Once again, this is a continuation of my previous Writing Wibbles post. Last week, I ranted about someone who did a (deliberately?) bad job of releasing his novel and using that as an excuse to write off the whole indie experience. Of course, I wasn’t the only blogger—especially not the highest-profile blogger—to feed the troll. Chuck Wendig also responded.
Then Salon, perhaps to balance the scales, ran an article by Hugh Howey that said self-publishing is always the better option. I might have commented strictly on that article, had it not been Indie Life week, but Wendig did already, and got rebuttals ranging from polite to “typical Internet rude.” Not the kind of guy to slink into a corner, Wendig came back with a very good point: there is no One True Way.
I have to agree.
There are, contrary to what the simple-minded insist, very few absolutes in life. There are some absolutes, to be sure, but the route to sharing your stories isn't one of them. Self-publishing was what worked best for me, which is not to say it will be best for everyone. I have a couple friends querying their books now, and I cheer them on. In my own case, I found myself with an epic-sized, post-apocalyptic, paranormal non-romance that defies attempts to pigeonhole it into a particular genre. I followed that up with two fantasy novellas, Accidental Sorcerers and The Crossover. Novellas are probably the closest thing, right now, to an absolute “indie is the best way” choice. They’re too long for magazines, and too short for book publishers; but they’re just right for people using eReaders, tablets, or phones. So my course is pretty well set… for now.
Once I digest my way through the first half of the year, I hope to turn my writing efforts to a YA contemporary fantasy trilogy that has been patiently waiting its turn. Once I finish the first book, I may try querying it (but with strict limits on query cycles or time). A handful of sales, after all, is worth far more than an endless stack of “it’s good, but not for us” rejections.
Feel free to share what brought you into the Indie Life in the comments. Thanks for reading, and check out some of the other Indie Life writers this week!
As you know, I took the opposite (well, sort of opposite) stance of Indie First! :)
ReplyDeleteThe main problem I have with Chuck's rebuttal is a conflation of the idea that each author has to choose their own "best" with the idea that one path or the other might be "best for money" - there are lots of reasons why authors choose different paths, many of which don't include how much money they'll make. But if one path pays significantly better than another, I think that's an important point to be considered. That was the main thrust of Hugh's Indie First idea - that it's the best way to make money (for new writers starting out today). Chuck disagrees with that too, but it took a lot for him to come out and actually say that - he was focused more on reasons (other than money) why people wouldn't choose indie.
The most interesting part of all this, to me, is how much furor it's created, for something that's really not very controversial. I think that speaks to the power of the idea.
Best of luck with all your current and future works, whichever path you take with them!
Great post, Larry. When I started looking into publishing, I was going to go traditional Then self publishing started to grow and I looked into that as well. In the end, I decided self publishing was the better option for ME for a few different reasons. I don't think I'll ever give traditional a shot, but that's just me. I have friends who are and I get so excited when they have news.
ReplyDeleteCharting a path that makes each of us happy is the best way to go. Sometimes figuring out which journey to take is the tough part.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on all of your writing.
Interesting post Larry, I'm cheering you on all the way! ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shelly!
ReplyDeleteSusan, good point. If you treat your writing like a business, the "validation" of traditional publishing doesn't buy even a cup of coffee.
Patricia, I came from pretty much the same place. I'm a "never say never" kind of guy, though… I like keeping my options open.
RaShelle, you made a very good point of that in your post. (Everyone, follow the link to her G+ profile and find her post.)
Thanks, Helen!