The Impact of Indie Authors on Fantasy

The genre of fantasy as we know it today began with the works of such radical authors as Fritz Lieber, Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley and J.R.R. Tolkien. Back in those wild and wonderful days it was a radical departure from the mainstream and not really even considered to be respectable.

'Two Sought Adventure' by Fritz Lieber was first published in 1939, in the magazine 'Unknown'. This tale later evolved into the epic 'Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser' series. Not only did he spawn the sub-genre of sword-and-sorcery novels, such popular games as Dungeons & Dragons owe much of their existence to his work.

'The Hobbit' was first published in 1937, and was soon followed by 'The Lord of the Rings'. Tolkien was the first author of high fantasy to receive wide acclaim, perhaps because he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon and English Language at Oxford University, lending some degree of legitimacy to his work. His success lent some measure of respectability to the genre as a whole, and paved the way for those who followed him such as Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Terry Brooks.

These authors were trailblazers, and only the bolder, more daring of the publishers would take a chance on publishing them. As a reader, during the 1960s and 1970s I had a hard time finding books that fell into that obscure genre of fantasy. Most of the books that were available I had already read, and there were not nearly as many being written as I wished for. Fortunately in the late 1970s an explosion of sorts occurred in the field of fantasy, and suddenly it was not only more available, it was cool! Everyone was reading J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock and Roger Zelazney, and they were talking about it! The variety and scope of the new fantasy genre was amazing, and still I read the books faster than they could write them.

Still, even with the demand for fantasy books it was hard for an author to get published. The smaller publishing houses gradually closed or were absorbed by the larger houses. There were fewer publishers because traditional publishing is an expensive business, and the cost of publishing a book that might not be a blockbuster was quite prohibitive even for the large publishing houses.

This meant that although publishers were swamped with submissions, they were either unable or unwilling to take a chance on most unknown authors. An author had to be in the right place at the right time with the right manuscript for them to receive an offer of a contract. This also meant that at times over the last twenty years, much of the fantasy that was available to readers like me was often formulaic and somewhat canned. Much of it had been tailored to sell to specific niches, and was quite dumbed-down. Where was the ingenuity, the fire, the heroic saga of the good and the damned?

Enter the world of the e-book. Now, previously unpublished authors can not only find a venue for their work, they are often successfully publishing it themselves. Yes, there are often some editing and formatting issues, but quite frankly, the fiasco with the first upload of the e-book edition of 'Son of Neptune' by Rick Riordan proves that formatting for e-books is hinky and arcane, even for the mighty Tor Books Publishing Company. With manuscripts being submitted electronically there are more and more opportunities for the Big Six publishing companies to suffer the slings and arrows of version-control disasters.

Currently the genre of fantasy encompasses some 24,969 e-books at Amazon.com! 15 years ago I was lucky to find 10 new books in a year. Now I can find any number of wonderful fantasy reads for the simply amazing price of $2.99. Many are free, and many are $0.99 but at these prices I can afford to buy a lot of them and that is what I do! Now I am spoiled!

Not every book is a winner, and many are not that great. Still, I have found some of the most innovative and radical authors to be the Independent Authors. This is because, as yet, their creativity is not constrained by what will sell to the masses. The indie author has a day job, and writes what he wants to read, not what his publisher has deemed to be commercially viable.

These are the books that are written with passion and ardor for the tale, and these are the books that I search for, like a truffle-hunting hound. These books take chances, and push the boundaries. These books have a soul, that rare thing that makes a book a classic.

Now that ah-ha moment happens sometimes in the established publishing world. Brandon Sanderson has done quite well and so have Tad Williams and Mercedes Lackey. Their work reigns supreme, and rightfully so. But these shining examples of genius have become rare because genius is often not appreciated by the public until it is out of print, and somewhere along the line over the last twenty years the people in marketing decided that the reading public wants to be spoon-fed.

The indie movement has brought new blood to a genre that was growing stale, and that can only be good.

Lorna Suzuki, Glenn Thater, Alison DeLuca, Dean Lappi, and M. Todd Gallowglas - these are the new heroes to me. I am waiting on pins and needles for their next novel, and I am not the only one! And while I am waiting I eagerly read every new novel by other indie authors that I come across, looking for that next masterpiece. Even if I have never heard of that author, I will still give that book a try. At those prices I can afford to buy a book that runs the risk of not really enchanting me. Danielle Raver, Shaun Allan, and my good host today, Thomas A. Knight, these authors have not only enchanted me, they have made me a confirmed follower of their work.

Once in a while I will go back to check on the authors that I love who are fortunate enough to be published by the big mainstream houses, but when the big name publisher charges $7.99 to $15.99 for a kindle download, there is the chance that I may just walk away, no matter how long I have been waiting for that book.

The indie movement is driven by economics, both in the ability of Joe Author to get his work published and the ability of the reading public to cheaply feed their ever-growing reading habits.

The impact of indie authors on the genre of fantasy has been mixed. There has been a huge flowering of wonderful, well drawn tales in vivid and beautiful worlds. Conversely, there has been a large influx of wannabe-Tolkiens who don't bother to get to know their characters, or have their books edited properly, and who don't think that the rules of grammar and readability apply to them. What these authors need to understand is that word of mouth is still a powerful tool for driving sales. I always recommend the works that moved me, and widened my horizons. I do not recommend the books that were stinkers.

I want to thank Thomas A. Knight for having me as his guest today. His book 'The Time Weaver' is one of my current reads, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely. It is a wonderful adventure set in an alternate world, and is a very creditable first novel. I am a confirmed fan!