marketing,  My books,  publishing

Proud to be an Indie Author

February 20, 2013

I am a writer.  I am an author.  I am a published author.

Would it sound any less glamorous if I continued with the fact that I am an indie author who remained true to that independence by becoming a self-published author as well?

A little over a year ago when I completed the first draft of my first book, I did not even know what the term ‘indie author’ meant.  But I had completed a novel and I decided I was going to become published.  Not knowing exactly how I was going to publish my work, I became determined to learn as much as I could about how to succeed with publishing and marketing and I’ve been waist deep in research ever since. 

The whole concept behind becoming an indie author and then promoting my own work after self-publishing was at first intimidating but I have learned enough now to understand that even with an agent and even a publisher, there isn’t much in the way of marketing unless you do it yourself.  The publishing houses just don’t spend their money on small fries anymore.

But that’s okay.  I fell into becoming an indie author when I decided I did not wish to spend hours upon hours drafting query letters in an attempt to sell my book to an agent.  Instead, I’ve spent that time writing as I continued to research the subject of publishing and marketing.  The time I’ve saved from drafting query letters also gave me the time to publish and market my first book while I continued to work on my second book.    

Although it is probably every author’s dream to have an agent and a publishing house knocking down their front door with an offer of a big fat royalty check, it is what it is…pretty much a dream.  Eventually, some do get lucky (and you certainly hear about them) but these days, an author has so many more choices available to them.  I am thrilled to be a part of the indie author era. 

So why do I enjoy being a self-published indie author? 

There are many reason:  I get to keep control over the content, the cover design, the book title and the price of the books.  I earn more in royalties against the purchase price.  I get to retain control of the copyright.  I have control over the release date and I choose how the book is distributed.  The only downfall is that I may not see my books at my favorite big chain bookstore anytime soon.  Even so, the book industry has changed very much in recent years so you just never know what might happen.

While I might not see my book for sale at all available outlets, the point I will stress is that it is available for sale and it is being sold.  I did not sit back and wait for an agent to pull my query letter from the slush pile or a publishing house to give me the nod of approval.  Instead, I took control by becoming an independent author and a self-published one at that.  My book is available as an eBook and in paperback with Amazon, it is available as an eBook with Barnes & Noble and I’m happy to say my book is being sold in various local stores as well.    

Again I will say I am very proud to be an indie author. 

 
It is with the possibilities available to indie authors that have made my dream of becoming a published author come true.  Not only did I write a story I wished to share with others…by becoming an indie author I was given the tools to make the novel available for others to enjoy.  And as a writer, knowing others do enjoy your writing and your story is a final outcome that can’t be beat.    

 

 

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