Book Ramblings by S.L. Dearing
Well an opportunity to ramble, Thank you!!
I do
indeed ramble, quite often and about nothing, but I will endeavor to entertain
nonetheless. I am in fact an author,
which is why I was invited. I do have
several books (you can see them at the bottom), but let’s talk about something
else. I know, let’s talk about what it
is to be an Indie Author.
Now,
an Indie Author as we know is an author who has chosen to publish their work on
their own, independently of a publishing company. I know most of you think that we have done
this because we couldn’t get a publisher to pick up our books. Tsk, tsk… for if you believe that, you would
be incorrect. Most of us have chosen
this path. Why, you ask would we do
this? Well, let me tell you.
I
myself after much research opted to not even submit to a publisher. The reasons are many. Firstly, when signing a contract with a
traditional publisher, you are handing over the rights to your work for the
duration of that contract, on average, that’s 5 to 10 years. During that time
you, the author, have no rights to your work.
If the publisher wants it out of print, it’s out of print. Hmmm, well, that’s no good. Secondly, the publisher chooses the cover,
the content, the price, the distribution all quite often without the authors
input. Most of us are not celebrities
and most of us have not won any competitions or prizes in the literary
world. They apparently know best. Which brings me to the next reason, third,
they do not market your book. You still
have to do that. Again, who are you? No
one in the grand scheme of things and thus, they let you do the legwork. They’ll put it in print and hand it out to
stores and make it available, but who will tell the masses it’s there? That falls to the author. So, you are the marketing department, but
you’re not getting paid. Oh, wait, you
got an advance? Of what? $2,000 or if you’re lucky $5,000? No, again, who are you? Thus, the final reason. After toiling and sweating and crying and struggling,
the publisher will pay me $.05 on the dollar for each book sold, but wait, I
got an advance… Oh, so I won’t see any more money until they make the money
back for my advance? Oh, ok… hmmmm.
Now,
please don’t get me wrong, traditional publishing is a way to go and I begrudge
no one for taking that path. But I would
ask readers to give us all a chance. I
understand that finding exceptional Indie Authors who have taken their writing
seriously can be challenging. Some of
these writers refuse to find editors or get good covers. And you the readers deserve that, you deserve
a product that has been presented in the best way it could be. But there are quite a few of us out there
that have learned and are making some amazing literature, yes, literature. We have written stories and created worlds
that carry the reader away to another place.
The stories are beautifully written, full of great characters and
descriptive worlds and intricate plots.
I’ve read some beautiful books written by authors few people know, and
how lucky have I been to do that… very lucky.
For with each word, I have been changed, just a little.
Well,
thank you for giving me some time to rant and ramble. For those of you who have been unfamiliar
with we Indie Authors, I hope you’ll give us a shot. May you all find another world waiting around
the corner and an adventure waiting to happen.
Find my books on the following platforms
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