Call yourself an Indie Author?

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

Publishers (both epublishers and print publishers) acquire the rights to a book (and not all books - you have to submit your manuscript and they decide whether they want to make an offer for it, like Amazon does with its publishing imprints), help you edit the book, arrange cover art, and if you're lucky help you to market it.

So going back to the original question. If you are putting your work through Amazon and the like and they are promoting it for you, keeping in mind that promotion is whole other topic, are you an independent author?

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by Harper Kingsley

Personally, I don't know why some people get so caught up in fighting over "what" they are. I just like to write and I'm too impatient to spend half of forever waiting for some agent or publisher to get back to me after holding onto my manuscript for 3-6 months before making a decision. And I just think it's kind of a jerk thing they do when they demand exclusivity for submissions - it's a cheap way to keep the competition down.

Monopolies are a downward trend and I think that competition creates new avenues. So the big publishers are losing business, I weep for them, I really do, but it's an opportunity for other people to create new companies and for authors to get more of a chance. And sure, that means a lot of garbage is going out there, but places like Goodreads and LibraryThing really help to sort out the chaff.

I don't really call my self an indie author, but I don't call myself a self-published one either. I just write stuff and try to get people to read it.

I agree, but that “label” is bandied about a lot on MR. Why can't we all just be writers or should we rename this section Indie Author's Corner?

[M T McGuire]

On the Smashwords front, I believe they are distributors because otherwise, as my publisher, based in the States, I would have to pay withholding tax on anything I sold through them. I don't ergo they are distributors of a product made in Britain - my book.

On the indie front, I'm with the people who say we're just authors.

I use a professional editor on all my books, I use beta readers for feedback before they are published, the covers are professionally designed... I write press releases about them and send them out, I ring/write to book shops in the hope of getting wider dead tree distribution. In short I do everything a publisher would do although I have a very small budget. I think that might mean I'm not 'pukka' indie. I'm probably a publisher but thus far, I only publish my own books.

Hmm... we could debate this one all day. ;-)

I like the phrase 'indie author' because it sounds like 'indie band' most of which are pretty cool. I'm probably not one though. Not really....

Cheers

MTM

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by M T McGuire

I use a professional editor on all my books, I use beta readers for feedback before they are published, the covers are professionally designed... I write press releases about them and send them out, I ring/write to book shops in the hope of getting wider dead tree distribution. In short I do everything a publisher would do although I have a very small budget. I think that might mean I'm not 'pukka' indie. I'm probably a publisher but thus far, I only publish my own books.

Sounds to me as though you're the epitome of "the right way to do it". You're doing everything right. Alas there are too few authors like yourself; most seem to believe that they don't need the services of professionals when it comes to things like editing, cover design, etc. And it shows.

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sounds to me as though you're the epitome of "the right way to do it". You're doing everything right. Alas there are too few authors like yourself; most seem to believe that they don't need the services of professionals when it comes to things like editing, cover design, etc. And it shows.

Maybe the majority of “Indie Authors” can't afford to have these “professionals” to work for them. Besides, didn't someone say earlier that the “Indie Author” did this himself?

I think the only thing an Independent Author should not do, is edit or proof read his or her own work. But do you need to pay a pro to do this? The rest they can do themselves, including cover design. OK, I may have some skills with Photoshop that others don't have, but theses can be learnt. I don't believe my covers are any better than anyone else’s, but I do know they aren't any worse.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

I think the only thing an Independent Author should not do, is edit or proof read his or her own work. But do you need to pay a pro to do this?

Editing is a professional skill, which is completely different to the skill of writing. If you don't get your book professionally edited, it's probably going to look as though it was done by an amateur. I would ask whether, if you consider yourself to be a professional author, you can afford not to use a professional editor. If you don't do so, you're not presenting your work to its best advantage.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

Maybe the majority of “Indie Authors” can't afford to have these “professionals” to work for them.

I was in this boat till my books started generating a profit. My posts show how badly I need an editor, LOL.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Editing is a professional skill, which is completely different to the skill of writing. If you don't get your book professionally edited, it's probably going to look as though it was done by an amateur. I would ask whether, if you consider yourself to be a professional author, you can afford not to use a professional editor. If you don't do so, you're not presenting your work to its best advantage.

Many self published/indy author/whatever label follow the path I did. That is get friends/family to help with the editing and just get your first couple books out there. Once out there they are out, they can generate money, and that money can be uses to hire an editor later. As long as you can get your book to a DECENT level of editing, it seems to work. Not ideal, but you play the hand your dealt and carry on.

