Lately, I’ve been reading the term “indie author” to describe self-publishing. I find it interesting that none of the authors on the professional authors e-publishing loop I referred to last week use the term. They just say self-publishing, or re-releasing their back list in ebook form (self-publishing is a shorter way of saying that). I’m interested in why the use of “indie author” has come about. Is it because “self-published” has a negative connotation when it comes to fiction? Or to differentiate that you haven’t paid a vanity press to print your book, or to get you reviews, etc? Vanity press being, in my point of view, a printer who calls themselves a publisher who will print anything sent to them. They don’t care as long as they’re getting paid. Compared to, say, paying for your own editing services (or swapping editing services) to one individual, paying for your cover art (or creating it yourself) from probably another individual, and uploading the book to e-book venues yourself (or, again, paying someone else to do it). To ME, that’s self-publishing. When you’re really doing it all yourself instead of paying a vanity press usually way more money than necessary to do it for you.
The thing I don’t understand is that all authors are “independent authors,” because we’re independent contractors. I guess if you have a 5-book contract with a major publisher…no, I would still consider that author as running her own business (which she is). Even Nora. So…isn’t Nora an indie author?
Unless you’re an employee of a publishing house, you’re independent as far as I can tell.
So…is “indie author” used to differentiate from “published with a major house?” To differentiate from “being under contract”? If that’s the case, I’m very much an indie author. Because I haven’t sold to a major publishing house and I’ve never sold a 2+ book contract. Yet I’m not an indie author, according to how I’ve seen the term used, because I’m not self-published.
What am I missing?
Educate me!
My take on it is that “indie publishing” is generally intended to describe the new model of self-publishing, where the author doesn’t have to pay someone a ton of money to get his/her book out there. It differs from the old sort of self-publishing, wherein the author spent thousands of dollars and wound up with fifty boxes of books sitting in the garage and no way to sell them. I think the term is intended to mean a more purposeful, professional sort of self-publishing, if you see what I mean.
Great topic, Cindy!
I’ve also heard the term “indie publishing” used for those authors going the digital-first press route.
So I’m thinking as long as an author is going any type of non-traditional route, whether with a small, digital press or larger but still boutique-style press, or enters into any non-traditional business model (regarding payment), and yes, usually also being published by a non, big-six publisher, that author is a fabulous “indie author”!!!
Sexy Sassy Smart Indie Author Wishes — D. D. Scott
P.S. Oh, and yes, I think the term was coined b/c “self-published” has come to mean “vanity publishing” which is a totally different business model yet. And yes, b/c the traditional industry has thumbed its nose at “self-published” which they tend to mean anything they don’t publish.
Ellen already gave a great explanation. And when you’re published with a print house or even an e-publisher, I wouldn’t call it indie. Someone else is doing your covers and the distribution, etc. Sometimes writers don’t have a say on the covers or the titles.
I use self-pub and indie interchangeably. To me, it’s not a big deal.
Hi Ellen, it’s great to see you here. I love how you’re publishing your back list yourself. I often drop by your blog to check on your progress, even if I don’t comment a lot.
I tend to agree with how you’ve described indie author. In *my* technical little Capricorn mind, it is strictly correct, but I can understand the term coming into use in that way.
D.D., hi, girl!
Yes, vanity publishing and self-publishing are two different animals. Thanks for coming my thought that this is “indie author” was coined.
Well, I don’t consider myself an indie author at this point. Maybe I’ll just continue as a Cindy author – I don’t really fit anywhere, LOL. I’ve always used terms like small-press-published/small-pub-/epub/micro-press.
If I self-published on Kindle, etc., like Ellen has been doing with her back list and now Edie is doing with her proven, very different books that are outside the NYC box, I would probably just say self-published for those works.
Hi Edie,
I’m following your foray into self-publishing with interest. To me, you are a prime example of a professional writer who hasn’t managed to find a spot in traditional publishing, the major houses (like myself, ha!), who has had her work critiqued, has revised up the whazoo, and has come so, so close to selling to traditional venues, but, for some reason, it hasn’t yet happened. The difference between you and me is I chose to go the small press route earlier in my publishing journey, when going direct to a venue like Kindle wasn’t an option. That puts me out of the current “indie author” running.
