I know what you’re thinking! “There’s a difference?” Yes, yes there is. And here are two lists to help you figure out where you fit in, in the crazy little world we call publishing!

You might be an Indie if:

1. You are Goal Oriented: If you are looking to create a fan base and earn a living from writing full time, you are on your way to being an Indie.
2. You Care About the Product You are Sending into the World: Indie authors take the time to create an exceptional product that will help them reach their goals. That means professional editing (Your family members DO NOT make good editors, sorry. You need an open honest pair of new eyes), professional cover design, and formatting. 
3. You Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Indie Author’s own a business. That’s right, writing books and selling them means you are a business owner! And with that you have all the responsibilities of making sure you are a success. That means proper book keeping as well as holding meetings with editors and cover designers. That email you just sent to your editor or agent was work. Cool right?
4. You Once Dreamed of Being Traditionally Published: Or you at least thought about it. Seeing your book on the shelves of your favorite book stores… **Sigh** Maybe you found an Agent but they were unable to sell your book to a publisher. You got feedback like, “We really loved this book, but we can’t sell it right now.” So, you headed over to Amazon or Smashwords to see if that were really true. Yeah, you’re an Indie. 

You might be a self-published Author if:

1.  You Just Want a Few Copies of Your Book to Give to Friends and Family: If your goal was simply to write the book but not to sell it to tons of people. You might be self-published. 
2. Cook Book: This isn’t to say you can’t be an indie and sell cook books, I’m sure that can be lucrative, but if you collected your Grandmother’s recipes for family members, you’re self-published 🙂
3. Family History: I love this idea, but the chances that other people will find the Frosch family as interesting as I do are pretty slim… I think. So, that one will be for me and the other Frosch’s.  
4. Niche Text Books: If you know about something that could be interesting for a few people and you just want throw it out there. Self-Publishing is for you. 🙂 PS With proper marketing, niche markets can make decent money but most likely not life changing. 

Self-Publishing is also a gateway decision! You might find yourself eager and on the indie path before you know it!
There you have it! I hope this helped your understanding of the two groups of Authors!