Why would I choose to indie publish?
July 6, 2011
I recently received an e-mail asking me why I indie publish and why I used a writing services company for my first novel length e-book, Attack of the Lushites (available now in print and e-book at Amazon and Smashwords). What follows is my response. As always comments are welcome.
My response to your question why I switched from Sapphire Blue Publishing is relatively simple and complicated at the same time.
It is true Sapphire Blue Publishing does accept all genres but truthfully they specialize in romance. Lushites is clearly not romance.
The fact is I still publish romances with Sapphire Blue Publishing (in fact I just sold one to them last week) as well as have my own imprint, 53rd Street Publishing. Lucky Bat Books is somewhere in the middle of these two forms of publishing, providing a menu of services for writers.
The traditional publishing model (which Sapphire Blue Publishing is basically built on, though they are more author friendly than New York) forces a writer to share the lions share of the royalties with the publisher and I wanted to keep a greater share for my efforts. Lucky Bat Books doesn’t keep any share of my royalties, they ask for a flat fee for service. This makes far more sense to me than the traditional publishing model.
I want to be clear about Sapphire Blue Publishing. I love those people and will always be grateful to them for giving me my first big break.
The other advantage of indie publishing over traditional publishing is the work isn’t “produce”, by this I mean the shelf life of any traditionally published work is limited. In indie publishing the work stays up until I remove it. I’m in control 100%.
The other thing that is happening in New York publishing is they are buying the rights to the e-books forever, and paying very low royalties to the writers, even though e-book sales are on the rise world wide. This is a worrisome trend and will affect the long term income of the writers. I’d rather indie publish and ride the trend alone than go to NY and lose my work for a small return forever.
Would I ever go to New York? Yes, absolutely, but not to be “famous”. Instead I see them as a marketing tool to jump start my indie sales and make me more money. Print books are still 86% of the market.
Now how to go about being an indie publisher is a very long and involved answer. I’m sending you to a link which lays out how to be an indie publisher. I’m a student of Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch who have also embraced indie publishing in a big way. I know many, many writers who are doing this, both long time and beginning writers.
Here’s the link: deanwesleysmith.com
I hired Lucky Bat Books because I want my novels to be indistinguishable to the readers from New York produced novels, which I feel Lucky Bat Books has helped me to do. I recommend to everyone hire someone to edit your work before you publish it. My view is a badly constructed manuscript with a bad cover can hurt you in the long run. Hire what you’re not expert at, just as you would an accountant or a lawyer.
The new opportunities opening up for writers makes having a career you can control far easier than ever in the history of publishing and I for one am going to explore every option available to me. Why wouldn’t I?
Comments
14 Responses to “Why would I choose to indie publish?”
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Thanks for the mention, Russ! We try to offer an alternative and glad we could for you. Your book is grand! Still chuckling.
The editing and presentation of a book is so immensely important that we never stop stressing it. Readers do wonder and question your credibility as an author when they’re forced to stumble through typos, oddball punctuation, plot cul-de-sacs and anachronisms. And with the publishing world in such flux – you put it so well: ride the trend – it’s a wise writer who holds onto his rights. And also has the moxie to seize the day when a traditional publisher makes sense for her/him.
You said a lot. Succinctly. Love that!
See you in Lincoln City – Judith
Well said, Judith. I’m still learning about this new world myself but from what I’ve seen, and been told by writers far ahead of me career wise, so far indie publishing will only help a budding career not hurt it. Every writer should at least seriously investigate their options, even if they are multi-published by New York. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain in this new world by embracing all of publishing.
Independent publishing has opened the door to writers being in complete control of their work for the first time ever.
A well reasoned explanation, Russ.
“The other thing that is happening in New York publishing is they are buying the rights to the e-books forever, and paying very low royalties to the writers, even though e-book sales are on the rise world wide.”
Wow, that’s news to me. I’m sure glad Harlequin isn’t doing that or I’d be very upset since I have a 2-book contract with their Luna imprint.
I’ve been small press published before and it was okay, but not nearly as rewarding as my experience has been with Harlequin. And the advance money was a true godsend. It pulled me out of a pretty deep financial hole i was in after losing my job.
I may turn to self-publishing in the future, but for now, the traditional route is the best bet for me. That being said, i can certainly appreciate your views and wish you the best of luck.
Good post, Russ. I’ll just add another plug for Lucky Bat. They helped me get my backlist of previously published short stories up as ebooks and did a wonderful job. Quality work, diligent, and great to work with.
Best, Doug
Exactly why I’m planning on much indie publishing in my future too!
Indie publishing is so much fun. I LOVE watching my sales numbers!
First, Karen, huge congratulations on the 2 book deal with HQN. I don’t know much about their contracts first hand, but I’ve heard they lock up the e-rights forever and pay 20-25% royalty on e-books. I also understand HQN is “produce” more than any other traditional publisher, with monthly releases their books become “dead” in print very quickly.
That all being said the advances are good and they often produce royalties for the writer. HQN is a tough sell so well done!
Just so I’m clear Indie publishing averages 70% royalty which I keep all of and I’m in control of the work.
All I’m suggesting is writers should consider all avenues of publishing as opportunities to generate income for their business. I’m not saying one way is better than the other.
Happy selling, Debra! Thanks for commenting.
Me too! Go, Lisa!
You and me both, brother! Great company to work with.
Thanks, Lynda.
I would like to point out one problem with being 100% in control that most indie authors haven’t thought through/encountered yet: there is no provision for getting sick, etc. I strongly suggest that everyone doing indie pubbling sit down TODAY and (a) write a will, so it is clear who owns your titles should you pass away suddenly — if you don’t want your literary legacy to go into the ground with you, you’d better appoint somebody you can trust to take care of your titles; and you definitely don’t want family fighting over who gets the cash from which titles….(b) type up a page with all your website/email/facebook/etc passwords and seal it in an envelope in your desk drawer– so that if you’re sick or dead, a trusted family member or friend can step in and either maintain all that social media for you, or take it down if you’re dead — but trust me, you don’t want some off the cuff rant against some current annoyance to be the last post anyone ever sees from you… (c) partner with someone (friend, online colleague, relative) who can manage your indie line if you get ill or have an emergency that would otherwise leave people complaining, “I’ve sent that bum 8 emails and he hasn’t replied so the deals off!”… whatever the deal might have been. You get the picture. 100% control has a lot of advantages, but a contingency plan is important, even if (hopefully) you never have to use it. (And not to say that same issues don’t arise if you’re working through NY, just that NY usually has at least some of this covered in contracts and/or in being an org larger than one person….)
Thanks, Robert. Agree 100%. Even if you publish in NY you should have provisions for your literary estate. well said.