Rogue Authors

Traditional publishing or self-publish? That's the question so many would-be writers ask.

Myself, it was never really a question or debate. Having a very diverse 30+ year background in print, the transition to self-publishing wasn't a difficult one. This argument of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing really never occurred to me. I never tried the previous. It was never really a consideration. Since last year I have been including smaller, much more intimate venues, such as coffee shops and coffeehouses to my ‘book events’. Locations where the opportunity to literally sit and converse with people over a coffee presents itself, and I don't regret it! Less focused on sales and more on exposure and ‘meet-&-greet' it is incredible the Ottawans I have the pleasure and honour to meet! What brings me to this topic is a conversation I had with an aspiring author over a year ago at one of these events. He had written a book and was in the final stages of having it beta-read. He was debating which avenue to pursue: traditional publisher or to self-publish. (What was interesting was that he had absolutely no doubt whether a traditional publisher would pick him up or not.) The reality is that a great many publishers reject a great many manuscripts. Even the good stuff. Even the great stuff. I would like to clear up a few mistaken assumptions. Firstly, a great many indie-authors are not self-published because they couldn't get their writing traditionally published. An indie-author is not a badge of failure. Quite the opposite. Secondly - and you may want to sit back and digest this one a little - do you really trust a traditional publisher to even know what good or poor writing is? Ultimately they are looking to play it safe and to make money. In my experience, ‘safe' never bred innovation. ‘Safe’ never - and I need to emphaze this - NEVER led the way. ‘Safe' never found itself ‘outside the box’. How many stories of the titans of literature have you heard that struggled getting themselves published, or possibly were only recognized posthumous? Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft are only a few which come to mind. Stories of what we would now accept to be major literary influences who battled viciously with their editors/publishers. I am of the mindset that traditional publishers (as a business) aren't about good storytelling or good writing or taking chances. It is solely about money. I truly believe that when anything - especially any creative endeavour - becomes an industry, at best it becomes compromised, and at worst, it becomes corrupt. Non-convention and unorthodoxy flow through the indie-author’s veins. They bring raw uncompromised creativity. Rogues. Dark horses. They're a genre unto their own. So get out there. Pick up a few local authors' books, and read with eyes and minds wide open!