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BookGiveaway:
Barbara is offering 1 Kindle (only)-version of devotional WAITING ON THE LORD to 1 randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, April 24th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment.
Indie
vs. Traditional Publishing: 5 Reasons Why I Decided NOT to Choose Between Them by
Barbara Hartzler
For four
years I’ve been trying to land a traditional publishing deal while secretly
stalking all the indie websites I could find. It’s taken me this long to
uncover the path I REALLY want to take to publishing. And here’s why.
1. There are advantages to traditional publishing
I did
everything I was supposed to do—join a writer’s group, learn craft, enter
contests, go to conferences to meet editors and agents. This helped me hone my
writing skills and get my feet wet in the publishing industry. Even though I garnered
great feedback and several requests, I ended up with rejection after rejection.
Yet, I
couldn’t get past this hurdle in my mind. Traditional publishing was the only
way to be an author and get my book in the hands of readers. Right? I sure
thought so. It was burned into my brain. Mostly because traditional publishing
still holds the local bookstore in their hands, where many readers discover new
books.
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| Courtesy Google Images |
2. The publishing world is changing
Frustrated
with the snail’s-pace publishing industry, I’d scour indie blogs like The
Creative Penn and listen to podcasts on how indie publishing was infinitely
better. The growing popularity of ebooks has ushered in a marked uptick in both
quality and readership in indie publishing. Many indie authors now have a solid
or even best-selling career path. In fact, the indie publishing world is
outdoing traditional publishing in some ways, especially in marketing.
3. Indie publishing is not as scary as I thought
Last
year my writing group buddies decided to go indie. They’d gotten even closer
than I had to landing that illusive publishing deal. One finaled in the ACFW
Genesis Contest for 3 out of the last 4 years and had an agent for a while. The
other had gotten several requests for her manuscripts, went to pub board, and
only got rejected because the house was cutting back on fiction.
Watching
them go their own routes to indie publishing and seeing how professional their
books are has made me a believer in indie publishing. Good books like theirs
are well received, have great reviews, and they’re both building a base of
readers. My book is languishing on my computer collecting digital dust.
4. There are more freedoms with indie publishing
One of
the biggest obstacles to going indie for me was the upfront costs. Then my
friends pointed out that you can go indie on a budget. You can find beta
readers to help with editing, make covers yourself, or learn formatting from
YouTube videos. That’s the beauty of going indie. Once you start making money,
you can always go back and change things—something unheard of in traditional
publishing.
With
indie publishing you can choose what, when, and how you want to publish your
books. There’s no one-formula-fits-all approach like traditional publishing.
You can do all the work or you can farm out the work you can’t do yourself. You
decide where you want to invest your time and your money.
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| Courtesy Google Images |
5. The hybrid path
Do you
have to choose between indie and traditional publishing? I don’t think you do
anymore. Maybe in the past editors and agents looked down their nose at indie
published works. Not anymore. There’s another path for authors, the hybrid path
combining both traditional and indie published books.
It’s the
route I’ve finally decided to pursue. I don’t want to choose one or the other.
I want to pursue the traditional publishing options still open to me now,
including a full manuscript request. Yet, I don’t want to wait for another four
years to say I’m an author. Because my time is now, and yours can be, too.
That’s
why I’m excited to announce that I’m releasing my first indie book, a
devotional called Waiting on the Lord: 30
Reflections at the end of May.
What are
your thoughts, fears, or hang-ups with either indie or traditional publishing?
I’d love to hear your experiences.
Barbara's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Barbara Hartzler @HartzlerBarbara: 5 reasons not to
choose between indie & tradional publishing (Tweet
This)
Everyone’s Story: Author Barbara Hartzler @HartzlerBarbara
Indie or traditional publishing? (Tweet This)
Like reading devotionals? Check out Barbara Hartzler’s
@HartzlerBarbara #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)
Author's Bio:
Barbara
Hartzler is a born word maker-upper, a writer of YA angel-seers, FBI thrillers,
and underground dystopian worlds. Currently a work in progress, she secretly
hopes to change the world one book at a time.
She’s an
ACFW Genesis Semi Finalist in the Young Adult category and was a featured
speaker at the 2014 Maranatha Book Festival. Her session on Angels in YA
Literature turned an article for the denominational magazine, Koinonia.
Currently she’s vice president of her local ACFW chapter and an active SCBWI
member.
Barbara
earned her Bachelor's degree in Church Communication Arts from Central Bible
College with an emphasis on drama and media. In college she won a National
Religious Broadcasters/Focus on the Family essay scholarship and wrote and
directed a successful one act play. Her first novel was inspired by her college
experiences and peppered with anecdotes from a New York City missions trip.
As a
former barista and graphic designer, she loves all things sparkly and purple
and is always jonesing for a good cup of joe. She’s also a die-hard Gilmore
Girl fan and connoisseur of random TV and movie fandoms. A born-and-raised
Missouri native, she lives in Kansas City with her husband and dog, Herbie.
