An Invitation to Join Author Central on Facebook
A few years ago, Mark Coker the founder of Smashwords wrote, ‘Back in the old days of publishing (four or five years ago), many writers viewed self-publishing as the option of last resort. Self-pubbed authors were the black sheep of the writing community. They were considered failed authors because they couldn’t find an agent or sell their book to a big publisher. They were ridiculed as “vanity” authors. Sadly, much of the most vitriolic criticism came from fellow writers. We don’t hear much of that anymore. Self-publishing is finally earning the respect it deserves. High profile indie author successes – utilizing the best practices contained herein – are climbing the bestseller charts. Their commercial success is changing perceptions about self-publishing one reader at a time.’
That comment contains several interesting lines and I’m sure you can relate to them. Independent authors are often regarded as second class, by the industry and, sadly, by some authors. However perceptions are changing. A small example of this…yesterday a leading university invited me, a humble independent author and publisher, to attend a conference on the future of publishing. This is a free event, so they are not after my money, just the sharing of opinions. Independent authors and publishers are the future. Farsighted people are aware of this. Often, in the struggle to make our voices heard and get our books read, we lose sight of our value and feel isolated in the struggle. This group has been created to help banish that isolation, to support authors and their books in every way possible, to laugh at the absurdity of some aspects of publishing, and to help writers expand their network and reach new readers.
If you are on Facebook and would like to join us, please follow this link: Author Central
Hannah Howe 