Why I’m an Independent Publisher

by Wendy Adair, @WendyAdair14

I recently completed and published my second book, a mystery titled Deliver Us From Evil…and the Six O’Clock News.  I came to self-publishing after trying in vain to get an agent, but I have embraced the freedom, control, speed, and  ownership that self-publishing grants me.

A few decades ago my 120 agent rejections would have meant my first book would have never seen the light of day.  In my head anyway, self-publishing bore the mark of “vanity press” and was not taken seriously by anyone.  But thanks to changes in printing technology and online book distribution, I am today the CEO of Bungalow Books Publishing, and my first book The Broken Hallelujah has won a bronze medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards and was a finalist for the International Book Award and the Page Turner Award.

The path wasn’t an easy one.  After taking a continuing ed class from Stanford, I decided I needed a team to get me through the technical aspects of publishing.  A team with a track record of doing first rate work, particularly in the design and editorial aspects:

• Administration—ISBN codes, KDP and Ingram Sparks requirements, pricing, distribution
• Design—cover and interior—Get the best cover you can. It makes a difference.
• Editing—copy and proofreading—Nothing irritates me more than typos and grammatical errors that pull me out of a book’s narrative.
• Audio production—audiobook and book trailers—It’s like hearing a radio play and seeing a movie trailer when done well.
• Marketing—online ads and promotion opportunities—The more ways you can get the word out the more people will see your book.

I decided I didn’t want to spend my time to piece these talents together—too many vendor reviews.  So I found a book maven who handles the creative folks for the top three items and recommended vendors for the last two.  I am lucky that I am retired, can afford to be responsible for these upfront costs, and don’t need to recover them instantly.  My publishing activities are a small business and my accountant is keeping track of my profits and losses to meet the tax codes.

So back to the benefits, and for me I believe the benefits outweigh the costs.

• Freedom—I make all the decisions on my timeline.
• Complete Quality Control—The teams are wonderful to work with and willing to make design and editorial changes to get the very best product.
• Speed—I produced and published my first book in six months and my most recent in five months. (Writing time is not included—three years for the first and 18+ months for the second.)
• 100% ownership—All the vendors provide “work for hire” and therefore I own everything they do for me.

But there are drawbacks to consider, even beyond the cost of doing everything yourself.

• Time commitment—I spend about half my time on the business side of writing these days, and it definitely is a right brain kind of thing, so hard to flip back and forth to get deep into the next novel.
• Slow sales—My books would not have been A-list books at a major publisher, but I imagine the distribution would be broader than I can do.
• Slow Return on Investment—As mentioned above, I do not imagine I will break even any time soon, but since I am retired, I do not envision novel writing as my primary source of income. (Although we can always dream of being the next Martian—an indie-published book that went viral and ended with a movie deal.)

I believe the most important point is that today we have options.  The computer and email systems let me send out 120 query letters to agents with no real expense other than time.  When my mother was writing and shopping her children’s books for a publisher, she was working on a typewriter with carbon paper and mailing queries and manuscripts with an SASE for returns (self-addressed stamped envelope for those of you who were born in the digital age.)

The publishing business is changing, and who knows what challenges and opportunities might lie ahead.  But we do know that the readers are still out there.  I for one am happy that we have new ways to reach them and new ways to get our work seen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I began a lifelong love of reading before kindergarten.  My earliest memories include going to the library or bookmobile and bringing home a box of books…every week.

My connection to words led to a career in public relations and marketing.  Armed with degrees in communication, business and library science, I held senior management positions in higher education, winning numerous local, regional and national marketing awards.  After forty years writing non-fiction, including a 175-page history of the University of Houston, I retired and finally turned to creating fictional worlds. With the help of a Writer’s League of Texas retreat and the Online Certificate in Novel Writing program at Stanford University, I embraced both retirement and novel writing.  I decided to go the independent route and created my publishing arm—Bungalow Books Publishing.  My first novel The Broken Hallelujah won the IPPY Bronze Medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards and was a finalist for the International Book Award and the Page Turner Award.

I published the first book in the Brentwood Women Mystery Series, Deliver Us From Evil…and the Six O’Clock News, in January 2024.  The series involves three generations of strong women.  Each will lead the team in solving a mystery that they believe can’t be solved by the police or other authorities.  I am currently finishing book #2 in the series—Deadly as a Walk in the Park, which will be available early this summer.

When I’m not slaving over my computer, I spend time in my backyard garden and with my crazy fur babies, Jade, my yappy but huggable white schnauzer, and her best friend, Yara, a gorgeous and unflappable Russian blue feline, both of whom have supporting roles in the Brentwood series.