However, I have read on a couple of loops that people are being encouraged in certain forums to call themselves indie authors instead of self-publishing, which led me to the speculation of trying to distance oneself from the stigma, so to speak, of “self-publishing,” which, as D.D. says, is often misinterpreted as vanity publishing, when it’s not.
I’ve always agreed with the spin Wikipedia puts on it:
The terms “small press”, “indie publisher”, and “independent press” are often used interchangeably, with “independent press” defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations.
I think of myself as an author published by an indie publisher. I don’t take umbrage to self-published people using the term either, though. I honestly think that the obsession we all have with categorizing ourselves is a symptom of a really unhealthy need to make sure everyone sticks to their place in the hierarchy. If it were just about clarity, that would be one thing, but I have the unfortunate feeling that it’s also about knowing we can feel better than the people beneath us in the food chain.
I feel no particular need to be distinguished from self-pub authors, and I don’t care if more traditionally published authors feel a need to make sure everyone knows they’re not small press. If knowing they’re superior to me is what gets them through the day…well, whatever. I hope it makes them happy.
I’m pretty happy most of the time, whether I’m indie, epub or just a lucky lucky girl who gets to write for a living.
Whoops, I think I failed to make my main point: I’m tired of us trying to label ourselves. I would be far happier if we stuck to labeling the various paths and methods of publication, because I find that to be more informational and less inherently judgmental. (Which is why I define myself as an author working WITH an indie pub, not an indie author.)
Hi, Bree,
I didn’t even know Wikipedia had a definition. That’ll teach me. I think of myself as an author published by small publishers or “micro-publishers” when they’re very small. 🙂 When I first heard the term micro-publisher, it fit one of my publishers to a tee.
You might be right about the writer’s natural tendency to obsess about, well, anything we can find to obsess about. You know, because it’s a great procrastination technique. Your thought about hierarchy is very interesting. When I first epublished, “epublished author” was the redheaded stepchild of publishing. But the redheaded stepchild keeps changing. Sometimes category romance authors feel like single title authors think the cat writers are beneath them, etc.
I have no problem with self-publishing. I admire it when I know how hard the person has worked to perfect their craft, but something isn’t working. Maybe they just can’t fit into the NYC box. Lord knows I haven’t managed it yet.
Not selling to NYC is not necessarily a sign that the writer isn’t talented. Self-publishing isn’t necessarily a sign that the writer is a hack, either. However, in this age of the Internet, publishing options are growing and growing. And sometimes people jump on them a little too quickly. Believe me, if I had published either of my first novels, I’d be ultra-embarrassed to have them out there in ANY form. I was still very much learning my craft. And I haven’t stopped. We never stop learning.
Thanks for the second comment, Bree. I think I got what you meant to say. It’s like the old “unpublished” versus “pre-published” debate. I mean, “pre-published” to ME means you’ve sold your first book and are waiting for it to get published. To other writers, it means “I’m unpublished but I plan to be published someday, so I’m pre-published.”
We come up with these terms sometimes, I think, to feel better about our roles in the publishing world. I remember first hearing “pre-published,” and thinking, “Yeah, that’s me. I’ve been writing for years, I always get so close, get excellent rejection letters, do well in contests, but somehow I don’t make the sale.” I think I used the term for about two months, way back in the day. Then I thought, “Screw it all, I’m unpublished and trying to get published, and if I can’t hack that, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this.”
Well, except NOW I’m published. By small publishers and epublishers. Under two names.
Maybe I’m confused but I thought indie publishing was being published by small, independent publishers. Self-publishing means you publish the work yourself. Vanity publishing means you pay someone to publish your work for you. Vanity publishing is definitely to be avoided. Self-publishing especially if you have a backlist is fine. I’m not secure with it so I look for publishers who will pay an advance, even if it’s not large. True, royalties are smaller, but I’m more comfortable with it.
Jacqueline Seewald
new releases: TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS–adult historical romance
from Five Star/Gale
STACY’S SONG: YA coming of age novel from L&L Dreamspell
Hi Jacqueline,
I always thought like you do. Leading to my confusion as “indie author” has recently come to apply to self-publishing, although NOT via vanity presses. Now I’m realizing indie author/indie publishing means different things to different people. It’s not cut and dried.
