Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Indie Tuesday—Writing Out of the Box

@AuthorKeller here: today I've ask my friend, fellow indie author, and two time Genesis award finalist, Sally Bradley to talk about her journey to self publishing and how writing an out of the box story helped her decide to become an indie author.

Also I need to announce who won the signed paperback copy of Searching for Home that was up for grabs last week: Gwendolyn Gage! Congratulations, I'll be sending you an email today.

Back to the subject at hand, please welcome Sally and her take on the freedom found in indie publishing.

Writing Out of the Box
by Sally Bradley @SallyBWrites

Earlier this year, I emailed an editor who had my proposal somewhere in her inbox and let her know I was withdrawing it to go indie. A week before the book debuted, an acquisitions editor at a small press asked to see it, based on the recommendation of a friend. I turned that request down too.



A year ago, neither of those scenarios would have happened.

There are so many reasons indie novelists forgo traditional publishing and release our books ourselves. One of the biggest is the freedom to write exactly what we want in the exact way we want it.


It seems to the reading public—and the yet-unpublished novelist—that once a book sells, a writer keeps writing whatever she wants. But this is often not the case. A publisher may require a word count that forces the writer to delete or add an entire subplot. Or a publisher may turn down an author’s ideas and ask them to write a completely different book, a book they’re not excited about. Requested rewrites may completely change the book. And the story the writer longs to write may never find a home.


To be fair, publishers tend to know what sells for them. Their goal is to please that market and keep their company profitable. They’re not interested in trying something new or in selling what the author wants to write. And since it’s their publishing house and their money, they have that final say.


But that’s also where the beauty of indie publishing comes in.


I faced this myself with Kept. An editor wanted to see it but only if it came in at a certain word count. I couldn’t reach that word count. (Well, okay, I could have, but in this case, it would have harmed the story.) At another time, an agent was impressed with my writing but wasn’t comfortable with the topic of Kept. She was interested in me if I had anything different, but I wasn’t passionate about the type of stories she was looking for.


Other writers have been in similar scenarios. They’re told their genre doesn’t sell or that the market is full. Maybe their book idea needs to reach the public right now to stay relevant and saleable.

What indie publishing has proven and continues to prove is that the reading public is far wider and more adventurous than publishing houses can keep up with.


Since I had some interest in my book, it may seem like being able to write what I wanted wasn’t an issue, but when Kept hit the market, various feedback made me realize that it would not have sold to a Christian publisher. It was too out of the box. While all the professional feedback was amazing, no one wanted to touch it. If I’d gotten a contract, there were key aspects of the novel I would have had to change. And I wouldn’t have been happy about that.


Indie publishing is full of stories like this. Heather Day Gilbert’s Viking novel, God’s Daughter, was rejected by several publishers and has gone on to find a loyal following as an indie novel. Nancy Kimball’s gladiator novel, Chasing the Lion, also didn’t find a home but has certainly gained many readers since it released. And I could name so many others who never found a publishing home or were released by their publisher. Many of these novelists are now thankful for being able to write what’s on their heart and make a better living than ever.


Indie publishing is not a second-class option. You very well might be wondering if it’s truly a viable alternative, and I can tell you as a debut novelist with a tiny, tiny following before release that indie publishing truly is an amazing opportunity to publish the stories of your heart, make a living, and reach readers who are longing and looking for the kinds of books you write.


And I’m not alone. So many of us are grateful for this revolutionary opportunity.
Miska Tomlinson knows there are no honorable men. Her womanizing brothers, her absentee father, and Mark, the married baseball player who claims to love her—all have proven undependable. But Miska has life under control. She runs her editing business from her luxury condo, stays fit with jogs along Chicago's lakefront, and in her free time blogs anonymously about life as a kept woman.
When Dillan Foster moves in next door, his unexpected friendship challenges her views on men. Her relationship with Mark deteriorates, but just as she realizes what a catch Dillan is, he discovers exactly who she is and what she has done. Caught in a scandal breaking across the nation, Miska wonders if the God Dillan talks about will bother with a woman like her--a woman who's gone too far and done too much.
Tweetables

Sally Bradley writes big-city fiction with real issues and real hope. A Chicagoan since age five, she finds herself fascinated by all things related to the city—except for the crime, taxes, and traffic. She now lives in the Kansas City area where she works as a freelance fiction editor and is a busy wife and mom of three. Fiction has been her passion since childhood, and she’s thrilled to write books that entertain and point back to Christ. Visit Sally online at sallybradley.com, @SallyBWrites on Twitter, and at Sally Bradley, Writer on Facebook.

