Just because I’ve jumped into the indie publishing waters head first, I don’t necessarily think that traditional publishing is dead or even dying. It’s undergoing change, for sure, but people still like paper.
My reasons for publishing Neanderthal Swan Song on an independent basis are many, and the decision was made over the course of a year. Perhaps I’ll confess to those thoughts in a future post. For now, I thought I’d do a few blog posts about what indie publishing has been like for me. I’ll start by listing five disadvantages to going indie. We’ll talk about advantages next time.
1. Stigma – Despite all the arguments to the contrary by all the largest proponents of indie publishing, there is still a stigma, particularly among other writers. Even with SFWA-eligible short story sales, which arguably demonstrate that I have some competence writing, people still look down on self-published work. While the momentum of public opinion is still moving in favor of the indie published author, the pendulum is still soundly in the negative area.
2. Ownership– This is probably the hardest part of indie publishing. Taking ownership means taking ownership of everything. Whether you do edits yourself or farm that out, whether you create your own cover image or farm that out, you are ultimately responsible for the quality of the material.
3. Mistakes– No matter how careful and anal you are about edits and making sure everything looks just so, something will inevitably slip through. Refer to point #2.
4. Patience– Publishing om your own takes time, and the results are not immediate. For most people, a readership grows slowly. Be prepared for a few months of 3 to 4 sales before word starts to get around. Word of mouth is the best advertising around, but as any grassroots campaign, it starts out painfully slow.
5. Discipline– When you publish independently, you have no deadlines except those you set for yourself. Gotta take the dogs to the vet? Eh, the novel can slip a day. Days can turn into weeks, into months, into years. It’s difficult to remain focused all the time, but it’s necessary. Self-publishing is not for those who need somebody else to set the agenda.
Next time, 5 advantages.