YA Indie Carnival: Indie Writer Opportunities

This week we're talking about opportunities afforded us by becoming Indie writers.  I've published both ways (through Harlequin) and on my own.  I've seen being published from two viewpoints, and let me tell you the view from here (Indie) is a hell of a lot better.  Why?

1.  Plot:  Most people don't realize this.  I know I didn't.  But writers do not just write what they want and have it published.  Editors don't just edit for mistakes.  Editors (also agents) put their two cents in about the story.  If you're a beginner, you either say yes and rewrite it or forget about getting published.  My editor changed the title of my first book to something I absolutely hate, and she changed EVERYTHING about the second book.  Seriously, I think the only thing she liked was the general one-line hook I wrote on the book.  She hated the mc's name, wanted her to live in the country, changed the guy's occupation, and basically everything about it.  She did, however, love my title for that one.

Now, as an Indie writer, I do the books I want to do.  No one changes them.  If the majority of my beta readers hate something, I will change it.  Otherwise, the books stay the way I want them.  Of course, if people hate something then, it's all on me.  :)

2.  Cover:  I get to make up my own covers now.  It's been a blast.  Although a lot of people would disagree with my choices, I'm fairly happy.  It's fun and addictive to create your own covers.  In the past I had to wait to open the box of books shipped by my publisher to get my first idea of the cover.  By that time it's too late to do anything about them.  If you have a good agent and really hate the cover, Nathan Bransford says the agent can do a 'freak out' on the publisher and sometimes get it changed.

3.  Number of Books:  Publishers don't want to flood the market with author's books, so they like to release them maybe a year apart.  Stephen King used a pen name for a while just so he could publish more often.  Indie authors can put out as many books as they can write.  Of course this also has a down side.  Some writers are putting out a book practically every month that they supposedly just wrote in a few weeks time.  Makes me wonder how good they can be.  It takes me several months to write, rewrite, revise, and edit my books.  Not to mention I have to give beta readers time to read them and get back to me.

4.  Time:  It takes publishers usually two years to release a book once they've found one they want.  Indie writers can turn them out in a shorter period of time.

Well, that's all I've got to say on the subject.  Check out the other Carnies.  Some of them aren't putting a post up this week.  You can find them and other information on the Carnival here:

YA Author Club