Express yourself.Įmbedded below are the PowerPoint slides from my presentation. If your book is finished, you have the freedom to get it out there now on your own terms as an ebook. Take a stand and say no to others telling you no. My challenge to you, the author, is to throw yourself upon the gears of big publishing. The Big Publisher gatekeeper-as-curator is being replaced by readers, as it should be. Indies enjoy the same (or better) distribution opportunities as traditional publishers.

Now, the printing press is free and available to all. The indie ebook revolution has changed all this. However, without distribution access to brick and mortar bookstores - something the big publishers controlled - it was difficult for self published authors to reach readers. Sure, you could self-publish in print, as the great Dan Poynter has been advocating for over 30 years. Until recently, if a publisher refused to publish your book, it severely limited your ability to reach readers. They say no to most authors, thereby preventing those authors from expressing themselves through the communications vehicle that is their book. They acquire books they think they can sell, as is their right as a business. I always thought authors should have the right to publish, but until I watched the video and read up on the origins of the Free Speech Movement, I never fully grokked the connection between book publishing and free speech.Ī Tweet or a blog post is free speech, but a book - especially the long form variety - is about the weightiest form of deep-thinking, deep-expressing communication possible.īig Publishers are in the business of selling books, not publishing authors. I was immediately struck by how Savio's feelings of injustice (he was upset at the University administration for limiting free speech on campus) map so closely to how authors feel. I listened to this speech for the first time yesterday morning as I prepared my presentation.

Stolen Splendor by Miriam Minger