Deciding to Self-Publish (A Rant)

We’re taking over the publishing world guerilla-style. Do you hear that Viking Press? Do you feel me Simon and Schuster? Are you picking up what I’m layin’ down Random House? We own you now, not vice versa. We’re in control now, not you. You. The ethereal entity that floats above us, daring us to submit a query letter, taunting us with your impossible submission guidelines. You dangle words over our heads like “No unsolicited manuscripts accepted” and “Submissions through professional literary agents only.” Fuck that.

A new wind is stirring and it’s going to raise some hell.

A new wind is stirring and it’s going to dance across the water, ram itself into your paper boat, and water-log your carefully folded edges, saturate your tiny paper crew. Make them bleed ink.

Traditional publishing companies set us up for failure and that is why I protest. That is why I rant. That is why I refuse to go unpublished. That is why I stand up for the independent writer. Someone has to.

I stand up because I believe. I stand up because the writers I know are creative, thoughtful, and living off noodles and cheap beer. They don’t stand a chance in an industry that demands uniformed submission letters, ruthless self-marketing, and thousands of dollars of initial investments (do you know how much it costs to print an 700 page double-spaced manuscript?) which ultimately lead nowhere in most cases.

Maybe what I’m saying strikes a chord with you. Maybe you’re just as tired of corporate publishing as I am. Or maybe you simply understand what it means to be an independent artist/writer/craftsman/designer. An independent thinker. An independent doer. Maybe you just like the idea of supporting independent arts. Whatever the case, welcome. You’re amongst friends.

But maybe my thoughts do not strike a chord with you. Maybe you’ll read my post, shrug, and navigate back to your Netflix account to watch another episode of Samurai Champloo. Well, bully for you. I respect your opinion and Samurai Champloo is awesome, so you’re still ok in my book.

Author: KateBitters

Kate Bitters is a Minneapolis-based author and freelance writer. She is the author of Elmer Left, Ten Thousand Lines, and He Found Me. One of her proudest/nerdiest moments was when Neil Gaiman read one of her short stories on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater.