Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Merge Blog Tour Event - A. M. Harte on "Being Indie"


Today, TNBBC is helping 1889 Labs celebrate the release of Merge, which is a collection of thirteen short stories, set in a world reeling from the discovery of transhumans, that charts the loves, the betrayals, and the struggle for survival in a world where humans and transhumans are uneasy neighbours.

It's a three week long blog tour that offers giveaways, short story excerpts, and other blog toury type things. TNBBC's role in this event is to kick back and allow A.M. Harte - Editor in Chief of 1889 Labs and author of Hungry For You - to dish on what being indie means to her. I encourage you to sit back as well, and discover 1889 Labs, indie collective publishing, and Merge for yourself!






THE TRICK TO BEING INDIE

I have a confession to make.

Although I am the editor-in-chief of an indie press, I've never stopped to think about what it actually means. The broad differences between traditional and indie publishing are obvious, but what does being indie mean to me? What does my press, 1889 Labs, actually want?

Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

My progression into the indie sphere was a gradual one. I started off as an avid reader of online fiction, and quickly progressed into posting online fiction of my own.

Then two things happened: ebooks surged in popularity, and I joined twitter.

Many of the writers I followed on twitter, who posted fiction online, were also talking about ebooks. Through their online work, they already had a fanbase—why wait around for some trad pubber to take notice, when they could self-publish and start selling now? As my circle of acquaintances widened, I discovered more authors releasing their own work, authors whose work I admired (Graham Storrs, Kait Nolan, and Susan Bischoff come to mind.)

Indie to me, at that point, meant going solo. Screw the big publishers, take control of your destiny. Believe in yourself and your stories.

Then I met MCM.

MCM is the founder of 1889 Labs. Back in 2006, he released a little ebook called The Pig and the Box, about a pig and a magic box (and the evils of DRM). Two million downloads later, he released it in print, under the 1889 Labs imprint, and from there the company started to grow.

1889 Labs was founded because MCM believed in himself and his stories. Because he wanted to take control of his destiny, and have the freedom to try all sorts of crazy experiments. It was, for the first few years, a solo operation, much like the indie authors I already knew.

But then MCM invited me to join 1889 Labs. And I, being far more sociable and well-connected, began to bring other people aboard. First Terra Whiteman, author of the popular webfiction series The Antithesis, then Greg X Graves, Melissa Jones, Letitia Coyne....

From a solo operation, 1889 Labs became a collective.

So what does being indie mean, for a collective like ours?

To us, indie is a way of thinking, rather than the number of people involved. Being an indie press means helping authors stay independent, giving authors choice, involving them in every step of the way. Rather than publishers, we see ourselves as enablers, helping those authors who, for whatever reason, don't want to take the solo route.

And, of course, being an indie press means having the freedom to try all sorts of future crazy experiments, too, the latest example being our paranormal thriller series MERGE.

MERGE started off as a tiny idea in MCM's head. He got talking to 1889 authors Kit Iwasaki and Yvonne Reid, and then started chatting to me, and all of a sudden we were co-writing a thirteen-story series which would be published in quick succession across 4 weeks. I made the mistake of mentioning blog tours, and now we weren't only writing a 13-story series; we were running a blog tour alongside publication, and giving away prizes like a brand new iPad.

(And if you're interested in following along with MERGE, please check out http://1889.ca/merge for full details on all the blog tour stops and how to win.)

Do you want to know our dirty secret? Only two months passed between MERGE's initial conception to its launch on May 28th. Even now, halfway into the series and blog tour, I cannot believe how quickly 1889 Labs turned the tiniest seed of an idea into reality—and when I think of it, it reminds me why it's so great to be indie.

But being part of 1889 Labs is more, to me, than being indie. It also means being part of a happy, if slightly dysfunctional, family. Except now MCM has help in bringing to life his insane ideas.

...God help me, what have I unleashed?



ABOUT AM HARTE

A.M. Harte writes twisted speculative fiction, such as the zombie love anthology Hungry For You. Lately, her time is largely consumed by MERGE, a co-authored paranormal thriller series that charts the loves, the betrayals, and the struggle for survival in a world where humans and transhumans are uneasy neighbours. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what ‘free time’ means, and is utterly addicted to chocolate.

18 comments:

  1. Gosh! You make me sound so mentally stable!

    Being indie, to me, means being able to use other people's skepticism levels about my crazy ideas as a measure of their worth. I'm really glad Anna is along for the ride, because nothing makes you feel as creative and stunning someone into silence with a brain fart you dreamed up while half-awake.

    Thanks for hosting us today!

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    1. I HAD to... I couldn't let them know the truth (that you're actually a monkey with above-monkey-level typing skills)!

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  2. well that "tiniest seed of idea into reality" is awesome! :) i so wish i could read all the stories NOW

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    1. Thanks! You'll have your wish soon enough :-)

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  3. A very interesting article. I always like reading about how these kind of crazy ideas (such as those from the people at 1889 Labs) appear, then come into fruition, from an inside perspective. We the readers see where they lead to, but usually not how they were forged.

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  4. This is great post and the points that really struck out for me is that as an indie press you are enablers in so many ways. Indie authors have choices and even more importantly, support to go with them. I started reading indie books not too long ago and one thing about the surge of ebooks is that it's able to connect more readers to authors. I know some indie books I probably wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for ebooks, since many indie books can't be found in physical bookstores. It's a treat to discover new books and authors. I didn't realize it has only been two months since Merge's conception and for such a short time it looks like its growing well.

    Happy release to Merge! I imagine when you put humans and transhumans together there's bound to be action.

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    1. Unfortunately MCM has the bad habit of coming up with really cool ideas about two days before he wants them to happen. A two month lead time is actually a LOT for us!

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  5. Great post! I like the way you describe what it is Indie. I haven't read any story of MERGE series yet but it is really good idea, very different and unique.
    Artemis

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  6. Bravo!!!:) I love seeing indie writers getting their own voice and hope to call myself one eventually once I get my drafts done.

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  7. Your story is inspiring.

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  8. uh.. Wow... Great story.. I love this point by the way.. --> "Screw the big publishers, take control of your destiny. Believe in yourself and your stories" ... Very Inspiring huh..? xD

    Thank you for sharring it to Us... ^^

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  9. Thanks for sharing your story to us! I think MCM is very thankful to you for your connections because you brought in many successful authors :)

    "To us, indie is a way of thinking, rather than the number of people involved. Being an indie press means helping authors stay independent, giving authors choice, involving them in every step of the way. Rather than publishers, we see ourselves as enablers, helping those authors who, for whatever reason, don't want to take the solo route." <- My favorite paragraph and I wholeheartedly agree!

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  10. "Only two months passed between MERGE's initial conception to its launch on May 28th"
    WOW! Didn't realized that even an Indie could be published that quickly.

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  11. Aw, gosh, gee, Anna, ain't I just blushing like a crayfish at a clambake!

    That was great background on 1889 Labs. I always wondered what the hell that was all about. (A monkey with above-monkey-level typing skills, eh? We need people like that in the Government.)

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  12. Seems like being indie is a really hard work :) But worth it! And I totally support it.

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  13. I think indie publishing should always be at the forefront of experimental ideas, like indie music labels are at their best.

    eai(at)stanfordalumni(dot)org

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  14. Thanks for sharing your experience. I wasn't sure what indie really means until I read your article.

    Bing

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  15. Your experience is an inspiration and very informative. Sometimes, indie is much better to the traditional ones.

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