Business Is Business

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I've become a big fan of the indie publishing movement.  In fact, that's how I plan to publish my first novel in May of 2016.  Since doing research into the various forms of publishing, I've grown to love the advantages indie publishing provides - I can keep more of the money I make, I can control my cover and content, and I get to decide which projects to take on.  And given the advances in just the last five years alone, indie has become a truly viable way to make a living as a writer(assuming your stuff sells).

(Let's raise our glasses to indie!)

However, that's not to say I wouldn't grab a traditional publishing deal if the right one came along.  Before you call me a soulless sellout who has no scruples, please remember that writing is a business first and foremost.  I love to write, but in the end, I hope to make money.  If the right deal came along where I could make much more than I projected with indie, I'd jump at it.  Still, the deal would have to be very sweet - I'd have to retain control to a large extent, and there are several red lines I would never allow to be crossed(such as exclusivity for what I write next).  If that proved impossible, I would stick to indie and sleep well at night doing so.

Of course, the only way this would happen would be to have success in indie first.  This isn't as crazy as it sounds.  With the momentum of indie, as well as the dearth of successful newbies on the horizon, indie is being viewed as a sort of "minor league" for traditional publishing.  Fifty Shades of Grey started out this way, and few would begrudge EL James the fortune she has created.  In the right circumstance, such a move would be in my best interest.

No, I haven't been offered any deals recently that brought this out.  I just had a few thoughts about the future that made this course apparent in the right condition.  Some will call me all kinds of names, and that's fine, but most will know that, as a businessman, you never close any door completely.  Where the benefit of indie comes in now is in allowing me to make the jump on my own terms rather than groveling to some New York big shot because I had no other choice.  And if it doesn't work out, then I can continue, happily, in indie and maintain control.  Either way, having fun and reaching an audience are the biggest considerations.