Being Indie

What is meant by the term “indie author”? An indie author is a writer who self-publishes their work (as opposed to “traditional” publishing- i.e. hiring an agent to find a publisher willing to take a chance on you.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that a writer who publishes their own work does so because they simply aren’t good enough to attract a publisher–hence their writing must be crap and not worth buying.

Let me say that authors who independently publish are not cowards or egotists–in fact, they’re more likely the opposite. It takes courage to put yourself out there, and most authors I know tend to suffer from imposter syndrome; deep down they fear they only “think” they’re good enough.

Pubishing one’s own work is not for the faint of heart–nor the thin of wallet. It’s expensive taking on the cost that a publisher might usually absorb. You need content editors, critique partners, book formatters, cover designers, and hopefully someone to steer you through the murky waters of uploading your novels to distributors like Amazon or Ingram Spark.

And don’t let anyone tell you you don’t need any of that. Yes, you do. As a doctor, would I take on the expertise of labs that analyze blood, urine, suspicious lumps? Yes, doctors “interpret” the results, but the job of analyzing the fluids and providing those results are best done by a lab. To do less might be considered malpractice.

But because we do not have publishers who might help promote our books, we depend on readers to get the word out. Yes, the “publisher” of Nostalgia is listed as Utter Loonacy Press, but that’s just the name of my imprint. You need a publishing name to be able to get a Library of Congress number. ( Didn’t I tell you it can be complicated?)

So, as an indie author, I beg of you to please, please, please, post a review or a rating when you read a book–especially if it’s by an indie author! Post it on Amazon, on Goodreads, on any book retailer’s site that will let you post a review.

I know more than four people have read or are reading Nostalgia, yet only four have been kind enough to review/rate it. If you’ve read it, or when you’re finished reading it, post your stars/thoughts: the good, the bad, the ugly. Not just for my books but for any book you read written by an indie author. Good or bad, your review is what gets the attention of prospective buyers–it’s how we make our money.

And thank you in advance for your review.

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