When You Don't Care - More Indie Thoughts

When I wrote about when not to go indie the other day, I mentioned a key phrase that I really didn't get a chance to explore. And I think it's really important to elaborate on it.

"I don't care if I'm successful."

I talked about why I think it's a bad idea to self-publish a book just because it's there and you have nothing else to do with it. You really want to be traditionally published but you have this one title that you've given up on. That's a case of "I don't care if this book is successful but I do care that my writing career is successful. In fact, I want to be really successful with it." That's when going indie can be tricky, if not done right.

But there are lots of us who just want to write, want to make our stories easily available to friends and family and if someone else picks it up, great. This is a whole different situation. This is, "I really don't care if I get a big publisher or make a bestseller's list. Writing is my hobby, something I love doing and I don't ever want it to become work."

And in that case, YES! Do it! Why not??? If you go in knowing that you'll get out of it whatever you put in and without expectations of making it "big," then self-publishing is a perfect solution for you. Just one little caveat...

Be sure that you really don't care, that you're really doing this for fun. Because if you change your mind later and decide that you really do want to have a successful writing career, you might have some major clean-up to do after yourself. After all, you'll have a book or several out there that never sold well. You'll have to decide what to do with them, which might mean pulling them to never see the light of day again.

Because here's the deal - publishers might want to publish something you've already done indie, especially if it's sold well. They'll likely have you do edits to improve it and then do a re-release. Most likely, however, they won't. They want exclusive first rights and since you've already published it, it's no longer first rights or exclusive. So the benefit your indie title(s) will give you is showing that you know how to market and can build a fan base, which will help with your next books. If you haven't done that, however, your indie titles can play against you. If you have poor sales and/or reviews, they're a black mark.

So, if you change your mind and have a book you really want to try to get published, you may want to pull your indies. OR...if they're good, you can market the heck out of them and focus on building that fan base before you start querying the new title. Then you have some good stuff to put in that letter. Which brings me to another little caveat...

Even if you're only doing this for fun, still put out the absolute, very best that you can possibly offer. If you don't want to invest in an editor, at least have several betas/critique partners help you. Then have someone else do a line-by-line edit and proofread. Don't put out crap. It's bad for all of us. And, if you do change your mind later, you have many more options available as far as what to do with your self-pubbed titles. You'll be in a better position to pump up your marketing and sell them. So it's in your best interest to put out only your very best, polished work.

(Of course, that last bit applies to all of us...)

Any other cases of "I don't care..."? Any questions? I'd be happy to discuss.

It's Not for Me

Have you ever been told, "It's not for me"? If you've ever queried, you have. And most of the time you just don't understand how the agent could possibly say that, right? You did your homework. You followed all the rules and certainly you made sure you chose the agent that is looking for your genre, your type of story. Yet, you get that ambiguous rejection that just doesn't seem to make sense.

At first. But stop and think about it for a second.

Think about books in the genre you love to read. Think about one you DIDN'T love when you thought you would. The jacket copy sounded like other books you love, but not too similar. You'd heard how great it was from people with similar tastes as yours, but this one just didn't strike you. It wasn't bad, but you didn't fall in love with it. Now imagine trying to get someone to invest tens of thousands of dollars into it.

Now think of your favorite book in your favorite genre. The one you absolutely love, have read a million times and wish there were more stories for the characters. And imagine trying to convince someone to invest that same money in it.

Which one would be easier for you to get behind? Wouldn't you be more persuasive about something you love than one you didn't?

Writers - at least the smart ones - carefully research and make informed decisions on who they're going to query. They choose agents who specifically state they're looking for their genre and who rep books and authors similar to them. They do their homework. And they still get rejections that say, "Great writing and strong characters. I like the story, but it's just not for me." HUH?

I had a few of these when I was querying and, at first, I didn't get it. I, like most of you, thought, "But this is what you say you want! It's right on your website! You tweeted that you're looking for this exact book!"

Since my books have been out a while and have received plenty of reviews, I've been paying more attention to how people think about books, including myself. And I get it now. If you think about those first two examples above, you'll get it, too. Just because a book is in your favorite genre and the story is good and the characters interesting, doesn't mean that you, specifically, will fall in love with that book. Your friend might - maybe already has - but not you.

The funny thing is, if you read that same book while in a different mood or at a different time in your life or just under different circumstances, you may love it. Have you ever read something once and loved it and read it again a few months or a year or so later and wonder why you thought it was so great?

