Is Indie Publishing Taken Seriously?

When I first decided to go down the indie self publishing route it was a free choice. I didn't spend the previous decade hunting down agents and traditional publishers on an endless mission trying to find someone to take me on. I did the research for both options and decided indie publishing would be the best route for me.

I think I have been very fortunate to be an indie author in this era of spectacular technology. We are doing things now which didn't seem possible last decade. If someone had suggested to me five years ago that you could be a successful writer and earn a decent living through self publishing, I think I would have laughed in their faces. From time to time, it still seems so strange that people can write a quality book and place it on the Internet for the whole world to buy.

But that is now the reality. We can do this so easily, as long as we are prepared to dedicate ourselves to the commitment this career needs. And this is the pivotal point of my post: are people starting to take indie publishing seriously?

Maybe it's still a mixed bag of thoughts. Maybe at this present time it is still uncertain. But what about five years from now, when technology has developed further and the tardis is no longer just part of the fantasy world. Will indie authors be able to write their job description on a piece of paper without receiving funny looks? Will everyone know what that job title means?

Maybe indie publishing will give authors greater freedom and flexibility. Most people who have successful careers have the choice of where to live, and this is the thought that gave me the inspiration to write this blog post today. Will indie publishing give authors the option to move country if they so desire?

Most countries say in order for people to live there they have to have something of value to give that country. Skilled workers such as doctors and scientists can travel freely because they have desired knowledge about a specialist subject.

But would writers be on the same level if they just produced books and made a decent living? As long as you have the money and don't have a criminal record, I don't see why this would be a problem. It's something for us to think about anyway and I've had a lot of feedback to this question so far. So let's see if we can continue the debate. Would you move overseas if you're career allowed it? If I ever get to this point maybe I'll be on the first plane to Canada or the States ;)