Post
I'm cleaning up some old files and came across this (unpublished long ago).
I wonder how many folks who came in, like I did, in that first indie author cohort in 2011, are still writing, still publishing, still making a go of the author life?
I feel like the attrition rate was pretty high.
I came in a little later - 2013 - but I'm still there, with 40 books and counting.
Still not a career since they don't earn a real income for me, but my brain demands that stories be written, so I publish them.
Too stubborn to give up, maybe, but it's also heartbreaking to see how many awesome books (not only mine) are suffering from lack of visibility and reach.
I wish we could do better, create an indie marketplace that's safe, store-independent and geared to discovery.
Relatedly: I can say without reservation that taking the adventurous completely unproven path of a career in self-publishing (which, to be clear, DID NOT EXIST in 2011) was absolutely the right move for me. It's not for everyone (ofc) but it fit me so well, maximum creativity, maximum control...
...I could write across genres, I could publish as much or as little as I liked, I could spool up new pennames, write serials, literally nothing was off limits.
I had a lot of privilege in being able to do it (and luck) and even when it doesn't make a lot of $, it's 100% the best choice for me.
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