Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

So I've been working under the assumption that when we say 'independently published' we mean someone who is publishing without the benefits of a publishing company. I've been thinking of self published and independent as the same thing. Yet I recently have begun to see a lot of people referring to themselves as independent despite having an actual publisher.

And while we're at it does SPA mean self published author or small press author?

J.D.

I believe that the Merriam-Webster English Dictionary's definition of independent provides the best meaning of the word.

1 self-governing; not affiliated with a larger controlling unit.
2 not requiring or relying upon something else or somebody else.
3 not easily influenced: showing self-reliance and personal freedom.

SPA refers to self-published authors.

My understanding is an Independent Author (Indie) is published through a small Independent press and an SPA is a self-published author. However, a lot of people get lazy about it (myself included sometimes) and often use Indie as a collective term for 'not published by a big 6.'

I've definitely been misusing it then. I end up lumping in small press authors with big press authors largely because of the publishing model involved. thanks!

It can get sticky in the details though, since some SPAs incorporate and start small presses to publish their own work. Is this still Indie or just muddled/disguised SPA? It allows them access to some services and/or reviewers that aren't open to SPAs but are Indies, but often isn't actually providing a product identifiably better than an average SPA.

Definitely, i think (my opinion for what it's worth), if you're trying to match models, (with exceptions) many Indies are closer to SPAs than big sixes. I also think you probably aren't the only one confused.

Edit, because on rereading I decided that I sounded like an arrogant snit: Could be the next poster tells me I'm the one who's confused.

you didn't sound like an arrogant snit at all. I asked for information and you delivered on it :)

so...thanks again :)

Thanks for this... I was confused about it too.

I do see Indie as "not published by a mainstream author." Some people use it ONLY to refer to SPAs, though. Usually people who have either been burned by a publisher or heard about one too many people being burned by a publisher and have turned into self-publishing evangelists.

Sadie wrote: "It can get sticky in the details though, since some SPAs incorporate and start small presses to publish their own work. Is this still Indie or just muddled/disguised SPA? It allows them access to s..."

A writer can effectively be an indie and also self-published, if in having their own small press they do their best at getting the final product as professional as is possible.

If the typography is done well, professional cover, professional blurb, promo copies can be had, and the book in question is reasonably priced, the SPA is in that sense an Indie, especially if they do the sole-proprietorship (DBA), LLC, or Inc model.

Then again, I own an old AM-General Jeep DJ-5 and I drive from the right-hand seat so it's possible my perception is skewed.

I think both terms are still evolving and there is no technically correct definition for either. When I use the term independent author I mean someone who is not affiliated with a publishing house of any size, but who has hired people to do the jobs that need out sourcing (editing, cover art, etc.). When I refer to self published authors I mean people who did everything by themselves. I know of a few other people who use the terms the same way, but not many. Many people seem to think they are interchangeable. I think it will be interesting to see how both terms continue to evolve.

@Virginia,

I do everything at this point except cover art. My first two works of Sci-Fi someone else edited, and some of the edits were good and some not so good, so I'm taking on editing until I can afford to pay someone.

If the press is me and I am the press, does that make me an Indie, an SPA, or both?

Ideally, I think an "indie" author should be synonymous with self published author, i.e. not dependent on any type of third-party publisher.
However, in practice, I think indie authors are generally accepted to be either self-published or published through a small press house.
I've done both, and always considered myself an "indie" author.