Why I am an Independent Author

I am an Author, Hear Me Roar

I am an author. I have dreamt of saying those words for my entire life. Now, on the eve of publishing my first novel — Being Magic — I can say it loudly and proudly. I am an author! Hear the fiery pride in my voice when I can say I am an independent author!

On another day, I will discuss why I’ve always wanted to be an author, even when I thought I didn’t.

I Want To Tell The Story I Want To Tell

What I am about to say may be the ultimate tautology, but I will say it. I am only interested in telling the stories I want to tell. Yes, there are market trends, tropes du jour, and key story elements that genre fans look for. All of that is endlessly interesting, but knowing all of that doesn’t change my story. Maybe I am an obdurate old man, but I will never make it to word 100 if I pay attention to anything other than the story I want to tell.

If any novel I write happens to follow a trend or matches a popular trope, it will be a happy accident. I’m not anti-trope or critical of marketing trends, per se. But I know myself and my decades-long struggle to complete my first novel. I will lose that struggle if I try to complete marketing checklists as I write.

I Like To Be In Control

I am not a control freak. At least, I don’t think I am. But my book and what I want to say are particularly, perhaps even extravagantly important to me. I will always do my best to present my work in the best and most authentic way, even if I am wrong and don’t know what I am doing. In all candor, I guarantee I don’t know what I’m doing, but I will learn as I go. That is the paradox of independent authors. I think it’s the paradox of any seeker, and what are writers but seekers with a pen?

Perhaps wanting to be in control of my book experience grows organically out of telling the story I want to tell. But, as I’ve progressed, I’ve also learned that I find it extremely exciting to be involved in all aspects of creating, delivering, and marketing my book. I am a terrible marketer, and it does not come naturally to me. I would rather have a root canal than promote my book. I will have to reverse my perspective if I want my book to have any sales!

I Don’t Care About Sales — Really

It would be excellent if my book sold a million copies and made enough money to retire to Hawaii. But that’s not why I write. I write because I have a story I want to tell and things I want to say. If people read and like my books and my words, then hooray. I will do the happiest of dances down the street. If nobody reads my books or people read them and don’t like them, that’s too bad. If that’s the case, I will undoubtedly have moments of sadness, but I will not stop.

I Want To Tell The Story Of My Story

Am I being too meta? Despite saying I wanted to be a writer my entire life, it’s taken me decades to become one. That’s not a sob story. I had to learn to get out of my way to enable me to write without my inner editor’s demonic voice stopping me. As dizzily proud and happy as I am to be here on the verge of publishing my first novel, I know how precarious the road is from here to my hopefully adoring readership devouring my book. I want to shepherd my dream into reality and savor every moment and every effort to make my dream real. That way, there’s no way I can say that I didn’t do everything I could to become a writer. I want to share whatever I learn with other writers to help them in any way I can.

All stories beget stories, and I am the one to tell mine.