I is for Indie Authors

Welcome to day 9 of the A-Z Blog Hop. My month long topic is on things I’m grateful for.

I have some traditional writer friends who think it is almost sacrilegious to speak of Indie publishing, and that makes me sad sometimes. I am happy for their publishing success, and God knows, it’s tough to get a contract these days. But being Indie doesn’t take anything away from them. If someone can sell books without a large publisher, so be it. I have friends making upper 6-figures and higher, doing so.

There is no question that being a Hybrid Author is better. Those that have a backlist, and are able to take advantage of this trend, are being rewarded for years of being mid-list authors who made very little money. Writing is fun, but don’t misunderstand me. It is work. I write to get paid for it. The fact that I enjoy it only makes me able to do it.

I think there is perhaps some fear some NYC published authors have that the Indie craze is hurting their sales. Not true. I think when there is more variety, there will still be those books that will stand out, no matter what source they sprang from. I don’t think people who order books on Amazon look to see if it is Indie published or not. People buy because they hear about the book or the author, from blogs like this one, or they search by category online. Bookstores are a whole other world, and they will always be there, but the trend is toward more electronic reading.

So I’m grateful for the many new opportunities to read a variety of authors, and have my works out there for others to enjoy. Would I sign with a NYC house some day? Of course. But in the meantime, I’m doing  my job working on my brand, learning about what it takes to be successful. Sticking close to my writing friends.

And working on being the best romance writer I can be. Because with Indie, I can.