You know, I’m
proud to be an independent author.
Being independent
means that I write at my own pace, and I write until I feel comfortable with
the story. I can create characters and
situations without fear of someone saying, “Nobody will buy that” or “Our
market research says that this isn’t acceptable by readers”.
I’ve created a
sad private investigator that lost his family and then discovered that he
really is loved, a little girl that’s mostly an angel with some kickass powers,
a group of best friends that own a security company and have an insane Mexican
drug cartel leader as their mortal enemy, a Godzilla-sized creature that can
swallow a two-hundred-foot fishing boat, a man that can change personal
melodies into a golden experience, a young creature forced to search for food in the city, a
rural county in which magic is a normal part of its daily routine, and a blustery
old retired British colonel with a room full of curiosities and a life full of
stories.
Are these things
marketable? Will people buy them?
Yes…and, yes.
I have my diehard
fans, especially of the Justice Security series. Many people have read and enjoyed “The Wreck
Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”, in print, in Kindle, and in the audiobook wonderfully
performed by Patrick Peterson. Nicholas
Turner, the sad private investigator with the little angel girl, stars in one
of my best-selling titles. If You Could Read My Mind – A Nicholas
Turner Novel is now, finally, an audiobook, heart-wrenchingly performed by
Meagan Cunningham.
None of this
would have been possible if I weren’t an independent author.
There are a few
pluses to being a traditional author, I suppose. Marketing budgets are at the top of the
list. But, on the minus side, are the
things I listed above that I enjoy as an independent: I have no deadlines, my characters are as I
choose them to be, and my stories can be what I choose them to be. It’s all between me and my readers. No middleman.
If my readers enjoy what I write, they let me know, with reviews and
with their wallets. If they don’t enjoy
what I write, they use the same tools to let me know.
A word on the
retired British colonel: His first
story, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, has
been entered in the very short fiction contest at Glimmer Train Stories. I won’t be putting that one out until I lose
the contest – I’ll be notified that I’ve lost no later than July first. The Colonel's second story, Heart Of Glass, is currently under construction.
My point is
this: there are many, many independent
authors out there, with great ideas that would never get seen if they relied
on traditional publishing. Good authors,
and bad authors, are all being heard from, and all deserve your support.
So, when you’re
shopping for your next read, pick up something by an independent author. You’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Most of all,
Keep reading!
Well said
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