Not true! Many of these indie writers would be more than capable of getting a traditional publisher interested in their work. It’s a matter of whether or not they wanted to put that work in to get the publisher. Others may think that there would be an overabundance of spelling/grammatical errors. Let me tell you, that’s true of any book whether indie or traditional. I’ve read traditionally published books with terrible grammar and creative spelling. It’s not a problem found only within the indie realm. And for those who think that indie writers aren’t as good, you’re missing out on some great stories. In some ways, the indie writer has to try even harder to have a good story and takes a bigger risk in releasing it. When an author has gone through a traditional publisher, they’ve had someone unrelated and unbiased say that their work is worth reading. The indie author doesn’t have that same advantage. While Mom is awesome and we love her, she’s just a little biased and is definitely going to think our writing is perfect! (Love you Mommy!) The indie writer puts his work out there hoping that it’s as good as his mom thinks it is.
So here’s to the indie authors! If you are a writer thinking of publishing, give some thought to going indie. It isn’t for every author, but for some it’s the best thing in the world. Who knows? Your story might go farther than you thought it would.
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