This is my canned interview (you ask the questions and you answer them) on Smashwords, one of the self-publishing sites where my books are available https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/raglin

Anyway, I finally updated it and thought you might want to take a look at it. It begins with this question:

What motivated you to become an indie author?

I became an indie author because I couldn't get traditional publishers to publish my work.

That probably is the reason most writers became indie authors.

I published my first novel, Saving Spirit Bear in 2010 with an E-publisher after my attempts with traditional publishing houses had failed. At that time E-Book publishers were on the rise, hungry for content and they were eager for at least two more books from me.

Over the next two years they published Loving the Terrorist and Mad Maggie and the Mystery of the Ancients to complete my ECO-WARRIOR series.

Environmental fiction (Eco-fi) proved not to be a big seller with them, their catalogue being geared more to erotica, werewolves, vampires, and erotic werewolves and vampires. My stories were contemporary romances with a subplots that addressed an important environmental issue.

Since sales were not exactly stellar with my E-publisher and my contract with them was restrictive as to how I could promote these books I decided to investigate self-publishing for my next novel, The Big Picture - A Camera, A Young Woman, An Uncompromising Ethic if my attempts at acquiring a traditional publisher failed.

They did, and so I became an indie author.

Since then I have self-published three more novels: Forest - Love, Loss, Legend, Abandoned Dreams and The Local Rag and two plays: Harry's Truth and End of the Rope. When my contract ended with my E-publisher I yanked my first three novels and re-released them as self-published works.

Have they done better? No, but they haven't done worse and it's been more fun.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT BEING AN INDIE AUTHOR?

Glad you asked. I can offer promotions, sales, giveaways - I have total control over marketing my work. No sales, but still total control. And I like the creative aspect of publishing - the page design, the cover design, choosing fonts, all that stuff.

WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT BEING AN INDIE AUTHOR?

There are now too many of us and unfortunately most of us don't write well, and that's putting it mildly. So for you, the reader, it's almost impossible to tell if an indie author is worth reading or just a waste of $3.99 (the price of my e-books).

I know this because I make a point of reviewing the work of indie authors (see my YouTube channel Not Your Friend, Not Your Family Book Reviews)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH45n8K4BVmT248LBTpfARQ

This is frustrating not only for you but for me and it's only going to get worse. With no gatekeepers and so many sites making it easy for anyone to publish anything, self-published, indie authors have lost all credibility.

To be an indie author now is to be a joke.

This state of affairs has made me rethink my role as an author - indie or otherwise.

I love to write, I love the research that goes into developing my characters, plots and settings, but I also want to connect to readers. The likelihood of this happening, of making this connection with readers in any significant way for an indie author is virtually nil.

After seven years, and seven novels and two plays I'm going back to the old fashion way. I submitted my last manuscript, East Van Saturday Night - Four short stories and a Novella to a traditional publisher and am now waiting for a response. If I get rejected, and I likely will, I'll send it to another one, and another one and so on.

I don't need to self publish to enjoy the writing and the research and this method of getting my work out there is not fulfilling my other need - connecting to you, the reader, in a meaningful way.

So it's back to the future for this author.

Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs.

30

Smashwords 2017 Read an E-book Week Promotion

March 5 to 11

Thousands of free and discounted

E-books Authors and Publishers enroll now at

https://www.smashwords.com/dashboard/sitewidePromos

Promotional catalogue at

https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1)

My free E-book as part of the promotion, FOREST - Love, Loss, Legend

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/515038

Other discounts from my bibliography at

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/raglin

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Here we go for DC!

1. Black Canary: Kicking and Screaming.   I didn't buy some of this, like how no one knew Dinah was Black Canary.   Even with its faults, though, it's a fun read and a little bit of a girl group/girl power read.   Fun times, with Dinah as the lead singer in a  girl band.   Surprise Hero, Grrrl Power, and Newsworthy would all fit this series. 

