Entering my third year as an indie, it is my responsibility to impart sage wisdom to the world. (Don’t blink, or you might miss it.) See the series introduction post for more on my saga. But for now, lesson #5 for 2012:
Editing can mean a dozen different things.
Indie artists go independent for a myriad of reasons. One reason to go indie is an obstinate sort of contempt for convention. Not all indies are this way, but many are. (Don’t look around the room. I’m looking at you.)
A little Dennis Hopper style anti-establishmentarianism can be a good thing. But not if it means we smoke so much of our own genius we end up writing a book about vintage hair clippings we’ve collected from barber shop floors, or we publish a novel containing nothing but hand gestures.