It's no secret that I publish my own work. Some say it's the height of arrogance. Some say it's because it's not good enough to be published by a 'real' publisher. To be honest, I had six titles published by 'real' publishers, before I decided I'd rather go indie, than chase the traditional dream. I also spent eight months researching blogs from independent authors, traditional authors who'd gone independent, or who didn't intend to, publishers, writing industry magazines, agency blogs and pretty much anyone who knew more than I did - and then I decided that independent publishing would suit me better than going forward traditionally. I've spent the last two years feeling my way and I think I'll continue. Here are ten reasons why:
- I can write what I love—not what I think
the publisher will take;
- If it’s good enough, I can guarantee it
will be published—because I can choose what of my work I publish, whereas a publisher is governed not only by
quality, but their idea of saleability;
- I can adjust my publishing deadlines to
accommodate twists of fate, life and health—without losing a year or two of
sales due to someone else’s schedule;
- I can switch genres, and pen names, as I
wish—and not be forced to keep the same pen name for genres I don’t want to
mix;
- I know what I really earned—and not what I
was told I earned, without accurate breakdowns to prove it;
- I am not forced to discount my books, if I
don’t want to—maximising my control of promotions;
- I can produce works of longer than 100,000
words—without worrying that the work will be rejected on basis of length alone;
- I can guarantee that, when the fifth book
of my series is released, the first book of that series will still be
available;
- If I don’t like the cover, I can change
it—I don’t have to accept something I don’t think reflects the story;
- I can release my work in less than twelve
months after the last edit is complete—and have it in the hands of my readers
earlier than traditionally possible.
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