First and foremost, because I have a writing career.
How specifically has the rise of available indie/self publication helped me with this? As many of my close acquaintances can tell you, patience is really NOT one of my virtues. Also, while I love to write, without some sort of deadline, I don't necessarily love to to finish something before starting on the shiny new story idea takes hold of my imagination. The traditional publishing model requires me to finish a project and then HOPE and PRAY that someone, agent or editor, will like it enough to argue with other people that is should get published. I love being an indie author, because now I can write a project with a specific deadline, get it through my beat readers, and now my editor, publish it, and see instant results. If I'm not liking those results, I can take personal steps toward changing the results.
The second reason I love the Indie Book Revolution, is because so many other writers are also getting a shot to live their dreams. Here's a little known factoid about the tradition publishing model, with a slant toward science fiction and fantasy publishers. I might have an epic fantasy book that's going to be bigger than Robert Jordan and George RR Martin put together. I submit to publisher after publisher, and editors like it, say one or two even LOVE it; however, all their big-fat-fantasy-uber-epic slots are filled for the next three years. Well... then... I get the unpleasant "Thanks, but not for us right now. Best of luck finding a home somewhere else." Publishers have a finite amount of room for each sub genre of fiction they handle. The result, many fine and talented writers aren't getting publishing deals simply because of space on the bookshelf.
The Indie Book Revolution changes that. Truly, for the first time, writers are in control of their own destinies. I've discovered some great writers, who are developing into good friends: I count Christopher Kellen, Jen Wylie, and Shay Fabbro among the closest of them. On the other hand, I've read some bad stuff too, I mean REALLY bad indie books. Though this is not unique to indie writers. The last Stephen King book I listened to on audio made me want to SCREAM. Oh wait... I did. A lot. Over and over. But this serves to further my point. In many ways, control over what books get read and become popular are in the hands of readers and a writers, rather than publishers. Readers have access to more books, written by more writers, than we ever dreamed possible before.
With readers in mind, I'd like to direct you, my readers and followers, to the Magic Appreciation Tour. You can get there by clicking the tour badge on the from page of my blog. The tour is a celebration of fantasy fiction going on from now through the end of May. I'm taking part in it, as are some writers I know and enjoy reading their work. I don't know everyone, and I haven't read everyone's work. I won't say one way or the other, so I don't rob you of the joy of discovering new writers who may grow into new favorite writers.
Check out the site. Stop by the writer's blogs and book pages. Who knows what you might discover. If you do discover someone you like, post a comment here. I'm so busy working on my own writing, I won't be able to get to all the other writers right away, and as most of you read my stuff, I'd be interested to hear who gets your imaginations flowing.
Greetings! This is my first blog stop on the Magic Appreciation Tour.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a duplicate post, so hopefully, this is the one you intend to keep! ;-)
I agree with you completely on the Indie Book Revolution. I love reading indie books from new authors. I don't put much faith in reviews or ratings, but I've had good luck with finding books I like by reading the blurb and the excerpt. And the price is often quite affordable!
When I set up the Magic Appreciation Tour, I had to decide whether or not I would impose some kind of quality control. I decided that wasn't my job or my right. Everyone has different taste in stories and different levels of tolerance with regard to editing. Who am I to deprive a reader of the chance to find a book they love? Let's just say I'm not that guy. Readers have plenty of information before they put down money to figure these things out for themselves.
On the other hand, I think we have some real winners in the 28 books (at last count) that we have over there. I look forward to reading them myself!
Daniel, Thanks for stopping by and for putting the tour together. Really looking forward to getting to know the other writers and meeting new readers.
ReplyDeleteYou really hit the nail on the head here. Why should writers be waiting for a slot in some editor's schedule if we've got the tools and the know-how? I think there will always be room for some people to do the trade-publishing route (unless the big guys end up driving themselves straight to extinction) but with even trade-published authors being required to do their own marketing now, there doesn't seem to really be that much difference.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that the ridiculous agency pricing for e-books is driving up the prices of mass-market paperbacks; have you noticed that most of them are $8.99 now? Even with print-on-demand pricing giving us no discounts on volume purchases, we can compete with that in the indie market now. Three years ago, that wasn't the case.
I've discovered great books in the last 6 months on the indie market, some of which could easily have been trade published. I've discovered some not-so-good ones as well, but if you're generally selective and also willing to take a chance, there are some fantastic (both literally and figuratively) stories out there waiting to be read!