Saying "Goodbye" to my Agent

Wow, never thought I'd title a post with that.

I know that some of you are grabbing your head in your hands, screaming at the computer. "Why?" I would have been that person not so long ago.

Here's the long and the short of it.

 Advances in traditional market are low right now. Really, really low. Why would I tie up a novel in a one to two year process for $2500 (on a good day) when I could put it out myself; in that two year period make that same money, and then some, on my own? That route doesn't make as much sense as it once did, nor is it as potentially profitable.

 Would you rather chase after a publishing house or have them come to you? I choose to HOPE that by publishing on my own, they will come to me. And if they don't? I'll survive. I'll just need each of you to buy 10 books. ;p

The traditional world of publishing is 1, maybe 2 books a year. With the way things are now, readers don't have the patience they once did to wait for a year. We should be putting out (this is from a kindle bestseller) 3-4 books a year if you want to keep your readers from forgetting about you and moving on to the next authors work.

You'll never get that with a traditional publisher.

Finally, and most importantly, my agent just didn't have time for me, as much as she made a last ditch effort to connect with me. I've been with her for over a year, the last 7 months she's been MIA due to personal issues, but even before that, I was having to dodge her heels to make things happen. That is not my job. My job is to write. I'm grateful she thought well enough of me to take me on, but that isn't enough, not in this market.

So that's it, those are my reasons without getting into the nitty, gritty detailas as to why I left my agent, and am striking out completely on my own. Maybe you have reasons, different than mine, to go indie too?