I’m still writing, how about you?

I intended to get back to my “how to” posts this week. However, with the constant bickering and conspiracy theory arguments that are flying around, I couldn’t help myself.

You’ve heard it all, Amazon is bowing to the Big Six, Barnes and Noble and Amazon are destroying self-publishing and the traditional publishers are taking over the industry while charging $25,000 dollars to get your book out.

Enough!

Dudes, who cares. Has anything really changed? Can you still put your product through the grinder and be making money in twenty-four hours? YES.

Can you upload to Kindle today and see sales by tomorrow? YES.

So what are we doing? We’re spending all our time lamenting about how the industry is disappearing. We won’t be able to sell books. My sales have plummeted in October so it must be because Amazon is not counting my sales!

That’s a pile of crap.

Let’s just get back to the roots of what makes us great in the first place. We’re doers. We’re pioneers. That’s what makes the United States great, it’s always been about pioneering. You too, UK, you were pioneering before we were born!

Let’s stop our complaining and start doing. If you are going to make it in this business, you’ve got to keep writing.

Are you telling me that the self publishing/Indie Author revolution is over? In what, three years? Some of our brethren have gone from nothing to bestsellers in matter of weeks. The legacy publishers have snatched Indie Authors up with million dollar contracts. Legacy published authors have jumped to the indie side. All kinds of things have happened.

Did I say Enough, already?

Put the noise behind you. Pump out the quality, edited books. Buy books from those you know. Help other indie authors and they’ll help you.

Can I say one other thing? Maybe I shouldn’t, but I’m going to say it anyway. What are you really complaining about? Seeing a drop in sales from 20 to 12 copies a month? Get real, most of the people out there who are complaining make $400 or less selling books, A YEAR. Conspiracy? Puhlease. Better watch out for that big bad indie author selling ten books a month … every other month.

And, what if the indie industry goes away? We’re right back where we were before. Finding agents, sending out queries and trying to publish books. Unless of course, you are in it just to rip people off in the eBook craze. If that’s the case, I want you gone anyway.

I was at a party last weekend and a guy I was talking to asked what I do. I said, “I’m an author.” He immediately went off on all the domain names that he owns and how he’s going to make millions off of them with the books he writes. WHAT?!

We can complain or we can do something. I choose to do something.

We know better. We can do better. We know the value of a good book. Indie authors are not going away … unless you don’t write.

Author: Jim Devitt

Jim Devitt’s debut YA novel, The Card, hit #1 in three separate categories on the Kindle Bestseller list in early January and was a finalist in the Guys Can Read Indie Author Contest this past summer. Devitt currently lives in Miami, FL with his wife Melissa and their children. Learn more about Jim at his blog and his Amazon author page.

29 thoughts on “I’m still writing, how about you?”

  2. completely agree, Jim. All last week I read negative, after negative, after negative comment; it was enough to make one give up writing … but no, I plowed on and completed my novel. Now I will ‘kindle it’ and if it doesn’t sell … weeelll … I will write another one. Good on you, Jim, for building laying green bricks instead of red bricks!

  3. BRAVO! Yes, the most important thing we can do as an Indie is continue putting out high quality content. “Quality” being the key word there. Those who are crying conspiracy will be gone soon anyway. Being a writer means you have to have “staying power.”

  4. What Jim said. I have to confess, I uploaded my debut novel in October, and I’ve made … well, it’s not a blockbuster, but it’s a Kindle bestseller, and I’ve made a very nice bit of change from it. Being Indie certainly didn’t keep my novel off 7 of Amazon’s category bestseller lists. I’m very pleased, and I’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about or why folks are complaining. Indie publishing certainly worked for me.

    1. Congratulations, Christie.
      It’s about doing and doing it well. Most of the complainers would rather complain than improve on their craft and skill. Keep doing what you’re doing.

  5. I’m clapping my hands so hard they hurt, thank you Jim. A few weeks ago I wrote a post regarding these issues and titled it ‘David and Goliath.’ Guess who we are? Enough said. This is what the Big Six want, worry, dissension and chicken little running around screaming his tweaking little bill off. We will flourish if we so desire. Would we be any better with a publishing company? Unless you are J.K. or King etc.etc.etc., our presence would hardly be noticed. We are writers, we write for our passion; yes, we all would like to see a nice income, but didn’t we go into this with our eyes wide open? I am happy just to have a venue to reach readers. “You say we need a revolution?” It is happening and we must stand our ground, if not, I would say we were hypocrites.

    1. Thanks and well said, Aron.

      We have to be doing this for the right reasons and I’m not saying an income isn’t a good reason, but, as I’ve written about on this blog before, there has to be more to it than money.

  6. Jim, you are so right. The industry gossip is interesting, and there’s nothing wrong with watching trends. But the indie revolution is far from over.

    Oh, and the world’s not gonna end on the 21st, either. 😉

  7. Good on you, Jim, crack that whip, snap the dilettantes out of their brooding mind-set. ‘Go hard or go home!’ is the motto over my sons’ fight training gym, I think it fits here at IU. Great post, Jim!

  9. “Unless of course, you are in it just to rip people off in the eBook craze. If that’s the case, I want you gone anyway.”

    If you’re in this with making a fortune as your primary goal, this is still the wrong business, just like it has always been. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed. Great post, Jim.

  11. Wait, what? There’s a conspiracy? How come I’m just now hearing about it? I guess I must have been too busy writing to have noticed. Just like me to miss out on all of the hoopla. Thanks for the great post.

    2. I’m always the last to hear about such things. I just barely manage to wrap a Christmas present between writing chapters of my current mystery. Thanks for letting me know that the conspiracy I didn’t know about isn’t a problem anyway. Write on, friends!

  15. The world is a slippery place. Just when you think you have the answer, the rules change. Get used to it.
    As Jim says, stick to the basics. Write stuff people want to read, and keep finding new ways to sell it.

  16. Awesome post, Jim! I’m too darned busy to listen to all the crap out there. I barely make it onto Facebook any more…but I can’t wait to get the next book up and the next and the next…YAY INDIES!

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