Exploring the Three Paths, Part 2: Five Truths About Indie Publishing

And Camp Necon was awesome!

Hello, everyone! Hope this finds you well. Sorry this second installment took a while, but at least we’re here, right? Yeah, let me talk a little bit about some of the truths of indie publishing.

First, I know that many people use “self-publishing” and “indie publishing” as if they’re synonyms. They’re not. I’m not saying folks shouldn’t use it or anything like it; I’m saying that self-publishing means you do everything and then put your book out and indie publishing means you publish traditionally with a press that is small and not part of the Big Four. This difference is important because it affects a lot of things. For example, a decent indie publisher will offer an advance and have a solid distribution system, and that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With that in mind, here are five truths about indie publishing:

• There are a lot of predators out there. There are some easy ways to make a dollar or two, but publishing isn’t one of them. However, when there is a need for something, there’s always someone willing to pay for that thing, and when someone is willing to pay for something, there’s always someone trying to trick those people into parting with their money. In the case of writers, the thing they want is to see their name in print. Some folks know that, so they ask you for money to make it happen. Pay and you will be in this cool anthology. Pay and we will accept your manuscript. Pay and we will send you a contract that forces you to but copies of your own book and pay for editing and we offer you no distribution other than our site and maybe we help you upload to Amazon. Yeah, I’ll say it again: fuck all that. Money flows to the writer. Period. Go argue that somewhere else if you want to part ways with your money or think vanity presses are cool. In any case, the point if this: there are a lot of predators out there. Want to publish with an indie? Awesome! I have my first four books with indie presses and that path taught me a lot. That said, remember to keep your eyes open and ask questions.

• Indie presses come in different sizes. Saying indie today could mean you’re working with a press run by one person after they come home from their day gig or that you got a nice advance, have someone helping you with marketing, and have great distribution. Depending on what you want to accomplish, one of those two—or a press somewhere between those two extremes—will be perfect for you. Unfortunately, the size of the indie press you work with will have an impact of things like distribution and media contacts, so pay attention to that as you research publishers to send your work to.

• It’s a lot of work. Sure, you don’t have to pay for anything with an indie (you know, a real one that really publishes books), but you do have to do a lot of work. Aim to publish with an indie that knows what it’s doing in terms of contracts, galleys, reviews, maybe even set up a few events, etc. I worked on two novels with a press with a hand shake instead of a contract. Did it work for me? Somewhat. I don’t recommend it. Make sure things are clear and you’re getting paid regularly. And yes, payment is also something that varies a lot depending on the history and size of the publisher you end up working with. In any case, it’s hard work. All of it. You must set up most of your own events and coverage. You have to talk about the book all the time because your marketing team (or person…or maybe you have no one!) might be working on a few books at once. Oh, and because some indie bookstores won’t carry your books, you’ll have to carry your own books to events.

• I truly wish every indie writer the best, but making a living as an indie writer is hard as fuck. Trust me on this, I tried for 14 years. Sometimes a good thing would happen and I’d get a bit of money (you know, like pay my utilities money or “I can afford to go to this event now!” money), but I had at least two jobs at all times to pay the bills while publishing with indie presses. Don’t get me wrong, I had an absolute blast and built a career in the indies, but if your goal is to make enough money to be a full-time writer, doing it with indie presses might be a bit harder than you think. That said, indie presses are exciting and some of the most important work being published right now comes from indies, so don’t hesitate to pursue a career with indies.

• Indie publishing is a universe. This means you might beed and agent and you can have a 14-year career like mine without an agent. It means you could sell 80 copies or the book can take off and sell a ton of copies. A universe means every experience, every person, every book, every publisher is different, so you need to do your research and protect yourself and your work at all times. Yes, you have to put in the work and time. If you don’t, it’s almost guaranteed that things will go south for you.

There you have them, five truths. Hopefully those of you coming into this now will have a better understanding of how things work.

On to Camp Necon…

Camp Necon was awesome! I was a guest of honor, along with friends V. Castro and S.A. Cosby. It’s always good to see Violet and spending time with Shawn again, telling stories and reminiscing about our time together in France, was great. I always forget people, but I’ll try my best. For their time and words and energy, thanks to Bracken MacLeod, Matt Bechtel, Errick Nunnally, Michelle Renee Lane, Dana Cameron, François Vaillancourt, Linda D Addison, Meghan Arcuri-Moran, Jonathan Lees, Lee Thomas, Richard Dansky, Stephen Cords, my roommate Shawn A. Cosby, Teri Clarke, Patrick Freivald, V. Castro, Mike Casto, Tony Tremblay, Jennifer Anne Gordon, Jennifer McMahon, Millie Price, Michael Rowe, Tommy Clark, Clay McLeod Chapman, and everyone else! Y’all rock.