Being an indie author is fun. Yes, it has its challenges and yes, writing is hard work. Still, it’s hard to deny the perks we get from publishing our own work. Whether you’re fully on board with realizing how fun it is or you’re feeling the struggle, I hope this post helps remind you why it’s great to be an indie author!

#1 You Have Creative Freedom. You get to be the boss of your own writing! All writers work hard and hope to build a readership over time, but we get to keep every part of our story that we love. There’s no rushing to meet deadlines of the publisher, no agent telling you to rewrite half the book to fit market needs, and no editor gouging up your work to make it more marketable. You have the power to keep every bit of the story that YOU want in the finished manuscript – that is very fun indeed.

#2 You Can Publish When You Want To. The beauty of self-publishing is that you can release your book once it’s ready. There’s no middlemen, no queries to agents needed, no waiting on your publishing team to release your book. Of course, I do believe that everyone should release the best possible version of their work – it should be well formatted and edited at least one time through. I love that you can publish as many books as you like (or as few as you want), because there’s no one holding you back or pushing you to release new books at a certain time.

#3. You Get To Call Yourself Indie. Years ago, self-publishing was a dirty word. More recently, indies have taken over the market by a storm and they’re proud to say that they are self-published authors. Digital events such as Indie April show the love people have of indie books. The stories can be as good or better than traditionally published books and even if there’s an awkward formatting error here or a weird grammar issue there, it’s authentic – an individual took the time to write, format, and publish their own story without a team behind them. That’s pretty awesome. Indie authors are sort of like the punks of the literary world. We do us and we’re happy not to bow down to what the system wants us to write.

#4. You Really Grow As A Person. Yes, all writers learn and grow regardless of whether they’re represented by an agent or they’re independent. With that being said, indie authoring is a special path. There’s a lot of research, trial and error, experimentation, and strategizing you do as an indie author that most traditionally published authors don’t get to experience. Because we don’t have industry experts directing us, a lot of our learning is first hand. We each try to do what works best for us and sometimes the best type of learning is first hand experience.

#5. Every sale & review is a celebration. Unless you’re one of the rare indie authors who makes a six figure income from their books alone, most indie authors are ecstatic to find a new book review or a new sale on their dashboard. We haven’t hit it big yet, so any positive milestone for our books will make our day. I find it fun to hop on Amazon and read a new review. It’s a high like no other. I’m sure traditionally published authors enjoy these aspects of their writing career, too, but I think the novelty could wear off once you got 50+ reviews. Supporting indie authors means they’re going to be really grateful to you. Many of them will personally thank you for reading and/or reviewing their work. It’s yet another reason why being an indie author is fun (and amazing!).

Looking for more indie author inspo? Check out my other fun posts!

Things Indie Authors Love

Do I Have Any Regrets About Self-Publishing?

5 Things That Happen When You Become An Indie Author

Is Self-Publishing Working Or A Hobby?

How To Self-Publish A Book Through Amazon

6 Things I Didn’t Know About Indie Publishing When I First Started Pt. 1