This is a really interesting article on the tension between traditionally published authors and indie authors. Link here.
I chose to self-publish for a variety of reasons.
My first book, The King’s Sword, was rejected by a number of agents before I decided to self-publish. While I’m sure it’s not perfect (what book is? We all have things we can improve in our writing, and I hope I continue to grow as a writer throughout my life.), I believed it was worth sharing. The comments I got from beta readers ranged from fangirl squeals (literally) to “Wow, I’ve never seen a first novel like this… this is really REALLY good” to “What? What are you doing? This is not a fantasy. Or a lit-fic. I don’t know what this is. But I don’t like it.”
I know what I intended to do with the novel. I think I succeeded. Some readers think so too, but not all. Some readers didn’t get what I was doing at all. Some readers got it but didn’t like it. No book pleases everyone. It’s not a “typical” high fantasy, that’s for sure. And from the rejections I got from agents, their issues weren’t primarily with my writing itself, but with the inability to put the story in an easily marketable box.
I’m ok with that. I hope you enjoy it. I enjoyed writing it.
If you did enjoy it, please check out this post on how to support indie authors.
