I aspire to have a series published traditionally. I still do, even though I’m an indie author, so you might wonder why I chose this route?
I was not one of the millions of authors inundated with rejection letters. I made this decision for a different reason. I honestly believe the market is changing, and trade publishing can’t keep up with the stories I want to tell.
You see, I’m still shopping around a novel. Technically, it’s my first novel – although it bears little resemblance to what it did the first time I managed to type “the end”. After writing 35 other books, I went back and polished it up, fixed the glaring plot holes, and whacked out some darlings.
I wrote the book two years ago. Yes, you saw that right. TWO years ago. Not 10, not 20, but just 2. Since then I hammered out 34 other books, learned a LOT, and bought a few new keyboards. I work with editors, artists, and already have my own administrative assistant. I’ve already brought a business from obscurity to profit making. I already know how to market myself, even if my skills are in an area not related to books. And in those two years, while frantically decreasing the storage on my hard drive while increasing my count of “finished” novels, I realized something.
Traditional publishing can’t keep up. It takes them two years to publish a book, from contract signing to release. It takes another year before that (at least) to find an agent. It could take up to five years to get a check! In other words, I must either do this as a hobby, and be pleased that I got chosen as a golden child by the industry, or I can do it myself, my way, and risk the chance of falling into obscurity.
But I never wanted to be famous.
I separate my books into the kind that are a nice, fun read, and those that would be kept on a shelf for future generations. My plan is simple: publish the quick reads on kindle, market for page reads (through Kindle Unlimited) instead of ebook sales, and keep improving the longevity books until they are picked up and printed by a respected old style publishing house.
With so many books nearly finished (they just need a little polishing) I can release approximately 2 per month, keeping my readers happy and fueling my own desire to write more, write better, and tell a story like no one has seen before.
In other words, I chose to be an independent author because it makes sense. I believe the world of books is changing, and I want to be on the leading edge. We’re experiencing a renaissance of art thanks to the digital revolution, and I want to ride that wave.