When I started writing my debut novel Embers at Dawn, I simultaneously started exploring the possibilities with self-publishing and found “the deal” enthusing. One deciding factor to not pursue the traditional route of publishing houses was royalties. The idea of getting paid more per book sold (at a lower price), than if I’d been signed to a publishing house sounded like a good idea… Or a very fair lottery ticket. The other deciding factor was control.

I relied heavily on my experiences as a freelance photographer when I made the decision to try my luck with self-publishing. I kept coming back to a want and a need to be in complete control of my first book project. I was tired of my success being at the mercy of others, being given half creative freedom on jobs I did for free and… I’ll stop right there, before I go into an angry rant, but I’ll tell you this much: It’s a whole lot easier to sell a finished product, such as a book, than to boast that something can be done.

Self-published books have started to find their way into the regular charts and bookstores. Self-published authors are being headhunted by agents and publishing houses. This is another reason why I figured self-publishing might not be such a bad idea. I get to publish my book my way, but still don’t opt out of the world of “regular” publishing if I should change my mind.

Choosing to self publish was also an easy choice to make because it has become easy to do, relatively speaking at least. Yes, I have to do pretty much everything myself, but there’s a plethora of guides and forums with all the information one could need. And as you have probably picked up on by now, doing everything myself is just the way I like it. I still have to market my work, but I don’t have to buddy up with the local fashion mafia, hoping to get an editorial in the next issue of [insert name of generic fashion magazine] that would give me half a toe inside whatever door is the trend that season.

I haven’t entirely given up on photography, my previous post should state that fact quite clearly, but I no longer pursue a career as a photographer. I started losing the joy in doing it and decided that I’d rather flip the industry a big, fat bird and enjoy photography with personal projects instead.

The irony in this is that what’s going on in the world of publishing looks a lot like what the world of photography has been through. The digital revolution made “everyone” a photographer and ultimately rendered my hard-earned craft’s certificate redundant, and my endless hours spent in the darkroom a quaint skill. Now, indie publishing has made “everyone” an author too, but what I experienced as a negative effect in the world of photography feels more like a positive revolution in publishing.