I like your take on it, Cindy. We are all independent contractors. I think the term comes about because there are negative connotations, much like when e-publishing came to light. — Don’t ever e-publish! Now look at an entire market transforming. I have met some outstanding people, who simply want control over the entire process. They want control in their cover, the entire book content, where they choose to sell it. They have to be technologically *with it*. They have to be fearless and have a long term game plan and willing to go it alone. In my opinion, that’s about as *Independent* as you can get and I wish them every success. Great post.
Cindy – An indie author is akin to an indie band or indie filmmaker: getting his or her work out to an audience without the involvement of any corporate middlemen. The indie author may not do all the work involved in producing a book him- or herself, it’s common to work with freelance pros for things like editing and cover design, but the indie author calls all of his or her own shots, shoulders all the risk and reaps all the reward. He or she controls the rights, too.
Donnell, that’s an excellent way to put it. And congratulations on your sale to Bell Bridge Books. Perseverance rocks!
Hi, April. Another good way to put it. Too often non-“indie” authors give away rights the publisher doesn’t intend to use. I retained audio and foreign rights to both my Amber Quill books. I’ve sold audio rights to both and foreign rights to one. I’d love to explore more foreign rights. I turned down a contract with an epub because they wouldn’t give up audio rights they had no current plans to use. However, I admit, it would depend on the track record of a particular epublisher or digital-first publisher, whether I would be happy to let them have those rights.
I think, with indie publishing, though, as it pertains to self-publishing, you have to sell a heckuva lot of books on your own before traditional publishers are likely to consider you. Not for OTHER projects, but for the self-published books. Unfortunately, there’s still a stigma out there about self-publishing, much in the way, as Donnell says, there was once a stigma with epublishing. But if an author loves being in control of every stage of publication and if an author loves the freedom of her creative voice AND if an author has taken the time to perfect her craft, then I’m all for it as a valid choice.
Cindy, I think the term “indie” is being used in place of self-pubbed for two reasons. It is easier to type. LOL
Secondly, being an “indie” seems to garner more respect than self-pubbed. For several years now I have seen self-pubbed equated with “not good enough to be published by a legitimate publisher.”
Indie has a different connotation entirely. Indie films are considered by some to be the best films out there. I don’t mind being associated with that mindset.
Yes, “self-published” still has a negative rep. Thus, the term “indie.”
For the record, Five Star (Cengage/Gale/Thorndike) is considered a major publishing house, on the “approved list” of every org from MWA to RWA. I once asked a well-known on-line reviewer if she’d review my Five Star novel. She said she only reviews small press books.
Deni, thanks for dropping by! Deni is my Five Star editor.
The approved list thing changes from organization to organization, sometimes from year to year. Five Star offers a level of advances and has distribution that keeps it “approved.” What I meant was it’s not a major NYC publishing house, in mass-market formats in bookstores around the US and sometimes Canada – like in my Safeway. 🙂
But I do love to hear it’s considered a major publishing house. For me, my sale to Five Star was a “step up” from anything I’ve sold until now–as either Cindy or Penny. Penny’s publisher has a great reputation in the industry as well, but as far as I know is considered a small publisher.
And, when I say “step up,” I mean that in terms of my personal goals, not that one format of publishing is any better than the other. But I am always striving for “steps up” in terms of distribution, royalty statements, and advances. My goal is to see one of my books in Safeway. 🙂 So far, none of my publishers have gotten me there. That doesn’t mean I don’t value what they have done for me and that I wouldn’t submit to them again. I would.
I will surely love it if my local library carries a copy of my Five Star book and I can go snap a picture of it on the shelves. That would be another “step up” for me, as, AFAIK, I’m not in any Canadian libraries as Cindy or Penny.
I should clarify that one of my goals is to see my books in Safeway, because I rarely visit bookstores. I have become addicted to on-line book-buying and the bookstores in my town are “out of my way” on my usual shopping route. Safeway and London Drugs, however, I visit every week. So I live for the day when I’m perusing the books in Safeway and London Drugs and see my name!
Bookstores would be good, too, don’t get me wrong!
Maryann, I had considered the comparison to indie films, but it didn’t seem quite as correlative to me. You’re right that “indie” is easier to type and shorter to say.