My first three novels were all traditionally published through New York.

The sales were bad enough on the last one that I would have had to go to a pen name if I’d wanted to sell to New York again.

However, before that happened, my life imploded and I stopped writing fiction for two years.

When I surfaced, I ended up writing a trilogy that was broken. (I eventually redrafted it from scratch and it became a single book, The Harps of the Six Kingdoms.) That took another three years.

By the time I was finished with all of that…indie publishing had started.

I hadn’t planned on going full bore indie. I sent The Clockwork Fairy Kingdon to more than one New York publisher (they both turned it down.) But indie gave me such control. I didn’t have to wait for years before a book came out. I could hire a really good editor. I could have fantastic covers.

Plus, you know, money.

My publishing company is Knotted Road Press. I publish a few other writers, besides myself, including my husband Blaze Ward.

If I started hearing of fantastic contracts coming out of traditional publishers, I would probably start submitting to them. Fantastic contracts that included publisher accountability.

But right now, I hear a lot of horror stories. Even the people who are publicly happy with their publisher make a lot of different noises in private. Or one-two years down the road when their editor leaves and they’re suddenly orphaned. Or…The horror stories continue to roll out.

I do still traditionally publish my short fiction. I continue to have stories traditionally published.

So I’m a hybrid, well and truly. Makes sense to me to not have my eggs all in one basket.

However.

This is the right decision for me to make for my writing career. What is right for your writing career? Only you can figure that out.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN CAREER.

As a writer, you have choices now. And that makes all the difference in the world.