The Rise and Rise of Indie Publishing
The Independent music and theatre scenes have long been the breeding ground for artists to develop their craft. They have often broken new ground, creating their own work in their own way. In doing so they have found audiences thirsty for new work that speaks to them directly and expresses shared feelings. Many of their songs and plays have gone on to become staples of the mainstream having had their first airings in pubs, tiny theatre spaces or wherever an audience might assemble to appreciate new work. This symbiotic relationship between audience and venue has enabled artists to flourish and even change the ecology of their particular artform.
Joining these artists is the new kid on the book world block. It is the self or independently publisher writer. Writers who of all ages and genres who, like indy musos and theatre workers, are taking “getting work out there” into their own hands.
They may be people with rich, lived experience who have time to re-discover the love they had of writing when they were younger. They may write stories they have harboured for decades that they have always wanted to tell. They may be people who loved writing poetry who have time to re-discover their passion for it in the same way as people return to, or take up, painting. Along with this older generation of writers returning to writing, there are lots of younger writers who can now publish their own work.
This is no easier than it is to put a band together or to get a bunch of people together to create a show. Indy publishing requires the same amount of rigour, in terms of editing and production, as any publishing does. It also costs money. Some might only want to publish a few copies while others dream of best seller’s lists. Whatever their goals, like their indie compatriots, they are no longer dependent on established publishers giving them the nod. They can write their own work, the way they want to write it.
The equivalent of a song or piece of theatre being played live is a piece of writing becoming a book. Something you can hold in your hands. The challenge for writers is that creating is one thing, finding a market for the work is quite another.
The missing link for the indie writer is finding the “venue” to bring their work to the public. Where are the equivalent platforms for indie writers? There are a number of independent bookshops who stock indie books. Many of them would like to do more to promote these works but are unable to because of something as basic as shelf space. There’s only so much room in a small bookshop struggling to make ends meet. Some online bookshops stock indie books but whereas there is a culture of discovering and identifying new work in the indie music and theatre scenes, how do indy writers find a readership?
Finding the reader is challenging for any published writer, indie or otherwise. The backing of an established publisher doesn’t guarantee a book will sell. The sheer volume of books published in a given week means that the competition for readers is intense. For the indie writer to make a splash in such a crowded marketplace without any backing requires thinking well and truly outside the square. Writers of romance fiction have successfully carved out a following on social media through Author Pages and online Book clubs. Connections are being made and sales are happening. For some writers the internet is proving to be the platform to have their work seen. Indy writers find they have to exert almost much creative energy on finding a readership as they do on writing. They might have to take a different route to the established ones of reviews, articles and festivals that are increasingly over-crowded and difficult to get a foothold in.
The very nature of reading is that it is a solitary pursuit and it takes time. Many bedside tables are stacked with “to be read” books. Waiting for word of mouth to kick can be frustrating. It might be a slow burn for readers to even hear about a book.
While the rise of indie publishing has added more books to an already very crowded book market, it has also created opportunities for different kinds of voices to tell their stories or write their poems. These emerging, diverse voices are driven by the same impulses that drive indie musicians and theatre makers. They need to be heard.