Recently, an indie author I had been coaching finished her book and published it through KDP.
And then, instead of celebrating, she had what I can only describe as an almost-existential crisis.
Not about the plot, nor was it about the cover or whether readers would like the book.
Her crisis was much more dangerous.
What should she call herself?
She asked me:
“Should I say I am a published author, or just an author?”
Now, this may sound like a simple question. It wasn’t.
Apparently, somewhere along the mysterious journey of becoming an author, she had developed the impression that the word “published” before the word “author” was protected intellectual property.
As in:
Traditionally published authors: Published Author™
Indie authors: Please use “Author” and proceed quietly.
Her concern was that because she had published her book independently, calling herself a published author might somehow be unethical.
And she isn’t alone.
I have met plenty of indie authors who introduce themselves as: “I am an author.”
Or: “I am an indie author.”
But never: “I am a published author.”
Almost as if a publishing-industry police officer is going to jump out from behind a bookshelf and say:
“Excuse me! I saw your LinkedIn profile. Where exactly did you get permission to use the word published?”
Well, allow me to clarify.
I have absolutely no authority whatsoever to clarify this.
But I am going to do it anyway.
Nobody owns the word “published.”
As far as I know, no one woke up one morning, called an international meeting of publishers and declared: “From this day forward, only traditionally published authors may place the word ‘published’ before ‘author’. Anyone using it without permission will be required to surrender their bookshelf.”
Publishing a book means, quite simply, that you have published a book.
If you wrote the book, edited it, prepared it, formatted it, put it through the publishing process and made it available to readers through KDP or another platform, you have published a book.
Therefore, you are a published author.
You can certainly call yourself an indie author or self-published author if you want to explain your publishing route.
But you don’t have to apologise for the word published.
But what does the reader actually care about?
Let’s look at this from the reader’s perspective.
Imagine someone walking into a bookstore and spotting a book among the hundreds of others on the shelves. The cover catches their attention, so they pick it up. They read the description and think: “Hmm. This sounds interesting.”
And then they buy it.
At what point, do you think, do they take out their phone, open Google, and conduct a forensic investigation into the author’s publishing history?
“Let’s see… ISBN… publisher… distribution model… Ah! Self-published! I knew it!”
Probably not.
Most readers don’t care whether the book came from a multinational publishing house, a boutique press, or the author’s laptop at 2:17 a.m. while surviving on coffee and questionable levels of optimism.
They care about the book.
Does the story interest them?
Does the subject appeal to them?
Does the cover attract them?
Does the description make them want to turn the first page?
And most importantly: Does the book satisfy their reading needs?
That’s the part that matters.
And here’s another interesting thing…
There are numerous examples of books that began their journey independently and were later picked up by established publishing houses.
Which means the publishing journey isn’t always a straight line.
Sometimes an author starts independently and a publisher discovers the book later.
Sometimes the author remains independent.
Sometimes they choose a hybrid route.
Sometimes they publish one book traditionally and another independently.
The publishing world isn’t a school uniform where everyone has to wear the same thing.
And perhaps we need to stop treating the words “traditionally published” and “indie published” as if one is a gold medal and the other is a participation certificate.
They are different publishing routes, and that’s it.
So, to my fellow indie authors…
If you have written a book and successfully published it, don’t mumble: “I am… umm… sort of an author.”
Don’t look around the room before saying: “I am an indie author.”
And certainly don’t wait for someone from the International Committee of People Who Decide Who Gets to Call Themselves Published to approve your LinkedIn headline.
Say it proudly: “I am a published author.”
And if someone asks how you published your book, tell them.
“Independently.”
There is no contradiction.
In fact, there is something rather wonderful about it.
You had an idea.
You turned that idea into a manuscript.
You turned the manuscript into a book.
And you put that book in front of readers.
That’s publishing, plain and simple.
So, to the author who inspired this article, and yes, I apologise for turning you into my anonymous research subject, please stop worrying about whether you are allowed to use the word published, because you are.
Now go update that LinkedIn profile.
And while you are at it, enjoy the rather extraordinary fact that you can finally introduce yourself as something many aspiring writers spend years hoping to become: A published author.
Leave a Reply