THE INDY AUTHOR
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    • 031 - ebook Pricing
    • 030 - Common Writer Wisdom: Is it Right for You?
    • 029 - Fostering Creativity through Digital Minimalism
    • 028 - Writing the Killer Query
    • 027 - Why to Stop Blogging
    • 026 - Weaving Your Day Job into Your Books
    • 025 - Mastering Book Descriptions
    • 024 - Three Hard Truths
    • 023 - Reaching New Readers through Translations
    • 022 - SEO for Authors
    • 021 - Building Communities in Podcasts and In Person
    • 020 - Working with Libraries & Bookstores
    • 019 - Judging a Book by Its Cover
    • 018 - The Importance of Masterworks
    • 017 - Story a Day
    • 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain
    • 015 - Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published
    • 014 - Collaborating on "Taking the Short Tack"
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    • 012 - Top Firearms Mistakes Writers Make ...
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    • 008 - Screenwriting
    • 007 - Faster Fiction
    • 006 - Importance of Storytelling
    • 005 - Image-intensive Books
    • 004 - Using Media Outlets
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    • 002 - Creativity Tips
    • 001 - Introducing The Indy Author
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    • Getting Past the Fear of (First Draft) Commitment
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Professionalism and The Indy Author

August 14, 2018
A local library is soliciting applications for an author expo that invites participation from both “professionally-published and self-published authors.” Who can guess why that caused me to sit down at my laptop and hammer out this article?

You may already be familiar with my dislike of the term “self-published”—it suggests a solo effort that in no way reflects the team effort needed to produce a high quality book. Most people who write a book do so because they are good at writing, and that does not necessarily mean expertise in all the many other areas needed in the craft and the voyage of book creation: editors, proofreaders, cover designers, formatters, and marketing experts, to name a few.

That is why I prefer “independently published” because it—like “indie movie”—suggests a more serious and business-like approach to the endeavor. It suggests, in fact, a professional approach.

The library’s description of the alternative to indy published-books as “professionally-published” suggests that indy is an amateur effort.

The indy author can never allow him or herself to fall into the mindset of thinking that an amateur effort is acceptable. With today’s technology, and the affordable resources made available by platforms like upwork.com, there is no reason that any indy effort must be considered amateur. (And if paying for such services is not an option, consider bartering with your fellow creatives for such support.)

When readers peruse your book on an online platform or pick up a print copy at their favorite local bookstore, they should not be able to tell whether the book is traditionally (dare I say legacy) published or independently published unless they flip to the copyright page. And maybe not even then.
Your professionally and independently published book may be the one that wins another convert to the “indy” mindset.

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  • Home
  • About & Contact
  • Podcast
    • 063 - Wide for the Win
    • 062 - Point of View
    • 061 - Google Play
    • 060 - Mastering Action Sequences
    • 059 - Newsletter Swaps and StoryOrigin
    • 058 - Author Newsletters
    • 057 - The Pros and Cons of Pre-orders
    • 056 - Crowdfunding for Authors
    • 055 - Costs of Self-publishing a Book
    • 054 - Futurist Trends We Can Prepare for Now
    • 053 - Learn from TV and Movies
    • 052 - Building a Resilient Indy Business
    • 051 - Podcasting as Content Marketing
    • 050 - First Responders
    • 049 - Ruminations on Book Launches
    • 048 - Protagonist and Antagonist Voices
    • 047 - Backstory and Flashbacks
    • 046 - Writing Coroners
    • 045 - Exercise
    • 044 - Using Aggregators versus Direct
    • 043 - Killing Suspense
    • 042 - The Importance of Metadata
    • 041 - Writing Convincing Villains
    • 040 - Storytelling Lessons from Investigative Reporting
    • 039 Building a Writer Community
    • 038 - Graphic Novels
    • 037 - How Cozy is Cozy?
    • 036 - Frugal Tips for Writers
    • 035 - Police Procedures
    • 034 - Connecting through Video
    • 033 - Barriers to Creativity
    • 032 - Hybrid Publishing
    • 031 - ebook Pricing
    • 030 - Common Writer Wisdom: Is it Right for You?
    • 029 - Fostering Creativity through Digital Minimalism
    • 028 - Writing the Killer Query
    • 027 - Why to Stop Blogging
    • 026 - Weaving Your Day Job into Your Books
    • 025 - Mastering Book Descriptions
    • 024 - Three Hard Truths
    • 023 - Reaching New Readers through Translations
    • 022 - SEO for Authors
    • 021 - Building Communities in Podcasts and In Person
    • 020 - Working with Libraries & Bookstores
    • 019 - Judging a Book by Its Cover
    • 018 - The Importance of Masterworks
    • 017 - Story a Day
    • 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain
    • 015 - Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published
    • 014 - Collaborating on "Taking the Short Tack"
    • 013 - Writing in Time
    • 012 - Top Firearms Mistakes Writers Make ...
    • 011 - Making the Move to Full-Time Writer
    • 010 - Update from The Indy Author
    • 009 - Craft and Business of Short Fiction
    • 008 - Screenwriting
    • 007 - Faster Fiction
    • 006 - Importance of Storytelling
    • 005 - Image-intensive Books
    • 004 - Using Media Outlets
    • 003 - Small Press Publishing
    • 002 - Creativity Tips
    • 001 - Introducing The Indy Author
    • For Guests of The Indy Author Podcast
  • Podcasting for Authors
    • Podcasting Resources
    • Descript >
      • The Anatomy of Descript
      • Best Practices | Tips | Tricks
      • Descript Q&A
  • The Short Tack
  • Log
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • The Craft
    • Getting Past the Fear of (First Draft) Commitment
    • Scalability
    • Professionalism
    • From Dead in the Water to Favorable Winds
  • The Voyage
    • Reading Your Work Aloud
    • Preparing to Request an Author Blurb
    • Navigating Indy
  • For the Armchair Sailor
  • Editing Services
  • Events
  • For Libraries
  • Blog
  • William Kingsfield Publishers
  • Online Store
  • Press Kit