Being Independent

Spiders are independent from birth.

  

I have never had mainstream taste. I don't watch American Idol. In fact, I don't even have cable, something that I believe benefits me in my writing.
But I was inspired this week by Laura Pepper Wu's     Magic Monday Weekly Tip, which I receive in my email box every week. If you haven't heard of her, you should check out her site. In her most recent Magic Monday, she made what I thought to be a very helpful comparison between what's considered salable by publishers and what indie authors are bringing to the table.
I for one, resent being at the mercy of corporations who decide what I can watch on television. Which is why most times when I sit down to watch, or usually write while the tv is on, I pop in a dvd of one of my favorite tv shows.
We have a lot to be gained by exiting the mainstream, whether it be media, movies, or books, or should I say, especially books. Some of my favorite books have been found at the library. Annie Proulx's book, The Shipping News  , comes to mind. I took it home without knowing a thing about her writing and long before the movie was ever made. Not knowing what to expect, it quickly turned out to be one of those stories that I couldn't put down and stayed with me, still is. While some New York Times Bestsellers have been so much not my taste that I've donated them to charity even before finishing them.
So whether you are an independent author, like me, or just a fan of books, there is more out there than we are offered by major publishers, just as from mainstream media. Give one of them a chance, they'll probably surprise you.
Being independent means going out on your own limb, hoping it doesn't snap out from under you, and showing the world you in a way that most people probably never will. Your writing is a piece of you, because art is a self portrait. And... art includes writing in all its forms. Being yourself can be frightening, but in the end, I believe it's worth it.