I don’t think that “anybody” can do it. But I don’t think “anybody” can do anything. But what I do know is: It’s not my business or my right to start telling other people what that can or cannot do.

That’s an act of discovery. And each person has to take that journey for themselves. You can’t get a sneak peak at what you’re going to become. You have to go find out.

Almost anyone who goes indie and succeeds turns right around and says: “but I don’t recommend it.”

I’ve seen that.

I’m not on the “anybody can do it” bandwagon. No, not at all, because I don’t believe anybody CAN.

What I do believe is that given a level playing field (although that offends my Randian sensibilities), those who want to venture that direction would find out where the bar is set as to quality, and then would choose for themselves.

Here’s the thing. I look at Howard Roark, who labored in obscurity for years to be true to his art and to himself. He’s fictional–

–but I’m not fictional. (Okay, my pen name is, but still.) You’re not fictional. And I refuse to labor in obscurity because The Mysterious They control what’s acceptable and what’s not.

And right now, The Mysterious They aren’t doing such a hot job, either.

Then everybody else who you mention the example to says, “oh, but they were special.”

Yeah, well, we’re all special.

And I believe life is about finding out what you’re capable of doing. You can’t find that out if you don’t go out and do. If *I* don’t even yet know what I’m capable of, the peanut gallery surely doesn’t.

Great post!

the myths about self publishing being the kiss of death for an author were most likely propogated and maintained by the publishing houses themselves in order to knock down the competition

Before technology advanced to print-on-demand and ebooks, I think the expense involved in DIY lent a great deal of credibility to it. After all, if it’s that expensive, it must be the last-gasp option for a bad writer, right?

Now, the “myth” is the only defense traditional publishing houses have and would-be published authors are its infantry, always doing their best (and a lot of it’s pretty damn brilliant), getting shot down in their prime, and being replaced by the ones who come behind. Cannon fodder.

All in search of The Call. Because doing it any other way is “the kiss of death.” Totally circular. Or circle jerk.

Too, I see published authors on forums say:

If you can’t sell your manuscript, it’s crap.

I find that disingenuous and egregiously self-serving (uhm…wait, no, I mean masturbatory), considering the odds: the sheer numbers of people writing and submitting, the markets, the length of time it takes to get a book through the pipeline. I mean, c’mon.

The “traditional” model simply doesn’t sound like a great way to make money.

Oh! And then you get to that ridiculous returns policy otherwise known in the real world as consignment. Who thought this up? (Rhetorical. I already know the whys and wherefores.)

I see independent booksellers protest, “But wait! Without that, I can’t try new authors.” Please. You don’t anyway—at least not in my genre.

I’ve just realized that’s another post for another day.

Otherwise, I’m reading all this and thinking the myths about self publishing being the kiss of death for an author were most likely propogated and maintained by the publishing houses themselves in order to knock down the competition. The “traditional” model simply doesn’t sound like a great way to make money. (Then again, a friend’s daughter is working at Nordstrom and the whole scheme sounds somewhat similar – and she’s apparently making money, in spite of charge-backs and a liberal return policy.)