It is now better than ever to be creatively driven.

Technology has made plenty of space for a boom in expressive careers, especially independent writers. Thanks to Amazon’s Kindle direct publishing, and other indie publishers like Smashwords and Createspace, new, young authors everywhere are finding an audience without financial investment or worry of being repeatedly turned down by big publishing companies that ruled the market a decade ago.

Self-published and indie-published authors are focused, determined people who’ve made full-time careers writing books in genres ranging from science fiction to dramatic biographies to mystery thrillers — even quite a few serial adult romances.

The surge in indie authors is likely due in part to the recent growth in the average American’s interest in reading. This trend seems to have come from the ease and accessibility of e-readers.

Kindles and Nooks have given readers the ability to instantly download any book they want. eBooks also provide a less expensive option for reading, making it easier for a consumer to take a risk on a new author or try out a book they’ve never heard of. A study done in 2012 suggests that the average American reads 16 books per year, but the average American with an e-reader reads 24 books per year.

Unfortunately for big traditional publishing companies, the growth in reading hasn’t benefited them nearly as much as it has the indie/self-published crowd.

According to an author earnings report from last year, indie authors are only taking 24 percent of total book revenue, but they are earning 49 percent of all genre fiction revenue. Indie authors completely outnumber traditional authors in income brackets at every level as well. Only 190 traditionally published authors are currently making more than $50,000 per year, while over 350 independent authors are making the same amount.

The increase in literary interest and ease of independent publishing has given up-and-coming authors and writers everywhere the ability to seize opportunity at its roots. If you want to write, there is nothing holding you back. There has never been a better time to make those dreams a reality.