Why I'm Choosing to Go Indie

So I'm about six months away from publishing my first book, which is amazingly exciting! But there was a long process I went through to decide to self-publish when I'm done. Because on one hand, I craved the validation that comes with being traditionally published by a big house. The prestige, if you will. The visibility. The earning potential.

But then I relented, I pulled back. Because at the end of the day I don't want a publishing house to take control of my art. So I decided to go indie.

Now this isn't to say that I'm not open to feedback and changes. Not at all. But I think a lot about Hollywood, the media, and what the powerful people say "sells." And at the end of the day I believe publishing houses will publish what they believe sells. If your work isn't quite what they feel will sell, they will want to change it so that (in their mind) it will.

That's just the way it works. It's business.

Well I decided that I don't want to risk a Hollywood bastardization of my work, if you will. I don't want to be just another zombie story, or just another romance novel, or just another drug ridden family, or whatever genre slot they want to put me into. Because you do have to fit into a slot in order to be published by a traditional house.

It's sort of like the movies...are you a romantic comedy? An action film? Sci-fi? Drama? Oh wait, you're a mixture? You're something new? I'm sorry, we don't want your work.

Well, I don't want to be that writer. I want to make whatever it is that I make. I want an editor, who has experience with the craft, to tell me where my stories are falling short and how I can improve them. And to tell me what needs changing. I don't want a publisher trying to mold my work into their cookie cutter slots.

My great uncle, Bob St. John, has written several books. And I remember his publisher used to ask him to write sex scenes into his stories because they said it would sell better. And he refused to do it. And this was back in the 1980s.

I can only imagine what the publishers want to see now.

I want my art to be me. And I don't feel confident that in today's market, I can be me going a traditional route. Not until I've proven myself capable on my own, and that my work stands on its own, and will sell on its own, and that it doesn't need to be "tweaked" to fit Hollywood or the media.

So this, in short, is why I'm choosing to go indie. But of course it's not the only reason. Dwindling advances and changing pressures on the author have a lot to do with it too.

Is self-publishing ideal? No, not yet. I realize I won't get seen in most bookstores and libraries. I also realize it's going to be hard to be taken seriously amid the trash heap of books that probably should have stayed in the writer's computer. Or at least been edited before being thrown out to the masses.

But I also realize that I'm determined, that I'm a good writer, and that I have solid business sense. And really, what's the point of living if you don't hang your balls (er, boobs?) out there and just go for what you want? This is want I want. I want to be me. I want to create books that are mine.

So I will go indie.