I have been a published author since 1994, and a self-published author since 2004. Your article lays it out exactly as it is. I make a LOT more money self-publishing than I ever did with my publisher. I loved being published, and probably will go that route again, but the bottom line is control, real money in my pocket, and the love that Amazon gives me. Libraries and bookstores (my favorite hangouts) won’t take my books. They already have enough, and they want Paris Hilton’s dog’s book (yes, it wrote a book and got published), Lindsay Lohan’s memoirs, or someone who has been on Oprah. And let’s not even start talking about returns. I work my a** off to reach my readers, but I know who they are. I help them personally. We have a special relationship I could not ever have if I could not speak to them in free lessons (from my websites, blog, and podcasts), help them on my private forums, friend them on Facebook. When I was published I lived in a vacuum. My first book was the #4 seller in my publisher’s catalog but there was no interaction like I have now. I had no idea what was possible, or even who my readers were. How could I know what was important to THEM? I wish every trad. published author the very best. As for me, I know how to get out there and sell books. The pay is great, my readers are the best people on the planet, and I will give everything I can to them so they will stay with me for more.

Most agents are asking the wrong question. They’re asking “How can I fit what I do into this new world?” – which is wrong because it makes them drag along all the baggage. It makes them feel they have to come in as “experts” because that the role they were trying to fill before. (I say trying, because many were not succeeding.)

The question they should be asking is: “What do authors now need (regardless of whether it’s something I have ever done before)?” To get any benefit out of that question, they’re going to have to swallow their pride and let the authors take the lead. And then when they have identified a real need, they can get themselves trained to create a NEW service.

Here’s the thing: indie authors may or may not be experts in anything. But they’re for sure the only ones who know what they need and want.

It was sometime last spring that I decided, mostly on the strength of David Gaughran and Joe Konrath’s testimony, to go indie. On the 4th of July I published my political thriller RUNNING, which has gone on to be a Kindle bestseller. Awesome!

One of the most important benefits to me, along with all of the points you make above, is that the very freedom inherent in self-publishing… author control of cover, formatting, length, genre — or lack of genre — publication speed, direct reader feedback… is an impetus to creating MORE and BETTER work. We are free to let the muse dance. And that’s good for readers as well as writers.

My favorite sentence from your post: “Once an author has been exposed to the liberating belief that all of their work can get in print, and all the work that is good, will get to be read, they will not go back to telling themselves that the gatekeepers were saving them from the awful mistake of publishing a bad book, and that the favorite quirky cross genre manuscript they wrote really is better off never being read by anyone.”

Thanks for putting this in words.

Viva la revolucion!

I’m a happily self-published author, with two books that didn’t sell to traditional publishing because they’re sweet historical Western romances. I’ve sold 50,000 of those two books combined in nine and a half months, with number three selling great right out of the gate.

I think the idea of self-publishing sounds daunting to some traditional published authors. One told me last week that she didn’t want to revisit her old books and update them. She wanted to focus on her new work. So she allowed her publisher to make them ebooks, and will now only receive a pittance on them. I cringed when I heard that, but it’s her choice. And that’s what’s so wonderful about self-publishing. AUTHORS HAVE CHOICES. Every author’s path is going to be different. That’s why it’s SO important to study the market (by reading articles like yours) and networking with other self-published authors.

I paid to have my books formatted and edited and for the covers, and I’ve barely done any marketing. So it doesn’t have to be a lot of hard work. Again, it’s a choice.