It's The Literary Consultancy's conference next month,
so here's a timely guest post from indie author Laxmi Hariharan:
When Indie Met the Establishment!
Cut to twelve months ago—as a just
born Indie, I listened to Kate Mosse (author Labyrinth) talk about how she was
not on Facebook, Twitter or any of those necessary evils, which help Indie
authors like myself build a platform. On a panel discussion she made it very
clear that she preferred not to have her peace of mind destroyed by social
media chatter, in order to really focus inwards and write. A fellow author
confessed how she was beyond the point of being a social media junkie—she
stayed connected even when she took her dog for a walk. It was clear to me that
as a writer and a marketer I needed to find the sweet spot somewhere between
the two. I needed to become a spider—a black widow?— an arachnid who sat square
in the entre of a 720 degree social network web, and controlled everything that
went around me, not the other way around.
It was about choice. I absolutely
had the right to decide when I wanted to dip in and went I wanted to unplug.
Isn’t that being an Indie author was all about.
Exercising your right to be read,
to be seen and heard unadulterated by veils. Just one of the many insights I
gained from attending the writing in a digital age conference, held by TLC. I
will be back at the 2013 instalment of the same, as part of the storytime
sessions, talking about where I am twelve months on—wiser, more confident, and
in the throes of completing Return to 7 Islands (#2, Bombay Chronicles.) If you are wondering whether to
go Indie or if you are Indie and pondering what next, then this is where you
want to be. You will get the chance to meet fellow Indie’s as well as published
authors, publishers, and agents too (some of them are really nice too J I promise.)
Writing in a Digital Age, June 7-8, London. Tickets on sale till June 6th.
Laxmi Hariharan is a content branding
strategist and award winning author of epic fantasy. Find her at LAXMI writes
