Wait, what? Indie publish after being published by the Big Five? Who does that? Isn’t it the dream of indie-pubbed authors to write a successful book or series that leads to discovery by an agent or big publisher? From there on out, it’s easy street—right?

It’s an often-heard aspiration. And sometimes, it works. The “indie to big-time traditional” publication trajectories of authors E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey), Andy Weir (The Martian), and Lisa Genova (Still Alice), among others, are well documented.

For me, things moved in the other direction.

In the summer of 2013, shortly after I landed an agent, my debut standalone psychological suspense novel, The Bookseller, sold to HarperCollins in a pre-empt. With two HarperCollins editors competing for the manuscript, I was permitted to choose my editor and imprint. Harper, the imprint I chose, put its full marketing and PR resources into the novel, and buzz began building six months before the book’s spring 2015 publication. The Bookseller made the Indie Next list, becoming a favorite among independent booksellers. Trade reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and my agent sold international rights in 18 countries. I’ll never forget the day when she called to say Julia Roberts wanted to option the book for her production company, Red Om. Just as exciting was seeing The Bookseller hit the New York Times bestseller list.

I didn’t quit my day job, but as a freelance writer and editor, I cut back my hours so I could write my next novel, The Glass Forest. By the time it was complete, however, my editor at Harper had retired. The editor assigned to take over the reins for The Bookseller was a lovely person, but nonfiction was her jam, and she passed.

Soon thereafter, my agent sold rights for The Glass Forest to Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster—leading me to believe I’d found a new, permanent publishing home. Touchstone did a fine job with The Glass Forest, which hit the USA Today bestseller list and received solid reviews. Rights were sold in seven countries.

But later that same year, Touchstone abruptly folded. The Glass Forest, along with other Touchstone titles, was farmed out to another Simon & Schuster imprint. The editors at that imprint, stretched thin like everyone in publishing, put no resources toward my year-old novel. In publishing, this is known as being “orphaned.” Although aware that it happens frequently, I hadn’t expected it to happen to me. Twice, no less.

Undaunted, I began writing another novel—just as Covid was about to change the world. Isolated like everyone else, I accepted a wonderful opportunity: editing Denver Noir, part of Akashic Books’ celebrated Noir series of location-specific mystery anthologies. Granted, Denver Noir, which published in spring 2022, wasn’t a novel—but it got my name on the cover of another book, and I was grateful for the opportunity and experience.

By then, my third novel, Anyone but Her, was complete, and my agent took it out on sub that summer. While surprised by the passes from Big Five and midsize houses, I concluded that despite my street cred, the novel wasn’t the best it could be. I completely rewrote it, top to bottom—but my agent didn’t share my enthusiasm, and we parted ways.

I was fortunate to quickly sign with a new agent. She loved the book, but she was unable to submit it to any of the editors who had previously passed. Why? That’s simply the way the business works. After an editor has passed on one version of your book, rarely will they give it a second look. My new agent put together an alternative list, but again the passes arrived. Many editors said they loved the book but “couldn’t determine how to break it out in this market.”

Both indie- and trad-pubbed authors can likely relate to the notion that, while “breakout” would be wonderful, what most of us aspire to is simpler: respectable sales and a developing fan base. But editors at Big Five and midsize houses see it differently. Generally, they take on a book only if they can convince their sales teams that major sales are possible. Those numbers apply mostly to big-name authors, along with the occasional debut.

If, as an author, you have an ongoing relationship with a house or editor, the equation is slightly different: the publisher is often willing to accept more modest sales projections in exchange for working with a known quantity within their organization.

As a twice-orphaned author, where did that leave me? Time to give up, right?

Nope. Instead, I hired the developmental editor I’d worked with on The Bookseller. A former agent, she has a spot-on editorial eye, and I trust her completely.

I told her I was thinking about indie publishing the novel but would only do so if I could release a book that was as high quality as my Big Five–pubbed titles. Before fully committing to going indie, I wanted her editorial take on the manuscript. Her assessment resulted in a subtle yet important shift to the storyline. I made that shift, and Anyone but Her is significantly stronger for it.

So, I decided to forge a new, indie path. In September 2024, Anyone but Her was published in print and e-book under my own imprint. My agent sold audio rights, and in November, Tantor Media released an audiobook. That same month, Anyone but Her won the Indie Author Project contest in the mystery/thriller category.

As all indie authors can attest, this path is not for the faint of heart. I’ve never worked harder to get a book into the world as I did in 2024. But I’m as proud of Anyone but Her as I am of my trad-pubbed titles. I’m thankful that I decided to trust my gut and keep going.

This year has taught me two important lessons. First, quality—in both content and production—will always be my top priority. If for any reason I can’t put out a quality book, then I’m better off shelving the manuscript, working on something else, and seeing where that takes me.

Second, while I might return to traditional publishing, I’m not restricted to it. Indie publishing has come a long way, and I’m excited to have joined the ranks of successful indie authors. Going forward, I see indie as an effective publishing option.

I truly feel the sky’s the limit. I hope you do, too.

Cynthia Swanson is the author of the psychological suspense novels The Bookseller, The Glass Forest, and Anyone But Her.