When I was in my early teens I remember hearing Independent filmmakers being heralded as "groundbreaking", "bold", "daring", "pioneering", "trail blazing", "fresh", "confident", and even fun adjectives like "cheeky" and "spunky". Indie Rock Bands were often described the same way. They were beheld with a certain amount of, well, if not exactly respect, admiration perhaps, for getting out there and doing what their art dictated.
These people didn't wait for The Man to decide whether or not he would grant his Divine Approval on their talents and deem them fit for the masses. They had faith in themselves. They had a voice that cried out to be heard. They let the people decide for themselves if their art spoke to them. And while not all of them were successful, several were.
If not for Independent Film we would never have had Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", David Lynch's "Eraserhead", James Cameron's "The Terminator", Terry Jone's "Monty Python's the Life of Brian", Bryan Singers "The Usual Suspects" or Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" just to name a few.
Without Indie Rock the world would not have R.E.M, The Smiths, Pixies, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Oasis, and The Strokes. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea musically, but important bands in their own rights none the less.
But when an author decides to take their work and publish it themselves rather than be at the mercy of the big publishing machine, they are termed "vanity projects". Huh? Wait a minute. If I create a film and go outside the studio system to create it I'm "bold" and "groundbreaking". If I create music and choose not to battle the recording studios to get my music to the people I'm "fresh" and "trail blazing". But if my art is in the form of crafting stories from thin air; of creating characters and situations that touch and entertain people, and I make the difficult decision not to spend years hoping for the benevolence of a publisher somewhere to buy my story and instead elect to go through the cost and constant effort of self-publishing to get my art to the people, I am merely engaging in a "vanity project".
NOT! Perhaps there are some people with an awful lot of free time and expendable cash who might publish a book just to be able to see it in print, but they are most certainly the exception, not the rule. Authors are just as much artists as filmmakers and musicians. Without authors, what would filmmakers make movies about? If there were no stories, how limited would be the world for other artists to draw inspiration.
It is hard to put yourself out there and say "here's my book, please read it." You'd have to be a real egomaniac to do that just to satisfy your vanity. Self-published authors are just as much an Indie Artist as any other creative person who works outside the system to bring their creations to life for the entertainment of others. So why aren't we considered as such?
It should be that way. From now on, I am not a self-published author, I am an Indie Author. I am an artist. Damn it.
Kerry Rockwood White
These people didn't wait for The Man to decide whether or not he would grant his Divine Approval on their talents and deem them fit for the masses. They had faith in themselves. They had a voice that cried out to be heard. They let the people decide for themselves if their art spoke to them. And while not all of them were successful, several were.
If not for Independent Film we would never have had Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", David Lynch's "Eraserhead", James Cameron's "The Terminator", Terry Jone's "Monty Python's the Life of Brian", Bryan Singers "The Usual Suspects" or Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" just to name a few.
Without Indie Rock the world would not have R.E.M, The Smiths, Pixies, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Oasis, and The Strokes. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea musically, but important bands in their own rights none the less.
But when an author decides to take their work and publish it themselves rather than be at the mercy of the big publishing machine, they are termed "vanity projects". Huh? Wait a minute. If I create a film and go outside the studio system to create it I'm "bold" and "groundbreaking". If I create music and choose not to battle the recording studios to get my music to the people I'm "fresh" and "trail blazing". But if my art is in the form of crafting stories from thin air; of creating characters and situations that touch and entertain people, and I make the difficult decision not to spend years hoping for the benevolence of a publisher somewhere to buy my story and instead elect to go through the cost and constant effort of self-publishing to get my art to the people, I am merely engaging in a "vanity project".
NOT! Perhaps there are some people with an awful lot of free time and expendable cash who might publish a book just to be able to see it in print, but they are most certainly the exception, not the rule. Authors are just as much artists as filmmakers and musicians. Without authors, what would filmmakers make movies about? If there were no stories, how limited would be the world for other artists to draw inspiration.
It is hard to put yourself out there and say "here's my book, please read it." You'd have to be a real egomaniac to do that just to satisfy your vanity. Self-published authors are just as much an Indie Artist as any other creative person who works outside the system to bring their creations to life for the entertainment of others. So why aren't we considered as such?
It should be that way. From now on, I am not a self-published author, I am an Indie Author. I am an artist. Damn it.
Kerry Rockwood White
Author of the Fair Hero Series
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