Saturday, December 10, 2011

A Writer's Path: Indie Publishing In 2012

There are only a few weeks left before the end of the year and there have been many changes happening in the publishing world during 2011. For me, a freelance writer who has been doing his own indie publishing lately there are some great reasons to be excited about the prospects in the realm throughout the coming year.

Publishing In A Brand New Way

It is a new world of publishing according to bestselling authors Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Of course, these long-term pro writers aren't alone in heralding the rise of a new era where many writers now have a range of options that wasn't available to them just a few years ago. However, they are among its strongest voices in this author's opinion. On a personal level, they were the catalysts for my own forays into the electronic publishing in a way I hadn't though of doing just a year ago.

For those of you who have followed my blog at all, you might know that I established Founders House Publishing with my wife Amanda back in 2009. At the time, I didn't really think much about pursuing eBooks that much. The Kindle, Smashwords, the Nook, and other eReaders/platforms were out there slowly, inexorably seizing greater shares of the book buying market, in many cases wresting it from paperback and hardbacks. My wife and I were slowly building our list. First, we had open submissions and looked for other authors. Our first book, Echoes From The Past: A Memoir Family Heritage, gave us some local exposure that led to the subsequent books.

In most of these cases, people have come to me asking me to help them write their stories. It was a great thing for me because I had been wanting to transition to book writing for a while. Then I could help people get their books in print. Every book I've been writing has helped me become a better writer. Then about six months ago, I discovered Dean and Kris via Kevin J. Anderson's blog. I read what they had to say about the "new world of publishing" a concept that resonated so deeply with my desire to go back to fiction, that only a couple of months later, I had short stories published at Smashwords, as well as for the Kindle and on  PubIt for the Nook.

New Publishing For A New Year

Dean and Kris have insights that come with more than thirty years of experience in publishing. I've implemented their strategies and this has revolutionized what I'm doing. I have changed the focus of my publishing company to use it as an indie pubbing vehicle for my work. I still have contracts that will be a part of my focus, but the majority of the writing I will be doing this coming year will be my own work. I'm really excited about that.

It's a great time to be a writer. I can set my own course without any thought for the current interests of the traditional/legacy publishers in New York. I can choose to work New York under stronger terms--provided I take charge of my own writing career (Thanks for that Dean and Kris!). I can now distribute in most of the places that bigger publishers can go. Founders House Publishing can do both eBooks and print on demand paper books. I have options. All writers have options they didn't have until recently.

I look forward to 2012. I'm ready to write some great stories so I can share them with readers. That's what it is all about; it's the bottom line. Stay tuned dear readers.

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