Indie Authors Naked

Foreword

When I was a teenager, and beginning to dimly perceive how women get written out of history, I asked my great-aunt about her part in the Irish revolution of 1916 to 1923, that had seen her brother shot by his best friend. What had it been like for her in this nationalist armed uprising? Yerra, you just got on with it, was her reply. And then, after a moment’s reflection, she nodded her head in self-satisfaction and said, I did my bit.

Something about this answer stayed with me, so that a similar scene found its way into my first novel, After The Rising. And the words came again to mind when I was asked to write a foreword to this eclectic collection of interviews with indie authors, which so clearly illustrates that we writers and publishers are in the middle of our own revolution.

Publishing, the elite gentle[wo]man’s profession, the business that has harnessed the energy and talents of writers to turn a profit of more than $80 billion dollars in the English language alone, is being democratized. Young writers are already taking it for granted that a writer can directly reach a reader; that one human imagination can now whisper directly into the mind of another through that box of magic we call the book, no middle-person needed. 

For me, having worked in media and publishing for more than twenty years—as writer, editor, author, creative writing lecturer, owner of a writing school and literary agency—it’s a miracle that has saved my writing life. 

I am a refugee from trade publishing. The novel that took my great-aunt’s quiet pride and put it into the mouth of a fictional Irish grandmother was first published, under a different title, back in 2006. Seeing it launched had been a dream come true for me, a dream long-held through a slew of rejection slips. When Penguin, as part of a generous two-book deal, finally purchased it, I thought I’d won the literary lottery. 

Alas, where I saw page-turning fiction that educated and inspired and cared about language, the publisher saw chick-lit. Where I wanted to focus on what made my books different—the historical background, the real-life people, the twists and turns of a family murder mystery ricocheting through four generations—they wanted to emphasize the love angle. 

In short, where I thought reader, they thought retailer. They were chasing a market and squeezing the book to fit: so I got neon pink on the cover (though anyone who knows me knows I am the Anti-Pink) and a title with lover in it. A book that, by the time they were finished with it, I hardly recognized as mine.

Yes, the book got to the top of the bestseller charts, but it was a painful experience. So when, five years later, digital technology was enabling print-on-demand and the direct distribution of ebooks, I began to wonder whether I might take my two novels back, and reissue them, with the titles and treatment I had originally envisaged. I started small and slow, uncertain whether I might be defeated by the practicalities of publishing technology but it turned out to be easy enough and immensely rewarding, both creatively and commercially. 

Digital technology does four things that are very good for writers: removes the need for agents, publishers and wholesalers; expands the market from local to global; eliminates out-of-print, and provides a point-of-sale just in the moment a reader decides they fancy the sound of your book. 

In addition, direct distributors like Amazon and Smashwords pay as much as 70% (compared to a publishers average of somewhere south of 10%) to writers, together with faster payment (monthly instead of bi-annually) and clear sales reports (like most trade-published writers, I never understood my royalty statements). 

Any one of these would be a good thing. Taken together, they add up to, well yes, a revolution. 

But there were challenges. I began to see how author-publishers were marginalized within the literary industry, irrationally stigmatized, excluded from most writing organizations on largely spurious grounds, overlooked by literary events and festivals, ignored by prizes. That there were companies who had no interest in writing or publishing circling, sensing quick-buck opportunities, offering poor services at steep prices. 

That was when I thought of my great aunt, and I knew that when I was asked by my own grandchildren where I was when this revolution was happening, I wanted to be able to say: at its beating heart. And so, in 2012, at London Book Fair, The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) was launched. A global, non-profit, collaborative collective for author-publishers, it would offer contacts and collaboration, expert guidance and advice, and campaigns to champion the interests of indie authors.

In the heady eighteen months since the launch of ALLi, we’ve seen the indie movement grow exponentially in size and stature.  For a while perceived as second best, author-publishing is now being acknowledged as the most creative choice a writer can make. The author becomes the creative director of the project, through editorial, design, distribution, marketing, and from concept to completion. Recent research shows that most author-publishers approach the process confidently, with clear aims; that they are well-informed about costs and benefits and timings and about how they define success; that they emerge from the process keen to do it again, and likely to recommend it to others. 

Those who are proud of their indie status, and carry a sense of their own worth into their ventures and collaborations, are at the vanguard, leading the way and opening new ground, not just for those who avail of the opportunities, but for all writers.  And for all publishers, too.

I know I am blessed to be here, at the heart of this revolution: to be stretching my creative boundaries; to be helping other writers recognize and relish our newly won freedoms and responsibilities. To be, like all the author-publishers interviewed in this book, getting on with it. Doing our bit.

***

Orna Ross writes novels, poems and the Go Creative! books and has been named One of The 100 Most Influential People in Publishing (Bookseller Magazine). Founder and Director of The Alliance of Independent Authors, and a long-time teacher of creative and imaginative practice, Orna writes, publishes and teaches around the globe.

Introduction

IndieReader was launched in ’07, otherwise known as the dark days of self-publishing. Back then, every book was considered a vanity publication, every author a failed writer. Denial ran so high that when the self-pubbed book, Her Last Letter by Nancy C. Johnson hit The New York Times bestseller list, the good folks at the NYT were still saying that that they’d never include one! And then there was The Shack, another indie that snuck through the gauntlet to appear on the NYTimes list for an astounding 172 weeks between June 2008 to early 2010 (52 of those weeks at #1).

