Let's face it, Indie writers have completely ruined the pool
for all the other real authors to get
properly paid for their work. If it
weren't for Indie's, readers would be paying $9.95 for every ebook no matter
the title and people like Dan Brown wouldn't be forced to give away copies of
the digital version of "The Da Vinci Code" for free. Those bastards.
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| Mary Shelley's book was rejected by dozens of publishers. |
Digital publishing has sure effected the publishing world
and Indies have used the one element they have to promote their work against
the stalwart names in the industry.
Lower prices. There was a time
when Indies were the slutty sorority girl who showed up at a formal dinner to
whispers of, "Who invited her?"
Things have changed for sure, but is this new craze going away? Probably not.
Now, has the market been flooded by some marginal
manuscripts which were thrown up on Amazon or B&N just because someone can
do it? Sure. But if someone writes a good story, they'll
receive the appropriate reviews. And if
someone doesn't . . . well, the opposite will happen. I've never begrudged a traditionally
published author for becoming successful the old-fashioned way. As a matter of fact seventy-five percent of
the books I read are traditionally published and I've interviewed many of them
on this blog. People like Tess Gerritsen
and Janet Evanovich and Catherine Coulter just to name a few. And they've been gracious and down-to-earth
writers. And I root for them to succeed.
But the publishing world is changing and we all need to
adapt. At least this is what my
typewriter repairman tells me.
Especially now when so many traditionally published authors are deciding
to publish independently as a choice.
It's hard to tell anymore whether someone is publishing a book by
themselves because they want to or because
they have to.
Don't forget, J.K. Rowling was rejected by twelve publishers
before an eight-year-old daughter of a Bloomsbury editor insisted he read the
entire book. Louis L'Amour received 200
rejections before Bantam took a chance on him. Nowadays these authors could've published
on their own and would've been Indie sensations. Why? Because
they wrote good books and would've received good reviews and would've gone on
to become very successful writers.
Are Indie's ruining the publishing world? Doubtful.
Stay tuned, however, because the landscape is changing and opinions
stated today may prove very archaic just months from now. Which reminds me, my blacksmith has been warning me about these
mechanical horses which seem to be gaining in popularity.
