Indie Publishing
What Authors need to know about it.
Authors, this blog will be pretty darn short. Why, because Indie publishing is basically self publishing with business upgrades.
This blog is about:
The Indie publishing road. How it’s different from self publishing and traditional publishing. Why it could be a great road for you and more.
Without further delay let’s get into it.
What is Indie publishing?
Indie publishing is when an author is self published and they publish their own books plus books by other authors. Thus making them small publishers/Indie publishers.
This means the author is working alone publishing their books and the books of other authors.
Indie = you do it your way as a business without the use of any big publishing companies.
Indie publishing V.S Self publishing
Indie publishing V.S Traditional publishing
Tip for Authors:
Think of the three publishing styles as a pyramid. Start with Self publishing at the top. Indie publishing is the middle layer. And the bottom layer is Traditional publishing.
Why should Authors consider Indie publishing?
Calling all Authorpreneurs! If you are an author, and can offer other services such as editing, cover designing or marketing. Then you might just be perfect for Indie publishing.
Indie publishers are businesses. They work hard for not just their own books, but also for the authors they help.
Pros of being an Indie publisher
- You are the Creative writer of your own books. Plus, you are helping other authors with their books. (you can offer services such as: editing, marketing, cover designing, etc)
2. Let’s talk about your team! You as the boss have the power to select your team members. Choosing your editor. cover designer, formatter, and illustrator (if you want one). This team will be your very own publishing team.
**This is extremely powerful, authors spend an abundant amount of time with their publishing teams. You want people that you can depend on. Your book vision needs a great team. So, choose wisely.
3. Royalties, you keep almost all of the money from your sales. Plus, since you have a few other authors that you help out you also get a commission from them.
*Usually you get monthly royalties.
4. Full control! Over everything, your publishing deadlines, what niche you write in and when you publish–everything! You decide what you want to do, from start to finish.
5. The world of publishing is open to you. You decide where you will publish and sell your books. IngramSpark, Amazon’s KDP, Draft2Digital and more!
Cons of being an Indie Publisher
- The up-front expenses. Paying for a team costs money. All your book costs add up. Covers, formatting, editing and marketing tools. Unfortunately, good quality work is not free.
- Research! You have to research for hours before selecting a good team. Again, that takes time, effort and testing. Good teams are not the easiest to find sometimes.
- Time consuming when you are just starting your Indie Publishing company. Once you get a solid team and your business is settled things stream line rather well.
- You have to think and act as a business, not just a creative writer. Since you have more than your books to publish, other things have to be considered. Contracts, payments, client needs and marketing plans. Being a business owner can be absolutely fun, but it is hard work.
- Energy. As the business leader it is your duty to keep the business going. Staying determined to be the best business for yourself and your clients. You have to be your biggest cheerleader!
***Disclaimer: I am not an expert when it comes to the Indie publishing world. Being a self published author myself, that is still learning all the ropes. I just want to remind you newer authors, it’s important to continue learning.
I highly recommend checking out this blog from Between the Lines Editorial. Hannah is a fellow author, who is sharing her editing, writing expertise and books with the blogging world. Hannah gives you a ton of valuable info about the Indie world in her blog below, check it out:
https://btleditorial.com/2020/04/30/choosing-indie-publishing/
Author tip!
Be brave and Experiment! The three main publishing roads are: Self publishing, Indie publishing and Traditional publishing. These are different ways for all authors to publish their books. There is no exact, perfect route to go, it all depends on what You want for your books. Have fun with your book journey and try the road you want. Know that you can always try another publishing road for another book series of yours. You are not stuck with just one publishing road for all your books. You can do any of them with different books.
This blog is about:
The Indie publishing road. How it’s different from self publishing and traditional publishing. Why it could be a great road for you and more.
Thank you for reading until the end. As a new blogger any and all support is appreciated and welcome.
Write on~
Cecilia