2. Deadshot: Bulletproof.   Fascinating look at one of the Suicide Squad members in a solo jaunt.   Awful things happen to children, though, so if that makes you squeamish...  Family Ties, Surprise Hero, Parental Issues, Dead Parents, and Not Dead Anymore would all work for this volume. 

3. Batgirl: The Batgirl of Burnside.   Fun, fun take on Batgirl, despite her hipster costume that could be so much more effective if it was more armored.   Complications with school life and balancing that with Batgirl become issues in Babs' life.   Grrrl Power, School, City Boy, Diversity and and Family Ties are all appropriate squares here. 

4. Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals.  Nuanced reboot of Wonder Woman.  I couldn't stop reading this volume, and I was cheering Diana on as she adjusted to Man's World.   Grrl Power, School, Newsworthy, Parental Issues, and Not Dead Anymore would all be appropriate squares for this volume.   You could argue Kink with her, y'know, tying people up and forcing them to tell her the truth...

5. Justice League of America: The Tornado's Path.   A focus on one of my favorite characters, the JLA's resident android.   Family Ties, Not Dead Anymore, and even Kink would work here. If you're me.   Human/robot relationships are my thing, although I take them more seriously than Kink.

6. Batman: Hush.   An epic mindfuck of a story.   I don't want to give too much away, but, yes, this?  You should read it if you can get your hands on it.   Glasses Confuse Everyone, City Boy or Evil Genius are the squares I'd use for this volume. 

7. Batman: A Death in the Family.   Epic tale of how everyone voted for Robin to die, and then they killed him off in the most brutal way possible.   Teens, Insanity, City Boy and Family Ties would all work for this square.    And of course, Batman is always Dead Parents.   

8. Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire.   Villains do good to get less prison time, and so they don't get parts blown off.   it's pretty epic watching them get corralled into this and having to try to figure out how to work together.   Surprise Hero, Insanity, and Romance Gone Wrong would all work, since there is not only therapy but also a therapist falling for her patient.   And all before Harley Quinn, I believe!

9. Batman: Killing Joke.   The Joker tries to prove one bad day can send anyone to the nuthouse.   Insanity, Evil Genius and Family Ties would work here.   

10. Batman: Under the Red Hood.  Is Jason Todd really dead?  (Joker killed him in Death in the Family.)  Or is it more mindfuckery?  Family Ties, Parental Issues, and Not Dead Anymore could be used for this volume.   And of course, Batman still has Dead Parents.  

I'm hitting the beach.   I'll do general comics later tonight or even tomorrow.      

This book was a lot of fun. Here are some of my favorite parts:

On Free Will

When asked whether he believed in free will, twentieth-century novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer replied, tongue-in-cheek, "I have no choice."

On Ethics

Sorting out what's good and bad is the province of ethics. It is also what keeps priests, pundits, and parents busy. Unfortunately, what keeps children and philosophers busy is asking the priests, pundits, and parents, "Why?"

On the Golden Rule that is a part of most religions

Similar considerations led English playwright George Bernard Shaw to wryly rewrite the golden rule: "Do not do unto others as you would have others do unto  you; they may have different taste."

On Ethical Dilemmas

Although I'm happy in my current job, having recently received a promotion (I'm the new Thane of Cawdor), that's not enough for my wife who is eager for me to get ahead. I'm not saying I lack ambition, but I am reluctant to do what it takes to climb higher -- the long hours, the bloody murders. And yet, don't I have a special obligation to consider my wife's desires? We are, after all, a family.

MacBeth, Scotland

On Philosophy of Law

A lawyer sends a note to a client: "Dear Frank: I thought I saw you downtown yesterday. I crossed the street to say hello, but it wasn't you. One-tenth of an hour: $50."

On Relativity of World Views

The twentieth-century American philosopher W.V.O. Quine wrote that our worldview is relative to our native language, a framework we are unable to climb out for a different perspective.