Being an indie author: is it a source of pride or not necessarily?

[[deleted user]]

That is my book, Nik. While the cover and the title on it is the original one, the title given beside is clearly a made up one by someone else. I will definitely have to contact Amazon about this.

[J.J.]

Ian wrote: "As J.J. says, it is pointless moaning about others who give away their work for free. What I don't understand, though, is why the stores like Amazon and Smashwords allow free. They are supposed to ..."

You see the same griping and moaning on turbosquid's boards from people trying to sell 3D models...they complain about people copying their models and undercutting their prices, they complain about turbosquid's sales devaluing their work, they complain about the people offering free models.

I would disagree with assessment of the bands in bars thing though. The food or drink you buy is independent of the band. Sure, it's a draw for the establishment, but you as the customer usually parse the two...the food/drink and the music. Smashwords offers free books because they're counting on you picking up some paid books while you're there, but that doesn't mean you're "Paying" for the free books just because you bought another book.

And still, whatever the food and drink costs you is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than what you'd spend on tickets to see an act performing on a real stage.

[Ian]

Here, the pub may offer free entertainment, but they usually pay the band, so the band is not giving away what they have for free. It may not be very much, but if they were not paid they would not turn up. Yes, the food or drink is independent of the band, but the entertainment is there to draw in more customers who buy the food and drink.

[Matthew]

Wow, that's a tough the question. As a former indie myself, I have nothing but respect for the people who choose to go about doing the whole writing, revising, and editing process themselves, and then taking their work directly to the public. It takes guts, its takes patience, and its stamina.

That being said, I am pretty happy I am not an indie anymore. For one, while the decline of traditional publishing and the rise of new media has made it possible for aspiring authors to get around the traditional gatekeepers (i.e. publishers), it has also meant that there has been an explosion in the number of independently-published books out there.

Second, it has dismayed me to see just how many works there are out there. I can't tell you how many indie stories I've seen that were basically imitations of the latest craze - dystopian stories trying to be like Hunger Games, erotica trying to be like 50 Shades, or supernatural books trying to be like Twilight. Sure, that's not much different than what the publishing industry does (try to cash in on what's popular), but it detracts from authors who are trying to share original works (as much as that is possible).

As a result, it is hard to be taken seriously as an indie. And while I think its unfair that people would be willing to take greater risks on works just because they are traditionally published, it is kind of relief for me to have a a professional publisher, with all the services that come with it, in my corner.

I often wonder how this trend will resolve itself, whether traditional publishing will disappear entirely, or some kind of balance will be struck. But I hope that it results in more (not less) opportunities for aspiring writers.

[Ian]

What Matthew says about the imitations is probably one of themes important problems. There needs to be some form of curation whereupon authors can claim to be more original, and if the claim is found to be false, be labeled as such. But I cannot see it happening anytime soon.

As I come from NZ, I am certainly more oriented to the Indie route simply because the very few publisher and agents here tend to restrict themselves to very special niches that they think will sell locally. Can't blame them for that! But it means for me that the limited choice steers me the way I have chosen.

[Matthew]

Ian wrote: "What Matthew says about the imitations is probably one of themes important problems. There needs to be some form of curation whereupon authors can claim to be more original, and if the claim is fou..."

That's what I am wondering. Is there a way to have independent authors while still guaranteeing a level of quality and originality? I don't know, and I suspect that the person who finds a possible solution to this will be the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Perhaps something along the lines of the Bavarian Purity Law's seal of approval? A website and service that evaluates independent works and then assigns them a seal if their work meets the approval of its editors? Marks assigned for originality, quality, readability and so forth?

[Ian]

I agree, Matthew. I have often thought that whoever works out how to curate these books properly will dislodge Amazon completely - although I suppose Amazon could be the one to do it. Only thing is, so far they have not shown a huge interest in doing so, but maybe I am being to harsh. Since I can't work out how too do it, I shouldn't be critical of others who can't either.

[Justin]

I say it is a sense of pride and it isn't. It is because there's that determination of knowing you did it yourself and you are your own everything when it comes to the book. You did it all on your own and that's something to be proud of.

No because it shouldn't be about pride. You did it because you believe your as good as any other writer who isn't indie so you just go about writing as you were like the rest.