Posted by Justine Solomons on 14 November 2014, in News
To be Indie or not is the question. I published my first novel the Indie way. My second novel The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer is being published through Books@Jacaranda on Amazon White Glove. It's an agent, assisted route. A hybrid model. The middle path is often the safest, so I am thinking just now.
For many it's very difficult to decide whether to go Indie or not. Based on my experiences I have complied a short quiz to help you decide if you should.
Answer the following truthfully (or as close to it as you can)
- Do you write to be read?
- Is your novel multi-genre? Is your novel difficult to slot into just one genre? The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer is YA thriller for example.
- At heart, are you an entrepreneur? Do you normally jump first and think of the consequences later?
- Are you pragmatic about failure? Able to pick yourself up and move on to the next opportunity?
- Do you like to experiment? Are you incapable of resisting a challenge?
- Do you thrive under pressure, and when the odds are stacked against you?
- Are you impatient and possibly a control freak?
- Are you a technophile? Do you secretly indulge your inner geek? On a practical level are you at least on Facebook and twitter?
- Are you social? Love debating with twitter-friends around the world? Do you adore your virtual home and obsess over getting your gravatar just right?
- Do you have the courage of conviction, the doggedness of determination? Is the power of persistence strong within you?
If you said yes to at least eight of the above ten, then I believe the force is strong in you. You may be among the fortunate few to take up the challenge.
But wait! Before you press that enter button and send the words skimming out over the electronic waves, you need to ask: Have you been true to your text—Really? If you are still standing upright, there is more to tell. Go back, revisit, revise, rewrite, until hand on heart, you can say you have stripped yourself bare. When you have died a few deaths getting the novel to that place where exhaustion weeps in the arms of elation, then, you know all has been said.
Now you have one last thing to do. Make sure your baby is perfect—every infinitesimal millimetre brushed to its Sunday best—once it’s out there you will be reborn, as your Author Avatar! People will actually read you. Many will love your prose. Some will hate it and tell you so. Can you deal with that too? If the answer is still yes, then what are you waiting for?
Are you one of those brave souls who has gone Indie? If so, what do you think of my criteria? Share your opinion and experiences!
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Laxmi Hariharan is an author, journalist and global marketer, her most recent book The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer: A Bombay Story published by Books@Jacaranda is available to buy here.
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