On Freedom

Remember the “Gold Rush” of 2011-2012, when no-name Indie writers were selling hundreds of ebooks a day?

*sigh*

Those were some really great years, weren’t they? Like all good things, though, this eventually came to an end. Once Amazon tweaked its algorithms it was less “fizzle out” and more like “crash and burn.”

The secret was out by then, of course. The market became saturated. “Authors” were gaming the system. Pricing became a race to the bottom. Kindle Unlimited happened.  It became harder to reach fans and potential readers on social media. What worked in marketing one day wouldn’t necessarily work the next, and there was always the “next big thing” on the horizon (a symphony of fizzles AND crash-n-burns). . . .

But even after all of this, and even though many of us have decided to straddle the line between self- and traditional publishing (acting more as hybrid authors), I do think there’s still a place in the market for the Indie writer, and one of the biggest reasons to choose this path continues to be FREEDOM.

This means the freedom to write the story we want to write, when we want to write it. Telling stories the best way we know how. Taking risks and stretching our creative wings. No limits. No boundaries. No constraints.

It means we don’t have to rewrite a book every time a new agent rejection comes in, or change the ending (again) because it doesn’t speak to this editor or that editor. It means we don’t have to bury our sorrows in a pint of ice cream because a “board” couldn’t determine the best way to market our story or where it would fit into their lineup. 

We will never (ever, ever) be able to please everybody, so it’s important that we’re happy with our work first and foremost, and sometimes that means retaining control of it. 

Freedom can mean failure, too, though, so don’t forget the freedom in getting up and trying again. :D

Indie = Freedom

and

Freedom = Power

After all of these years--and despite the ups and downs--it’s still nice to have options.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~