The "Indie" Position

I have noticed that Author Solutions, in addition to marketing to older generations, (as discussed in an earlier post) has adopted a marketing position created around the concept of "Indie." They just recently hosted an "Indie Author Conference" (more to come about this event in a later post) and published a marketing piece called "The Next Indie Revolution." I think it is an interesting and one must assume intentional choice to use "indie" rather than "independent" in their promotional efforts. It seems to be a collective choice that has been made throughout the self-publishing industry and may not be the brainchild of ASI themselves, but nevertheless it is valuable.

"Indie", for me at least, has connotations of young, hip, unconventional, almost-radical whereas "independent" resonates as more serious, institutional, and conservative. I am further convinced of this as they compare the changes in the publishing industry to those in film and music, which have independent components that are absolutely comprised of sexier, riskier projects that conventional producers and labels would have trouble endorsing. Personally, I would be much more apt to attend the "Indie Author Conference" rather than be a participant in a convention of independent authors and while I was there I would secretly be hoping to meet some seriously off-beat, forward-thinking and possibly scandalous individuals.