But it’s definitely not easy.

Publishers and agents are spammed with thousands of submissions every month. Combine that with a shrunken bookselling market and inflating overheads, and it’s no wonder they’ve prioritized works that are more likely to find a wide audience. These are businesses, and they need to make money.

And so do writers, hence the rise of self-publishing. Yet, therein lies difficult choices. Upfront costs are high, and so is risk. Many self-publishers minimize these costly risks by betting on large platforms (*cough* evil river *cough*), but doing so means relinquishing control. It can also mean endorsing anti-consumer and anti-competitive practices.

There’s nothing wrong with using big platforms for selling your work, we all need to eat, but some of us would rather there was a smaller, more independent alternative. An online store owned by multiple self-publishers, used to sell our work without holding our noses and diving into big business. A place that was a little bit DIY, a whole lot irreverent, and with a healthy dose of the attitude that made punk a cultural force fifty years ago. Eff the man, we’re going to make our own platform.

So, if you’re a writer and you’re interested in getting involved, get in touch. We’re organizing.