Those who practice the other Fine Arts all have long traditions as independent artists who are free to produce, promote and sell their own works. Authors, on the other hand, despite their being Artists, have traditionally been shackled to the pursuit of approval from others, in order to publish their works of Art.

The practice of seeking agents and contracts from publishers grants control over artistic output and income that other artists would not tolerate. But it is authors who provide publishers with their means of making a living, by hiring them to be the middlemen between the producer and the consumer (hiring an agent merely adds another middleman), an approach that dates back to when few could afford to own and operate a printing press.

Personally affordable computer technology has nullified that anachronistic hegemony, but even in the age of the Indie Author-Publisher, too many writing Artists are willing to concede to the demands of retailers who insist on…