As a traditionally published author who has found incredible freedom by moving into self-publishing, I’ve joined the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), an organisation committed to championing the rights of self-published (‘indie’) authors globally.
ALLi is running the Open Up to Indies campaign to encourage and aid literary events, festivals, prizes, reviewers, booksellers and other interested parties to find ways to include self-publishing authors in their programs, events, listings and reviews.
I recently wrote an opinion piece for the ALLi blog about the failure of the organisers of the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards to allow self-published authors to enter the competition Australian Prime Minister’s literary awards let indie authors down. The truth of the matter is that more and more indie authors are being accepted for the quality of their writing. I also believe readers who are discovering ebooks or paperbacks online don’t necessarily bother to check whether they are trade published. Certainly many well known authors are also dabbling in self-publishing as they seek to remove themselves from onerous, one-sided contracts where the rights to their books are hoarded by publishing houses that have no intention of promoting such novels past their ‘used by’ date.
I was thrilled last week that both my books, The Wedding Shroud and The Golden Dice, were mentioned in the 2013 Australian Women Writers’ Challenge round up with no need to add the qualification that I was an indie author. How wonderful to be in the hallowed company of Kate Morton, Hannah Kent and Kate Forsyth! The Golden Dice has also been named as one of the most memorable reads of 2013 by Sarah Johnson, the reviews editor of the Historical Novels Review. A similar mention was made on Historical Tapestry and Confessions of an Avid Reader blogs alongside other international historical fiction authors. I hope in the future, there will be a similar attitude taken by all literary events, reviewers, awards and journals. There are always poorly written books in the marketplace whether they be produced by publishing houses or indies. I believe that readers are finally being given the power to choose the books they want to read rather than those only made available to them through the biased funnel of the traditional publishing model.
I’d love it if you would consider signing the petition to support the Open Up to Indies Campaign.
And a happy 2014 to all – let’s get stuck into those TBR piles! And you can get a chance to add to them by taking a look at the AUSTRALIA DAY GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP.
