What is Independent Publishing anyway?
For the April A-Z blogging challenge, I’ll be blogging about my latest release, The Caretaker of Imagination.
I hadn’t intended on being independently published, and I’m so glad I’ve chosen this path, but what is independent publishing?
Customarily, and author will write, edit, and rewrite a manuscript, send it into an agent or a publisher, and wait for one of them to believe the manuscript is saleable in the book market.
Once a publisher accepts a manuscript, they then have their own editor look through it, the author makes some changes, and then it’s back to the publisher who prints and distributes the book. The author and the publisher both promote and advertise the book. This is how I’d intended to publish my work.
As an indie author, it basically means that I am my own publisher – not only do I need to write, edit and re-write the book, I also have to get it printed, distribute it, and market it myself. That’s a lot of responsibility!
The pressure is worth it, though. You may have heard the adage, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Well, it works the other way around, too. I have a lot of responsibility, but I have the power – or control – to make decisions the way I want them.
Publishing independently meant I could choose my illustrator (Jane Thorne) who’s also a really good friend of mine. It’s meant that I only made changes to the story that I wanted to make, and that we could put out a Limited Edition run with Jane’s favourite illustration on the cover.
It means a lot of hard work to get my book in the hands of eager young readers, and I’ve had to learn to do stuff that I’d never dreamed of having to do – marketing, taxes and web skills. It’s been a brilliant journey so far and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next!
If you’re interested in The Caretaker of Imagination, you can purchase it from one of the links below:
