Proud Indie Author

The publishing world is changing—there’s no denying it any longer, and a lot of people (namely agents and the big publishing companies) are worried and fighting like crazy to stop it from doing so. I kind of get that. For years I refused to even entertain the notion of self-publishing or going to ebooks. I was like them and adamant that it would ruin the future of reading. I held a one woman boycott of ereaders and all electronic apps for reading. But no matter how hard I tried to hold onto the traditional publishing theology, the world around me was moving on and traditional publishing was becoming a dinosaur.

This is the way it has been since the beginning of time, actually—change is necessary for progress. So why should the publishing industry be any different? That epiphany hit me one day at a writers’ conference, as I was listening to Barry Eisler, a NY Times best-selling author. He talked about the new wave of ‘indie publishing’ that was sweeping the nation and for the first time it made sense. It also made me think back to my experience with a small traditional publisher—it was … let’s just say it was less than stellar. In fact, I hated almost every part of it. There were tears over the way the editor was changing my story, there was frustration at the cover art and illustrations that I had no say over, the fight to get my book marketed at all—does any of that sound like fun? Remembering that, I finally asked myself, “Why would I want to do it again?”

So like many millions of other people in the world, I went out and brought myself a Kindle. And you know what? I actually love it! Me, the person who fought so hard to hold onto my paperbacks, loves the Kindle! Don’t get me wrong—I still like my paperbacks, and still buy them, but not like I used to. And since many of the ebooks are cheaper (I mean, why shouldn’t they be? There is no printing cost involved), people are reading more.

The publishing world is no longer ‘changing,’ it has changed, and it’s not a bad thing. The door has opened to many, many writers who aren’t celebrities and never had a chance with the big publishing conglomerates. And I’m one of them! I’ve become an Indie Author and I’m proud of it. Life is good and exciting things are yet to come. Hang on—it’s going to be a GREAT ride!