Guest post by Darian WilkAuthor of Love Unfinished and Reinventing Claire (coming August 2012)
Who here has read the book or seen the
movie The
Outsiders? It's a classic story that can ring true with any
generation – the kids on the wrong side of the tracks, the kids on
the right side of the tracks, and the rift between them. While
writers are typically a jolly bunch willing to help each other
out,
often times you can sense the same tension, the same rift between
Indie authors and traditionally published authors. Indies live on
the wrong side of the tracks, traditionals live in a gated
community.
I'm privileged enough to know many
fine
authors who are wonderful people. It's a muddled mix of Indies and
traditional authors alike, coming together to share
the wacky journey of writing together. We know the others children
by name, what WIP's each other is working on – we're friends. But
even in this blended, tight group of friends it's there – the
rift. It's whispered about with the others, the ones living on the
same
side of the tracks as you. Traditionally published authors calling
themselves real authors in front of the Indies, Indies
gritting their teeth in seething silence. My friend with the
agent,
publisher, editor, and publicist proudly lives on the right side
of
the tracks – I'm in the ghetto.
Sometimes you can feel the rift
rumbling, almost growing into an all-out 'virtual' protest; but
both
sides have valid points. Traditionally published authors have a
sense of pride, a sense of accomplishment, that they have earned
the
title of real author – because they have queried until
they
were blue in the face, wallpapered their family room in rejection
letters, kept on writing, and then one day got 'the call' that
someone wanted their book. They've earned their title –
real author. They dredged through the slush piles and came out
with
a book deal. They sit proudly in the lush, gated community of
traditional publishing.
Indies too have shared the same
journey. Most, if you ask, have spent years querying, wallpapered
their living room with rejections, kept on writing, but they
decided
sitting around for 'the call' wasn't the right path for them. Now,
some could say they never got 'the call' because their work isn't
worthy of publication; but that's an entire post on its own. So
the
writer, after years of querying, decides to go Indie. They don't
see
it, but they have just moved themselves into the ghetto. They've
evicted themselves from the gated community, and moved to east LA.
Instead of having a team of editors, a publicist, and a sure
ticket
to seeing their book on an actual bookstore shelf – they
stand on their own. They put in many, many hours
of work just to understand how to publish, let alone
actually
doing it. They've earned their title – real author. They
sit proudly in the grungy, graffiti filled neighborhood.
They both put in the work, the hours,
the heart, the dedication – yet there it is, the tracks between
us. Indies and traditionals, us and them. I'm living in the
ghetto,
surrounded by frantic writers scrambling for reviews, and banging
their heads on the walls trying to format an ebook – and I kind of
like it here. I see my friend over there, on the other side of the
tracks, on her perfectly manicured lawn in the gated community of
traditionally published authors – I nod and wave. She smiles
back,
texts me, and we agree to meet for coffee and complain about
promotions. She's a real author, I'm an Indie. We're
friends
and have a rift. It's like high school all over again.
But this is how I see it...so many
people, Indies and traditionals, are so busy screaming about their
author status we've forgotten the thing that made us love books.
The
thing that made us want to be an author to begin with...great
stories. When I immersed myself in books growing up and well into
adulthood, I didn't care about what the copyright page said; that
was
the boring page! A friend of mine that can almost recite her
favorite book by heart, she can't tell you who the publisher is,
she's never looked at the copyright page. It's the content, the
story that matters to her. Indies and
traditionals, my side your side...if my book is as strong as
theirs,
aren't we both real authors? If the content can stand on its own,
does it matter what the copyright page says? Our journey here was
much the same, and in the end we both have the same struggle –
trying to get people to read our books. At the start of the day
our
to-do lists look the same, at the end of the day our worries are
the
same – are we really on different sides of the tracks, or walking
down the tracks together?
About the author:
Find out more about Darian, connect with her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out the trailer for Love Unfinished.
Darian is also a regular reviewer for Krazy Book Lady!
Darian is a women's fiction writer,
avid book reader, mom to two amazing kids, and wife to one awesome
husband. Her passion for writing started at an early age, which
led
her to being published in three poetry anthologies as a teenager.
In
2009, she took on writing full-time and her first novel, Love
Unfinished, was released in 2011. Her second novel, Reinventing
Claire, is set to be released in August 2012.
Find out more about Darian, connect with her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out the trailer for Love Unfinished.
Darian is also a regular reviewer for Krazy Book Lady!
