THE DIY AUTHOR – What To Do When the Mainstream Yawns: Part 1
[I]ndividual writers today have a lot more power acting as their own independent contractors than as supplicants to a dismissive and sluggish (and arrogant) system.
THE DIY AUTHOR RETURNS – What To Do When the Mainstream Yawns (and Spends): Pt 2
[A] publishing industry that has removed authors from the top of the hierarchy and told them to be grateful to be stuck at the bottom.
I’m sure many people who come to this blog already know this story of Seth Harwood.
I’d heard snippets of it. Now here it is in a potted version, easy to read.
Don’t object that what Harwood did can’t be duplicated today. You’re a frikkin writer — use your imagination to create your own way!
There will be a Part Three there no doubt — so Bookmark it!
The eBook Test 
Bookmarked in a place of prominence for repeated readings.
Why is it that every DIY or self-publishing success story seems to end in a publication contract from a mainstream press? The DIY article neglects to mention that Breakneck Books is the brainchild of Jeremy Robinson, which basically means Harwood went through Robinson to use Lulu.com. Which is awesome, sure, but seems to be authors only believe in doing it themselves until somebody like RH comes calling.
Also, the article says Harwood had to buy back the rights to his own book to sell it to RH? That’s insane. More on the side of Breakneck, of course, but still.
Yes, right now such stories will end with the Cinderella writer marrying “Prints” Charming. But if that’s what the writer has set out to do, who am I to gripe? I want no part of that, however, for myself.
Hear you! Truth be told, my story might not end with the world of Random House… who knows, they could tank themselves off the map in a year and I wouldn’t be surprised. True, publishing with a biggie was a long term goal for me, but having done it I can agree that there’s a lot they limit. Many good things to be said for the totally DIY route. And I’m sure I’ll have future projects in that realm again.
For anyone who’s taking note, what Scott Sigler’s done with his latest book The Rookie and putting it out himself is a wonderful model to follow!
Yep, hooked up with Jeremy. He’s awesome! But then Breakneck became Variance and there were bigger fish to pay…
Cheers to you folks here! I’ll be back for more looks and yes, Pat is currently working on part 3 of my story!
Find my free audio at http://sethharwood.com and if you want to try the free serialized audiobooks method go ahead. It works!
Seth