Dear Indie Author
Don’t be that author.
You know the one, the author that makes the rest of us look...well, not so
good. That one author to which critics compare all other indie authors.
There is a low opinion of indie authors among certain sectors
of the reading community. One blogger’s opinion was so harsh it made me cringe.
The stigma of self-publishing seems to be lifting as more and more authors
choose to self-publish, even authors who have traditionally published with a
big 5 New York press. The publishing industry as a whole is morphing and
changing its publishing and marketing philosophy, and it’s hard to keep up with
all the developments. It’s an exciting time to be an author.
I’m an indie author and make no apologies for it. My loyalty is
to my author brand, not to any one publisher’s catalog. I’ve been published by
four different small publishers and have a contract with a top tier, non-big
five publisher. Yet recently I decided to self-publish. Why? To be blunt, I’ve
practically done all the marketing and promotion for my published releases
myself. If I’m doing most of the work, I might as well keep most of the
royalties.
