Stand Up For Indies
I’ve read a couple of blog posts recently from traditionally
published authors venting against Indie publishing, basically viewing it as
inferior and too much work for the minimal return. As far as they’re concerned,
writers should focus on writing, not on marketing, or anything else that takes
time away from producing the goods. They ask why should writers pay through the
nose for services provided ‘free of charge’ to prospective authors on the trad’
path?
I’m afraid their argument is ill-informed. For a start, beyond
their advance and low-percentage returns, where do they think the money from
their sales goes? Their book pays the agent and editors, the designers and
marketers, and then there’s the sizable chunk taken by bookshops. Indie authors
are well aware of how much stores ask in return for shelf space – up to half
for what can be a rarely viewed slot in a distant corner.
Where trad’ published authors may be guaranteed access to
the best of bookshops, the balloon often bursts after one month when the book
is taken off the ‘Just Published’ shelf and sidelined to the back shelves or,
worse, to the discount pile. In the indie world, the author’s novel is always
reachable - and not just the most recent work, but all previous publications
are there to be accessed at the touch of a button.
And what’s the problem with doing your own marketing? I know
many indie authors who are now masters at it, managing to portion off their
marketing time without detrimentally affecting their writing time. All right,
they may not have the resources for major poster or radio campaigns, but the broad
world of social media provides a network that can be far-reaching with the
minimum of financing.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s wonderful that we no longer
have to suffer the long wait to be accepted by an agent or publisher, and that
our stories are making their way to the world at large. We’ve cut out the
middle elites and are making our way independently, collaborating to provide so
many readers with quality writing they might otherwise not have seen. We
write, we edit, we market – constantly pushing against the boundaries, knocking
down walls, bringing our work to the people. Long may it continue – it’s high
time Indies got the support they deserve.
