Indie Rising!

As an indie author, I am often asked if I would rather be with a large publisher. The fact is, being that I am published through small press as well as self-published and have no experience in the matter, I cannot say for certain. All I know is what it would take for me to give up my independence. I mean let's face it - we all have a price - but whether one of the Big Six would meet my demands remains in question. So perhaps I'll never know.

But then, as I watch the self-publishing world develop, maybe that's for the best. Recently, author Hugh Howey has been on a crusade in favor or independent writers, and to tell you the truth, his numbers and statistics are impressive. Our sales are up. Our reader satisfaction is stellar. And the readers don't appear to care who published the book as long as the story is good. In fact, the lower prices of indie works are becoming more and more appealing to consumers living in a world of financial uncertainty. Self-published authors are forcing the industry in a direction that favors the writer and his/her readers over the publishing houses and their profits. In other words the lunatics are stealing the keys to the asylum.

But even without Mr. Howey's efforts I had already discovered that I have been breaking all the rules of publishing without even being aware of it. I release at the wrong times (according to what I've been told). There is very little lead up to each new book. I charge a reasonable price for my work. But mostly, I control my own content. I write the stories I think my fans will enjoy reading and that I enjoy writing. That in itself would be hard to give up.

For me, the indie world's greatest accomplishment is that it's bringing to light a vast number of wonderful talents that would have otherwise gone unnoticed - ignored by agents and publishers alike. Sure there's plenty of "not so great" work out there. But if you had to sift through  a bucket of sludge to find a big shiny diamond, wouldn't you? I would.