Why I am an Indie Author

Now that Perigee is finally out there for public consumption, I had thought about posting a long essay about how the whole thing almost ended up in a drawer.

The always-worthwhile Passive Voice blog saved me the trouble with this link to a pitch-perfect essay by writer Anne R. Allen: Confessions of a Former Query Addict. A few choice excerpts:

There it was in my inbox on New Year’s morning—a positive response to a query I’d sent to an agent months before:

“Your writing is delightful, and your characters are original and inviting. I would cheerfully read anything you wrote. I think you’re very talented…” I started to squee and do a happy dance.

Then I read on. It was a no.

And this:

In September, I finally got that offer I’d been dreaming of for five years. Here was my big score–an offer of representation!

But it came with an astronomical price tag. The agency wanted a total rewrite. Not an edit. A tear-it-up-and-start-over rewrite…

Not only was I going to have to give up the story I’d been aching to tell for decades, I was also going to have to erase my own personality: squelch all my Dorothy Parker snark to become Barbara Cartland-sweet.

It took me three days, but I finally had to admit the price of that fix was too high.

What she said. Read the whole thing here.

This is the very thing that almost made me decide writing was a waste of valuable time. Thank goodness, then, for two things: the burning desire that just wouldn’t let go and the indie e-book revolution. The option that I wouldn’t even consider this time last year became the only path I was willing to follow.

Here’s to a Happy New Year, with happy new writing.

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