Flash forward to 2012-2013. With the advent of ebooks, the publishing landscape has completely and irrevocably changed. Bowker, the ISBN people, recently reported that the number of self-published books in 2012 rose 59% over 2011, growing to over 391,000 titles in 2012. That’s a lot of indie.

But it’s not just availability that has changed the notion of what a self-pubbed book can be. Either the whole vanity thing was propaganda on the part of trad publishing—after all, Virginia Woolf famously did it with Hogarth Press—or publishing ebooks makes it easier for talented writers to get their work seen. Either way, over the last couple of years—beginning with the high-profile snagging of Amanda Hocking—at least 50 indie authors (many of them interviewed in this very book) have been courted and won by traditional publishers.

Did these authors’ books change from when they were self-pubbed to when they became trads? Or did their appearance on the bonafide bestseller lists (The New York Times, USA Today) just make it easier for the Big 5 to spot them? Not that getting picked up by a traditional publisher is always an indie author’s end-game. In fact, a recent survey conducted by The Bookseller noted that only about one-third of the self-published authors surveyed stated that they would consider a traditional book deal. That’s a lot of authors who aren’t willing to trade the freedom of creation for the chance to have their works packaged by committee.  

So whether an author decides to sell their work to a trad publisher or not—it is clear that indies are here to stay. Their books resonate with readers who really couldn’t give a damn if they came through the hallowed halls of a traditional publisher or just via their ereaders. The indie writing community is strong and getting stronger, as are the options for placing their books (been to your local bookstore lately? You may be surprised at the titles you find on the shelves).

Yes, dear readers, this time—thanks to technology and changing perceptions—self-publishing is clearly here to stay. And via interviews and essays, Indie Authors Naked aims to highlight the best of the best.

Thanks to all of the amazing authors and artists who contributed their words and their time. Also, a huge thank you to Loren Kleinman, without whom Indie Authors Naked would not be possible. 

Amy Holman Edelman

Founder, IndieReader

Eden Baylee by Annetta Ribken

I think it would be fair to say that Eden Baylee has single-handedly smashed all my pre-conceived notions about writing erotica to smithereens.

We’re all adults here. Sex is a part of all of our lives; natural, and yet taboo in many ways. One of those ways seems to include erotica. I believe this may be because it is common for some people to equate erotica with pornography, and there’s a huge difference.

Until I met and worked with Eden, I considered most erotica to be a lot of panting, thrusting manhoods, and sweaty copulation. I didn’t care for the genre, because as an editor who works with indie writers, I found the erotica I did manage to read lacking two things—heart and story. And to me, without heart and story, all you have is an empty one-night stand.

Eden’s work stands head and shoulders above any erotica I’ve read. Her stories are much more than two gasping bodies rolling around in the dark; indeed, she infuses her erotica with not only the skin-deep sensation, but with heart and soul. The sex is not gratuitous, in other words. It actually holds a deeper meaning, touching the reader in all the important places, not just for the thrill but to communicate what sex and intimacy can really mean between two people.

It is said the biggest sex organ of the body is between the ears—the brain. Without engagement of the mind, sex is reduced to a basic animal instinct and nothing more. While this might be fun on a random basis, we humans are much more complex, and even a wild romp carries more weight than we think. Eden taps into this through her writing to great effect. Her stories will arouse you in more ways than just the physical.

Eden Baylee is excellent at showing through her stories the sensuality, vulnerability, strength, joy, and consequences of sex. She'll draw you into the different levels of the emotional impact of sex, all the while titillating every one of your senses…not only the ones located in your pants.

And she’s good. Like heart-grabbing, nipple-rubbing, orgasmically good.

Many people have pre-conceived notions about erotica as if they’ve never had sex, or think authors who write about sex can’t possibly be good writers. I’ve seen others judge erotica writers as something less than real writers; I’ve even seen people act rudely toward erotica writers as if they were doing something shameful, without even reading their work! And this is their loss, because there is so much depth and warmth in Eden’s work—heart and soul.

She is also one of the most generous, loving, and genuine people I have ever met. I admire her for her grace, her support of indie publishing, and for her amazing literary talent.

***

Annetta Ribken is the freelancer editor of over 70 indie novels. Also a writer, she’s been writing since a tender young age, when letters were chiseled on stone tablets. A precocious student, Annetta earned her Ph.D in the School of Hard Knocks, with honors, in the early Age of Disco. Her mission: to take over the Universe, one word at a time. She lives and works just outside of St. Louis with her evil feline overlord, a rescued shelter cat named Athena.

Eden Baylee on Indie Erotica

Loren Kleinman (LK): What is erotica all about? What about indie erotica?

Eden Baylee (EB): Erotica is a genre of writing like horror, romance, or mystery. It refers to a style that incorporates sensuality and sexuality into telling a story. Indie is a term applied to the publishing aspect of any genre, defined by a book that is independently published by the author for the purpose of distribution. Because indie writers don’t have the support and services of a publishing house, they do a lot of the work themselves—editing, cover art, promotion, just to name a few.

LK: Why did you start writing erotic fiction?

EB: At the age of eleven, I read Story of O by Pauline Réage, a novel about BDSM that introduced me to a whole new vocabulary. That book left an indelible mark on my psyche, but I was too young to know it at the time. Only later, as I was studying Freud, did I realize that being exposed to sex at such a young age was probably not the best thing, but the deed was done. I love to write because I love