YA Indie Carnival: Why Indie?

Every Friday for the next several weeks, I'll be blogging along with my YA indie friends (links to their blogs are at the end of this post). This week's topic is: Why Indie?

Why indeed?

I can tell you that going the indie route is not for everyone. I wrote a guest post for BooksByWomen.org on this very topic not too long ago: "Published! Does it matter how?".

For me, I tried the traditional route. Oh, how I tried. I faithfully read all the agent blogs and followed hundreds of them on Twitter, hanging on their every word in hopes of finding that Miraculous Bit of Advice that would turn all those rejections into The Call I'd Been Waiting For. After over a year of an emotional rollercoaster that ripped my heart out and left me gasping for breath, I decided to can the whole stupid thing. I told myself, what difference does it make if anyone reads Aiden and Lindsey's story? No one wants it, so it's probably crap anyway. They're right, I suck and should just give up.

So I tried writing something new, tried to move on and leave Between alone. Nothing would come. The words dried up on my tongue before I could transfer them to the screen. I couldn't fall in love again, not when my first love sat ignored, relegated to the proverbial nightstand.

I needed closure. That's why I went indie, in a nutshell.

I needed to finish what I'd started, even if no one else wanted it. I needed to hold that book in my hands, needed to clasp it to my chest and feel the waves of accomplishment break over me and wash away the angst, pain and suffering that had built up during The Year of Rejection. When that moment finally came, I thought I would split in two from the sheer exhilaration of crossing the finish line.

Not everyone finishes the race first, second or third. Or hell, even three thousandth. If you're not in the top three, it doesn't matter when you finish, it only matters that you do. And I did.

Now, to finish that sequel. *grin*

Check out the other participants in the YA Indie Carnival!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover