Are you looking to get your book published, but frustrated at the traditional publishing route? Eleanor Anstruther, author of A Perfect Explanation and In Judgement of Others shares with us the five things she’s learnt as an indie author.
If you want to learn more about the alternative ways to publish your work, listen to Eleanor at our panel event Publishing Your Own Way on 22nd January here.
It’s a full time job
I wrote an article about this on my Substack, the sense that there’s a meeting going on in my head, a constant to and fro between Creative and Publishing both of which need my attention, one of which has multiple subcategories, all of which I must govern. Creative is straightforward. Get up and write. Publishing on the other hand is made up of Editing, Text Production, Book Production, Marketing, Publicity, and Finance, each with multiple desks. On top of that there’s the Wellbeing Department ever fighting to be heard. I have to wear myriad hats and be okay with that, because no one’s forcing me to do this, it’s entirely my choice. The great thing about being an indie author is that there’s no one to answer to, the worst thing is that there’s no one to complain to.
Professional help is everything
Working at the desks of each department doesn’t play to my strengths, so early on I delegated on a grand scale. I run the show but I don’t handle the practical application of each step. Everything from editing to design it’s outsourced to Troubador, a hybrid publisher staffed by professionals. This luxury comes at a premium, but there are many other professional resources out there with whom to contract out the nuts and bolts of publishing on a piece by piece basis. Join the Alliance of Independent Authors for advice on which service providers are trustworthy.
Don’t give up
It’s a marathon not a sprint. You will meet with obstacles and failure, frustrations and lack of faith. Set sustainable goals and examine what success means to you. And most importantly, don’t give up. I think of my working day as done on behalf of my work. Who am I to throw up my hands when those stories have put their faith in me? A bad day doesn’t justify blocking their path. When something really knee-capping happens, I have a twenty-four-hour pity party, and then get on with the show. This is the life of the artist. Any doubts, read the Martha Graham quote that begins, “There is a life force, a vitality, a quickening…”
All writers struggle with overwhelm
I don’t want to hear any, It’s all right for them as you slam your phone down having been caught unprepared by the happy post of a twenty something debut writer who’s just won a top literary prize. Every writer struggles no matter what publishing deal or no deal they have. Do not compare your inside to their outside. Publicity is designed to make everything shiny. It isn’t going to show that writer crying into their coffee because the pressure to follow up their smash hit was too great. Everything hurts all the time no matter where you are on the public pecking order. It’s not real and nothing lasts. Whether we’re flying the flag on the mountain top or scabbling about in the scree, writing is a frightening, difficult, heart of a butterfly, hind of a rhinoceros job. Let’s support each other.
It’s where the party is
If you’re an indie author, know this. Publishing is changing and this is where the party is. Independent artists and the resources to support us are springing up everywhere. Be brave, be proud, be welcoming. Let it fuel you to be a better writer. We are the vanguard.