Agents and acquiring editors are no different. If a book is in their genre and their interest is piqued with the query letter and sample chapters or a partial, they'll read the book. They might like it. They may praise the writing and the plot twists and the character development. But that doesn't mean that they love it. At least, not enough to convince someone to invest tens of thousands of dollars into it. Which is what they're doing when they try to sell the title.

That's what they're saying when they say, "It's not for me." It's frustrating, but everyone has specific tastes and things they're looking for. And for agents and acquiring editors, it's not $9.99 or even $20 on the line if they don't love it, as it is with readers. It's their careers. It's lost time with another project that they do love. It's missed opportunity because they couldn't take on any new clients. They have a reason for rejecting something they like but don't love.

We don't always get it, but "It's not for me" is just how that agent feels at the particular time they are reading it. Don't take it personally. Don't get discouraged. They may have been interested in it at a different time, under different circumstances. "It's not for me" does not automatically mean "It sucks." So dust yourself off. Move on. One of these days you will find someone who says, "Yes! I love it! It's for me!"

And if you get too discouraged, you do have choices now. Taking the chance that your MS will never fall on the right person's desk at the right time is not your only option. Talk to me if you want to know more about your choices.

Team Writer FOR THE WIN!

The debate between indie and traditional (trad) publishing has heated recently and it's created a lot of animosity that I just don't understand. I feel like a divide has been growing - Team Indie vs. Team Trad. And before I delve into this, I feel the need to say that just because I'm happy to be Indie and I do things like Indie Authors Relief Fund, doesn't mean that I'm all "GO TEAM INDIE!" That I think every writer should be indie and you're stupid for not doing it my way.

I do support my fellow indies. I think it's a brave, progressive and sometimes lonely route to publication. So I cheer on those of us who do it.

But I don't think it's the only way. Just as I obviously don't think trad is the only way. The world has given us many opportunities and paths to take to get our books into readers' hands. And that's the goal for all of us, right?

With success stories of indie authors such as Amanda Hocking, unpublished writers recently seem to feel the need to justify why they don't want to go indie. Very opposite what it was like when I decided over a year ago - when writers who did go indie were the ones feeling the need to justify. People on both paths can become quite defensive in justifying their reasons.

Both roads are full of pot holes and detours that are frustrating, but the writer has good reasons for fighting their way through. Unfortunately, sometimes their points are made by emphasizing how much worse that other road is. Which only sparks angry retorts by some who chose that other road because they feel the need to defend themselves. Both sides feel like they're being personally attacked. Thus, we have this great divide.

Then there are those who decide to publish a book independently because, for whatever reason the universe had at the time, it didn't sell traditionally, and the author feels like they gave up...or gave in. That by going indie, even if just with one book, means they're admitting failure. Or, at least, defeat. I've had these same feelings on occasion. But why should we feel down?

A trad book sale requires so many things to come together perfectly that the odds just aren't in the writer's favor. But that doesn't mean it's a bad book, bad writing or a bad author. And it doesn't mean that readers don't want to read it. So what is wrong with getting that book out there for readers to enjoy? It's better than a good story sitting in the dark corners of a hard drive.

We're at an exciting point in time where writers are empowered to choose. And choosing one way doesn't mean we can't ever go the other way. Several long-time authors who have been trad published for years, even decades, are going indie. And more and more indie authors are getting trad contracts. The breaking news this week is that Amanda Hocking has a reported $2 million deal with St. Martin's Press. Nice job, Amanda!

She discusses here a little about why she would even consider going trad when she's doing so well as an indie. She has excellent reasons. Her story - as well as some of her points in that blog post - support what I said back in July in a guest post here. That writers now have the opportunity to reach readers directly and build a fan-base...and that trad publishers will eventually take notice.

In fact, Amanda may be the case-in-point (or at least the poster girl that she didn't set out to be but nevertheless is) that this route just may be the best for everyone in the industry: writers indie-publish and start a following and then publishers can grow that fan-base exponentially. Readers get to be the gatekeepers - the ones who decide which books and authors they want to read. Which is really a great thing for everyone.

But what I like most about Amanda's post is her point that we shouldn't be taking sides. That we should all be TEAM WRITER. Because we're all reaching for the same goal - to see our books being read. The journey to achieve that goal is different for everyone and we shouldn't be criticizing others for the routes they take. We should be supporting them, cheering them on, helping each other along the way. Because each new path forged is one more way for others to follow. Another choice. Another way to empower the writer.

It's time to stop criticizing each other and ourselves for whichever path we take. It's time to embrace the amazing possibilities before us. It's time to stop throwing rocks and insults at the person on that parallel road to publication and start throwing chocolate and woo-hoo's at them. We're all on the same team!

TEAM WRITER FOR THE WIN!!!