Melissa Barker-Simpson

You might’ve heard these terms: Independent Author, Self-Published Author, Indie Author. You might’ve even heard some say it with a sneer and others with a cringe. You might’ve read some mean spirited articles putting down self-publishing. And others more optimistic saying that it’s changing the face of the publishing industry. There you are, in the middle of the bookstore, with an overload of contradictory information, not sure if you should buy that book by an ‘indie’ or run the opposite direction.

As an indie author I can tell you that you don’t have to fear us: Independent authors are simply writers who are also entrepreneurs. We are people who have decided to take control of our own publishing needs. While traditionally published authors seek a publishing house to take their manuscript, they rarely have any input over the final product. We independents have control over the whole process. From…