On Saturday, November 17, 2012, four AIW members will attend
the second meeting of the brand new Lake Travis Fiction Writers and present an
overview of four distinct paths to becoming an indie author. The segments are:
- The role of the small press in the digital age--Deanna Roy of Casey Shay Press
- Paths to getting published--Cindy Stone and Laura Resnick-Chavez of Violet Crown Publishers
- Happiness is a legacy publisher in the rearview mirror--Brad Whittington of Wunderfool Press
- Total independence and doing it all yourself--Tosh McIntosh of No Press At All
Without knowing the order of our presentations or how my
colleagues will organize their remarks, I’ve decided to address the factors in
the current publishing industry that nudged me to choose the indie option,
explain why I elected to tackle each of the production steps myself, and describe
the workflow required to publish a novel in print and eBook editions.
One of the issues all the presenters will face is that LTFW
is so new, and its members appear to include only a few individuals who have
either completed a novel or are currently writing one. I don’t think we want to
let that diminish the message, however, nor do we want to liken publishing a
novel to climbing Mt. Everest.
Here’s a list of my talking points:
Arrival of the eReader and advancements in print-on-demand
technology have driven the publishing industry into a state of flux that shows
no signs of abating.
From the author’s perspective, that’s good news because legacy
publishers and their gatekeeper literary agents no longer have a monopoly on
printing and distribution, and authors now have a viable alternative to legacy.
That said, the road to publication has to begin with a
completed novel that represents a writer’s very best effort, worthy of a reader’s
hard-earned money and commitment of time to read it.
Before you choose the legacy or the indie path to
publication, consider carefully the advantages and disadvantages of each
option.
Although submitting to agents in the hope of being offered a
legacy contract deserves serious consideration by any first-time author, I had
enough experience with the process to conclude that driving this road to
publication has to be accomplished under a caution flag.
I believe it’s more difficult than ever before, and that the
contract provisions currently being offered are much too biased toward the
publisher.
Simply put, I saw no benefit in waiting any longer for the
remote possibility of an offer, especially when combined with the high
probability that I wouldn’t be able to accept it.
My decision to go indie included a commitment to minimize
the upfront investment of venture capital, which imposed the requirement to
teach myself how to accomplish all the production tasks necessary to publish a
book.
Following a brief description of my nine-step workflow, I’ll
emphasize that while I did it all
myself, I wasn’t alone because my fellow writers provided invaluable “think
tank” advice and offered their expertise to augment areas in which I found
myself lacking.
And then I’ll close by suggesting that the Lake Travis
Fiction Writers have what it takes to create an atmosphere of writers helping
writers in a mutual, collaborative exploration of their craft, dedicated to
improving their skills, and assisting each other to think like a publisher.