Places to connect with Barbara:
I agree that going hybrid has a lot to offer to authors. But, for myself, I would bit the bullet and buy professional editing services from an editor with a good track record, rather than rely on beta readers. And there really isn't that much to formatting that most people can't learn to do it themselves.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see you, Jean. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
DeleteAbsolutely Jean! I would love it if I could afford pro editing up front. But sometimes you just can't, so it's nice to know there's other options. Or you could even go hybrid on the editing. For instance, you could try beta readers for substantive editing and hire a copy editor for less than a substantive edit. That's the great thing about indie. Freedom, baby!
DeleteFun interview, Barbara and Elaine! There is a lot to consider
ReplyDeletethese days in publishing. Sometimes it's just finding the right niche.
For me, I thought I would feel more confident knowing professional editors would see something in what I'm writing, but it took many years to get a contract. However that doesn't mean I wouldn't consider going indie with a novel in certain circumstances. I agree
with Jean that hiring a professional to go over a manuscript
would be worth it. Thanks for sharing about your journey, Barb!
As always, Kathy, nice seeing you. I've recently had an independent editor review my full mss. and what a huge insights I'd gained from it. I think it's one of the best investments I've ever made in my writing. Now, time will tell :)
DeleteOooh, I LOVE this option, too! I really like the idea of making the most out of an editor no matter what your circumstances are. I wish I had done something like this back when I had the money, too. Good editors are worth it, but they don't come cheap! :)
DeleteLove this Barbara, I did the same thing. I am a total hybrid. I have my agent and have one traditional publishing contract, and indie publish too. I am glad you ended up taking this road. It is a great option to know you can have the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteHolly, I'm glad to know that the "best of both" is working out for you. Thanks for visiting and sharing encouragement.
DeleteThanks Holly! Yours is one of those stories that helped me decide to take this road less traveled. Kinda scary since I don't have a trad pub contract like you, but I just did NOT want to give up on my trad pub options. :)
DeleteGreat posts. I think this is the best time to be a writer. While I am traditionally published, I think about Indy publishing stories that don't fit the genre I write in. I do think I'd get a professional edit. Wish you much success.
ReplyDeletePat, one day I'd love to chat live with you and learn of those stories. My story ideas definitely push the conventional, but I'm going for it anyways.
DeleteHonestly, Pat that's the best place to be in. It's a lot of work, going indie, but you can actually get some great cross-promotion of your trad pub books by going indie. Plus, you have a base of readers already built up. If you're not on the CIA (Christian Indie Authors) FB loop already, check it out.
DeleteCross-promotion as a bonus of being a hybrid author. Now there's a plus and a half!
DeleteSo excited to read that you have written a devotion! Can't wait to read this!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kiwiseeker! I'm thankful for your visit. If by chance you visit to see replies, please leave your contact info so I can enter you in Barbara's drawing.
DeleteThanks, Tammy! Glad to see you made it over here. Elaine, if she doesn't leave her info let me know and I'll send it your way. :)
DeleteGood to know, Barbara, if Tammy should win. I'm excited I can now put her in the drawing!
DeleteI agree--doesn't have to be either-or. I'm so happy I went indie and I'm actively building my indie series, but at the same time I can pursue traditional options (even without an agent!). It was scary venturing out with that first book, but God had a plan and now I am so thankful He pushed me that direction. All the best to you, Barbara!
ReplyDeleteGood words and encouragement to share with us, Heather. I appreciate your visit and look forward to seeing you again.
DeleteThanks, Heather so glad you stopped by! And thanks for sharing your story. It's because of stories like yours that I thought to myself, "Hey wait a minute. Why do I have to choose between 2 great options?" BTW, SO needed that encouragement. It's super scary putting that first book out there, but I'm with you. So glad God's finally pushing me in a direction, even if it's a scary one. :)
DeleteYour choice to be a hybrid authors sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteI self-published my first book. Is that the same thing as being an indie author? I didn't know about the term "indie" for authors until about two years ago.
Would love to win your devotional book! :) capturingidea@gmail.com
If I'm not mistaken, my agent defines "indie" publishing as an author publishing for a smaller publisher, yet the term has been used by many by those authors venturing into self-publishing their own title.
DeleteGlad for your visit, Alexis!
True, Elaine that's how I've always thought of the term "indie" in the past. But now with the explosion of Amazon and ebook publishing, it's almost like being with a REALLY big small publisher. So more and more authors who self-publish are using the term indie for their work. It took me awhile to make the switch, but if you're professional about it I think it's okay to call yourself and indie author. Just sounds cool, doesn't it?
DeleteBarbara, what I'd like to see is "author," plain and well deserved, without the need to differentiate.
DeleteCongrats on your first indie book, Barbara! I enjoyed getting to know you via Everyone's Story.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Kathy, I enjoyed tour visit. Always do.
DeleteThanks Kathy, your story on Divine Detour is intriguing, too. It's funny how God uses the twist and turns in our path to shape us for his own path. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to blogging I've learned that it's best to offer the best blog piece possible, pray for God's grace and that I'm glorifying Him, and then sit back because in this world of odds and ends I've also learned that each day is amazing. Barbara Hartzler's segment this past week is a wonderful example of amazing! Barbara, heartfelt appreciation for being such a great guest and offering encouragement for many of my viewers. I hope this experience has been a blessing for you as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks too for your awesome BookGiveaway--and your first one!--of your new devotional. And the winner is…
Jean G. Jean, both Barbara and I will be contacting you in direct emails.
Blessings to all.