17 comments:

  1. Wow! I'm with you here and encouraged. I self published Markers for Single Moms after a well-known, seasoned literary agent told me there wasn't a market for books for single parents. What does that say to a third of our population? I was a single mom for 19 years. I now have a responsibility to God to write for single moms, whether there's money to be made or not. Now, that first book has turned into a series of books just for single moms. I love Indie Tuesdays. Thank you.

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    1. Very cool, Terri! So glad indie publishing has worked for you! And you're right--how are single parents not a viable market?

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    2. I'm so glad that indie publishing has given you an avenue to share the message you feel God has given you Terri. Keep at it! We're really blessed to be writing in this era where this kind of this is a possibility.

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  2. I appreciate reinforcement that "Indie publishing is not a second-class option." Even more, I appreciate hearing success stories. Thanks, Sally and Edie.

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    1. S. Kim, it's so lovely to be considered a success story! :) As I prepared to go indie and studied up and read all the stories, I admit to wondering if I could pull it off too. But everything has gone so well, and God has blessed. I'm incredibly grateful for that.

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    2. Agree S. Kim! That was one of the lines that really struck me and got me excited about Sally's post.

      Honestly, some people will always treat us like second-class citizens for self publishing...but the point is, they're not right.

      And Sally is totally a success story. If I could get my books the buzz that Kept has gotten, I'd be a very happy author! She's done a great job.

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  3. As I approach home stretch in writing my first novel, I'm encouraged by this post and will definitely consider Indie publishing" as a viable option. Very encouraging!

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    1. Home stretch! Awesome! Keep going! Indie publishing is viable, but we still have to do the work, you know? So it takes some time, but the rewards of putting out a well-done book are so worth it. :)

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    2. Just echoing Sally here that yes, Indie is very viable as long as the book is polished and you get a good team for editing, cover, and so on - Indie can be a great and rewarding path to travel.

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  4. I loved Kept. It was a great book! Nancy Kimball told me about it and later I found out you self published it. I think the lines between self and traditional are becoming a little more blurred as we see more big name authors going that route. I'm so happy you have had such success. I look forward to reading your next book!

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    1. Stacey, thank you!!!

      Someone said over the weekend that my cover looked like any book you'd find on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. That made me happy! And the amazing thing is that it can cost much less than what we hear houses pay. So just another notch for indie. :)

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    2. Did you guys see Jennie B. Jones just launched her first Indie book? I heard the talk at the ACFW Conferenece was all around the fact that authors - all authors need to start becoming hybrids. I think we're right in the midst of seeing that happen.

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    3. I did see that, Jess! Did you read her blog post on Chip MacGregor's blog? Really amazing at how average to poor her trad pubbing experience was. Quite surprising because it seemed like everyone loved her books.

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  5. I had no idea you self-published 'Kept' until I read this! Kudos on a great book and cover! Thank you for sharing your perspective. I'm almost through the first draft of my first novel and I'm currently going back and forth as to which publishing route to pursue. This gives me something to think about as I decide.

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    1. That's the best complement you can give an Indie author because there shouldn't be a difference between a traditionally published book and a self published book - that's what we strive for :)

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    2. Yes, thank you, Amy! Big grins here!

      Definitely do your research before you make up your mind. There's pros and cons for both sides, and I'd say that I haven't ruled trad publishing out. But I have a definite plan for what that'll look like for me--when and if the time is right.

      So nice to have options.

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  6. I thoroughly enjoyed "Kept". As a guy reader, there was enough action and mystery to keep my attention...and it was well edited and professionally published. Sally is a good story teller. Keep up the good work.

    It truly is an exciting time to be a new author, especially for those of us who might want to take the less traveled road. I'm not a control freak, but I also don't want someone else telling me how to raise my baby.

    God has given us the stories. It's our responsibility to tell them the best we can and then, with diligence, to present them in the best way possible.

    Thanks for this blog. It has been an encouragement that I needed today.

    J Robert Johnson

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