Why Indie Authors are Cheering for Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift. Musician, billionaire businesswoman, and all-around global phenomenon is publishing her Eras Tour coffee table book without going through a big publishing house. With this bold choice, she’s effectively joining the ranks of the self-published (albeit with a dream team of pros behind her!).

For those of us in the indie author world, this is encouraging news. Renowned for her business acumen as well as her music, Taylor’s choice reinforces the idea that self-publishing can be strategic, powerful, and, yes, worthy of respect.

My decision to go indie was similarly strategic, although on an altogether different scale! I knew that, as I’d done for decades in my corporate and consulting career, I could hire skilled professionals to produce a quality book while retaining my creative freedom and rights. And just as Taylor’s choice gives her control over distribution, timing and design, self-publishing gave me the flexibility to shape my author career on my own terms. 

Yet, despite all the upsides, there’s still that lingering stigma—the head tilts and wrinkled noses, as though I’ve just confessed to photocopying my nan’s recipe book and crayoning my own cover! But now, with Taylor showing the world another way, maybe people will begin to see self-publishing for what it really is: a choice. 

So, thank you, Taylor, for reminding the world that indie publishing is not a fallback; it’s a path worth taking.