WHY INDIE AUTHORS MATTER

Indie authors are helping to change the publishing industry. Just as net neutrality levels the playing field so that everyone may participate, self-publishing platforms like Amazon allow the same. There's no down side to it. Amateur writers can publish their works at no cost and, if anyone buys those works, both the author and Amazon benefit, not to mention the readers who enjoy it. Unlike traditional publishing where the process from acceptance to distribution can take years, self-publishing is instant and immediate, in keeping with the speed of the world today. Most importantly, self-publishing brings opportunity for new voices, voices that might not otherwise be heard.

I'm not saying that the next J.K. Rowling will emerge from the rank of indie authors, but when you consider just how many publishers rejected her work (12), it wouldn't surprise me. Had Rowling been writing today instead of 20 years ago, she might have considered going the indie route out of sheer frustration with a publishing industry that had so much trouble recognizing a masterpiece.