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Editing is a professional skill, which is completely different to the skill of writing. If you don't get your book professionally edited, it's probably going to look as though it was done by an amateur. I would ask whether, if you consider yourself to be a professional author, you can afford not to use a professional editor. If you don't do so, you're not presenting your work to its best advantage.

I know this is one of your pet topics Harry, but it's not that cut and dried for a lot of people. A lot of what I write is Historical Fact and I'm lucky to have a friend who is a Professor of Etymology at Durham University, who edits and proofs all my work. I have another friend who is a History Lecturer who corrects any dialect or chronology errors. A fiction writer wouldn't necessarily need such intense levels of editing, so why shouldn't their mother or neighbour or school teacher or anyone literate enough to string two words together, be able to proof and/or edit their work?

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Many self published/indy author/whatever label follow the path I did. That is get friends/family to help with the editing and just get your first couple books out there. Once out there they are out, they can generate money, and that money can be uses to hire an editor later. As long as you can get your book to a DECENT level of editing, it seems to work. Not ideal, but you play the hand your dealt and carry on.

And I bet your books are edited just as well as anyone else’s. Even pros mess up, I've seen some atrocious errors in books that have been so called professionally edited.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

I know this is one of your pet topics Harry, but it's not that cut and dried for a lot of people. A lot of what I write is Historical Fact and I'm lucky to have a friend who is a Professor of Etymology at Durham University, who edits and proofs all my work. I have another friend who is a History Lecturer who corrects any dialect or chronology errors. A fiction writer wouldn't necessarily need such intense levels of editing, so why shouldn't their mother or neighbour or school teacher or anyone literate enough to string two words together, be able to proof and/or edit their work?

There's all the difference in the world between between proof-reading and editing. Sure, anyone who's literate can proof-read a book, but that's a completely different kettle of fish to editing it. Different people mean different things by the word "editing", but as a minimum it would generally involve "tightening up" the writing, checking for inconsistencies, and that kind of thing.

By the sound of it you're fortunate enough to have professionals available to you who can edit your books. Most people are not that lucky.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

Maybe the majority of “Indie Authors” can't afford to have these “professionals” to work for them. Besides, didn't someone say earlier that the “Indie Author” did this himself?

No. What I said earlier was that the indie author is responsible for seeing that his/her manuscript is properly edited and proofread. Whether the indie author chooses to hire professionals (which the he/she should) or to do it him-/herself is not germane to the issue of whose responsibility it is to see that it is performed. It is who has the responsibility for seeing that it is done. In traditional publishing, the responsibility lies with the publisher, not the author.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's all the difference in the world between between proof-reading and editing. Sure, anyone who's literate can proof-read a book, but that's a completely different kettle of fish to editing it. Different people mean different things by the word "editing", but as a minimum it would generally involve "tightening up" the writing, checking for inconsistencies, and that kind of thing.

Might I suggest that you look at some of my blog posts that discuss professional editors and editing:

1. The Making of a Professional Editor
2. Worth Noting: So You Think You Are a Proofreader
3. Finding a Professional Editor: The Needle in the Haystack Problem and the articles cited therein, especially Editor, Editor, Everywhere an Editor

I am a professional editor (28+ years experience) of medical texts. I have no experience in fiction (and I am not looking for work doing fiction editing). Every day I see people hang out their shingles and call themselves professional editors who aren't really editors at all. Unfortunately, there are no minimum certification requirements for editing. Finding a true professional editor can be difficult, but it is not impossible. Perhaps the above articles will be of some help.

[GA Russell]

Lulu's slogan is "You be the publisher."

[RobynJane]

Originally Posted by teh603

Proper editing is a joke these days. Nobody bothers to proofread anymore, not even the big name guys.

It has been my sad experience that some of the worst examples of this are in the notes and messages my step-daughter brings home from her high school. Misspellings, wrong choice of words, poor grammar and punctuation--my knee-jerk reaction is generally, "And you claim to be educating young minds?"

By religious use of your spell-checker, you can eliminate a lot of errors in your books. But more important than that, learn basic English (or whatever other language you're using). Use a dictionary and a thesaurus in addition to your computer resources. After all, I am always delighted when I get a computer grammar-checker to choke on this perfectly-correct sentence: "The girl the boy the dog bit hit cried."

Once you've written your final draft, have a friend review it for you--after, of course, you've read it yourself word by word--backwards. It's a great way to catch misspellings.

Robyn Jane