Once upon a time, the most devastating thing that could happen to an author was rejection from a publisher. There were few options prior to 2010 to getting published any other way. One of the only other options was self-publishing or using a vanity press. Unfortunately, with self-publishing came the rap that an author was unworthy of publication and therefore had to do it themselves.
With new technology, authors were introduced to an opportunity to take control of their own careers through platforms like Amazon’s KDP, which was launched in 2007. Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other vendors followed close behind. The digital book-buying era had begun meaning readers could purchase and read books on computers and devices. These industry leaders offered digital systems where authors could upload their own books for sale among titles published by big houses. The back door systems were archaic and hard to learn, but those who were willing persevered. If an author was entrepreneurial enough and willing to stumble, a new world was opened to them.
Readers were vivaciously buying books, obviously at a much cheaper price than a paperback or a hardback, and they were able to consume new material. For an author who had a unique voice, that perhaps hadn’t fit into what might be considered a cookie-cutter publishing model of a big house, they were gaining readership. Not only were authors wanting to write stories that were different, but readers were wanting to read them as well. The glory of independently publishing in those early days was that when you uploaded a new book, there was a great chance you would hit a bestseller list. New York Times’ eBook bestseller list for fiction and non-fiction was established in 2011.
Along with digital books, print-on-demand companies enhanced their technology as well. Not only could an independently published author have a print book in hand of the same quality as a traditional house. And, unlike going through a full book printer or vanity press, an author or reader could purchase just one book. Though there is still a battle to get independently published books into bigger booksellers, the quality of the books is matched.
Once authors were making a living by independently publishing their books, the literary world began to take note. There was something to this new way of pushing out new books and introducing new authors. However, it was still a dividing point between those who were being published traditionally and those who were doing it on their own.
One of the obstacles in independent publishing was the quality of work that was going out. With new platforms rolling out all the time, it was easy, if you will, to put a book up in any phase. If an author wasn’t willing, or able, to shell out money for a good cover artist, or an editor, those books might be flagged in reviews as messy. However, the glory of this platform was that an author could change their work after it had been published.
Social media has played an enormous part in the uprising of independently published authors. Without the backing of a publishing house, independently published authors were doing their own marketing and their own tours via social media sites, which had a global audience. Live events via Facebook gave independently published authors face time with readers. Instagram and their bookstagrammers started a push for readers to showcase authors. And, most recently came TikTok, and their influence over the book market has been huge.
As the industry began to take note of the successes of these independently published authors, organizations began to accept their method of publishing, as well as industry leaders. However, the industry was still split, traditional/independent. For the next 10 years, authors found themselves on one side of the industry or the other, either independent or traditionally published. It wasn’t until 2015 that the industry began to merge.
You will always have a traditional path. You will always have an independent path. However, when traditional authors began to get their rights back, much like any other author, they didn’t want that work to just die. Independent publishing offered them the opportunity to publish those titles themselves and continue the life of their book. Likewise, those authors who had great success independently publishing were getting opportunities with big publishing houses, and the money that goes behind them when they find an author, they want to push. Therefore, many authors became hybrid.
Even within RMFW, the fight to have an independent professional group gave birth to IPAL (Independent Published Author League) in 2016. IPAL was established to recognize those who were selling as independently published authors. It gave those who put the work into the book from start to finish some advocacy. IPAL also had the IWOTY (Independent Writer of the Year), recognizing an author who raised the bar that year in independent publishing.
Over the years, within RMFW, as many of the PAL members gained their rights back and became hybrid, and some of the independently published authors moved into the traditional path with their self-published titles in their backlist, the need for two groups diminished. What we now see are professional authors, and it doesn’t matter if you were taking control of your own career by being independent, or if you are traveling the path of traditional. A good storyteller is deserving of all the accolades that come with being published, no matter the path.
The literary industry has changed a lot in the past 20 years, and it will continue to change as technology moves in and makes things easier for aspiring authors to produce their work and get it into the hands of readers.
Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie writes contemporary romances and believes in Happily Ever After. The married mother of five believes in love at first sight, quick love, and second chances. An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a certified instructor and holds a second-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. She loves Tai Chi, traveling to Disney parks, and having lunch with friends. When not writing, or running her own publishing house, Bernadette is probably immersed in a Rom-Com, from which she will often quote one-liners.