Self-Publishing: To Be or Not to Be an Indie, That is the Question

Since this post is all about being an indie author and the whole self-publishing game, let's start things off with a little shameless self-promotion:

Now available for Kindle - Bound by Pleasure: Live on Stage.  http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Pleasure-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B005U2GMY6/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318795474&sr=1-5

This is Part 3 in the Bound by Pleasure series that continues the erotic BDSM journey of the fair and timid Mia. It is only $2.99, and was a word buster for me at over 15,000 words! Such a deal. I really feel that the characters come alive in this one, and well, they also just come a lot...

Now - back to our regularly scheduled programming. I just recently read a very interesting and insightful post on Bob Mayer's blog regarding the sustainability of an indie author:

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/the-sustainability-of-an-indie-author%e2%80%94will-self-publishers-survive/

Mayer makes some excellent points that help to support my belief all along: with rare exceptions, to survive as an author in the new digital age, you will need to remain flexible and constantly aware of changing trends in the publishing industry. Those indie authors that are raking in the dough right now will find themselves challenged by the Big Guns in traditional publishing as trad publishers find ways to evolve and adapt. Let's face it - the huge $ corporations - the renowned and alternately feared and worshipped Big 6 - are not going to roll over and die because Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath did it themselves.

So how does any indie author with hopes to self-publish react to that? By being the afore-mentioned flexible. For a change, this has nothing to do with my extreme erotica storylines. It's a state of mind. If you really want to stay alive and build an honest career as an author, you will need to watch and react to changing trends, and you will need help from others. Whether you are independently wealthy ( I wish!)  and you can afford to outsource distribution, marketing and promotion, cover design and so on to professional entities - or - you sign a deal with a trad publisher and take a cut in royalties; you will need to pick one of those paths. Remember, cliches have a place in our world, and "no man (or woman) is an island" really resonates here.

That's the reality. Sure, you can sell far fewer copies right now and still make good money; but Mayer's point is that you need to think ahead to when the Big 6 do change their business model. And they will. So buckle up kiddies, as always in publishing, it's going to be a bumpy ride.