Thanks for this in-depth interview. Valuable insights here. I'd like to just suggest that the term "self-publishing" no longer serves much of a purpose, particularly for independent authors who can pay professionals (just like publishers) for their services & recoup a far higher % of profits than if they relinquished the rights to their work. To that end, I simply see myself as an independent author who chooses which professionals to work with; many talented contractors for the Big Five also now work for independent authors, either because they aren't paid enough by multinational corporations, or simply because they prefer to do more meaningful work that isn't only about a bottom line.
I'm curious what you both think about the difference between "self-publishing" and "independent publishing." It seems we use these terms interchangeably but they certainly mean different things. Someone who designs their own cover, edits their own books, lays it out in Microsoft Word, and prints it via KDP POD is a self-published author. As soon as somebody hires other people to provide the aforementioned professional services, it seems like using the term "self-publishing" becomes totally useless to refer to what amounts to an individual creating their own micro-publishing house and choosing who exactly to work with ... thanks for the food for thought in any case.
Independent is such a difficult term because it's used to describe traditional presses as well as self-publishing authors. I'd prefer to use "independent press" over "small press" but then people usually assume I mean "independent" as in "self-publishing." Too many connotations for one word!
I'm less versed in these things, but I agree with Anne's take. "Indie press" for many years used to mean a press devoted to publishing other people's work. Soft Skull Press was one of those, among many. So there is a little sleight of hand in using the term for what is effectively a self-produced book (in my opinion). But I followed your lead and bought the 10 ISBNs that allowed me to create my own imprint (Syringa Books). So I suppose I am effectively a micro-publishing house until myself? But I'm unlikely to publish anyone else's work, which I think is a crucial difference.
To me the most important thing is quality. There is a lot of crap produced the easy way on KDP. The artisanal path that you chose, Samuel, and the high-quality production that I invested in for my poetry book, is a different model that more or less speaks for itself, I think. Substack is disrupting traditional venues for curation in most of the ways that set out to do. I think people are less and less interested in whether the author ran a particular gauntlet of discerning gatekeepers to produce a book (though that still matters in some circles).
An interesting parallel case is my friend James Richardson, who has found it incredibly difficult as an independently published author to get on podcasts, get book reviews. The snootiness from the traditional machine is not limited to corporate types, it's also certain writers who wear their insider status as a badge. So there are still some of those barriers about how to enter a broader conversation.
Great interview!
Thanks for listening (or reading)!
Thanks for this in-depth interview. Valuable insights here. I'd like to just suggest that the term "self-publishing" no longer serves much of a purpose, particularly for independent authors who can pay professionals (just like publishers) for their services & recoup a far higher % of profits than if they relinquished the rights to their work. To that end, I simply see myself as an independent author who chooses which professionals to work with; many talented contractors for the Big Five also now work for independent authors, either because they aren't paid enough by multinational corporations, or simply because they prefer to do more meaningful work that isn't only about a bottom line.
I'm curious what you both think about the difference between "self-publishing" and "independent publishing." It seems we use these terms interchangeably but they certainly mean different things. Someone who designs their own cover, edits their own books, lays it out in Microsoft Word, and prints it via KDP POD is a self-published author. As soon as somebody hires other people to provide the aforementioned professional services, it seems like using the term "self-publishing" becomes totally useless to refer to what amounts to an individual creating their own micro-publishing house and choosing who exactly to work with ... thanks for the food for thought in any case.
I agree with you and actually wrote something very similar to this in my newsletter this week. https://notesfromasmallpress.substack.com/p/should-you-self-publish
Independent is such a difficult term because it's used to describe traditional presses as well as self-publishing authors. I'd prefer to use "independent press" over "small press" but then people usually assume I mean "independent" as in "self-publishing." Too many connotations for one word!
I'm less versed in these things, but I agree with Anne's take. "Indie press" for many years used to mean a press devoted to publishing other people's work. Soft Skull Press was one of those, among many. So there is a little sleight of hand in using the term for what is effectively a self-produced book (in my opinion). But I followed your lead and bought the 10 ISBNs that allowed me to create my own imprint (Syringa Books). So I suppose I am effectively a micro-publishing house until myself? But I'm unlikely to publish anyone else's work, which I think is a crucial difference.
To me the most important thing is quality. There is a lot of crap produced the easy way on KDP. The artisanal path that you chose, Samuel, and the high-quality production that I invested in for my poetry book, is a different model that more or less speaks for itself, I think. Substack is disrupting traditional venues for curation in most of the ways that set out to do. I think people are less and less interested in whether the author ran a particular gauntlet of discerning gatekeepers to produce a book (though that still matters in some circles).
An interesting parallel case is my friend James Richardson, who has found it incredibly difficult as an independently published author to get on podcasts, get book reviews. The snootiness from the traditional machine is not limited to corporate types, it's also certain writers who wear their insider status as a badge. So there are still some of those barriers about how to enter a broader conversation.