Writing Well for Indie Authors

Okay, so here’s the title of a recent article in PW – Three Books on Writing Well for Indie Authors.

Let me just say up front that this is a gem of an article so please take time to read it.  Here’s the link:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61523-three-books-on-writing-well-for-indie-authors.html

BUT, what made me bristle a little is that these are actually three books on writing well for ANY author and not just Indies.  In fact, the first two books recommended have been must-reads for authors for decades, and they are:

            The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

            On Writing Well:  The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser.

Now I do believe that Indie authors are incredibly special but the title of the article just reminded me a little too much of the old divide between what some considered a “real” author because they were published traditionally – in other words, by a reputable publishing house whether large or small – and those considered, well, I guess “unreal” because they self-published.

As I indicated in my last blog, those of us who have been around for awhile know what it was like to attend writer’s conferences and other networking events and hear the word “self-published” as if it was something to be ashamed of.  I guess that’s why many are gravitating to the Indie title.  I just hope we don’t slip back into that great divide of what constitutes a “real” author or writer.

Now, I said the article is worth reading and it really, really is.  The third book recommended is one with which I was unfamiliar but sounds quite fascinating.  Wired for Story:  The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron is now on my list of books to read and I’m actually moving it up towards the top of this now very lengthy list.