It used to be that traditional publishing was king. If you weren't writing under a contract for a "real" publishing house, you were pond scum. No, less. You were the ugly underbelly of the pea-green floaty stuff that smells like rotten eggs. You, my friend, were a loser.

But then things changed. They always do. Self-publishing started a big push back, especially with the advent of CreateSpace and the ebook. Indies started to climb the ladder of publishing success, some even waving to the masses standing on the same rung as traditionally published authors. I know, right? Gasp! One would think that the rising tide of such innovation has lifted all writers to equal acceptance.

Hah. Not.

The vitriol has not ended. There is still a squabbling and poking-fun-at ruckus in the ranks of indie authors. Why?  (click to tweet)  Because there's a spectrum of self-publishing.

You've got those who wrote their copy then handed it off to someone else to complete all the grunt work such as cover design, formatting, yada, yada.

Then there are those who wrote their copy, found their own designer and editor, then handed it off for things such as ISBN's, Library of Congress paperwork, and the like.

Or there are those who take the bull by the horns and do absolutely everything themselves. Everything. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

It's within the ranks of this spectrum that pride has painted with the oozey liquid from the pond, ranging from:
"Oh, you didn't do it all yourself? Slacker!"
to
"Oh, you created your own cover? Yeah. I can tell. My preschooler could've done better."

So, I'm only going to say this once, people. Lean in. Listen hard. Read my freaking lips . . .


Jump down off your pedestals. Let's be buddies, encouragers, looking for the good in each others journeys, not needling the bad. We are writers, and Lord knows that gig is hard enough without in-fighting.