If you check through all of the law books, you won't find any prohibition against taking full control of your of  your writing career. There are no federal, state, or local laws stating it's illegal to get your book into print without having to share your hard earned money with an agent or big name publisher. When the Constitution states we have "freedom of speech", that extends to the forms and methods we use to have our say through our writing. Ok, it's true there are limitations placed on what you say. You can't slander people or promote illegal activities. But that's not my point here. The bottom line is you won't be arrested and imprisoned for choosing to be an independent author.
     Now take a look around the internet at what other published writers have to say on the topic. Remember, they're free to state their opinions. Most authors who've spent years searching for an agent will say that publishing your own book is "taking the easy way out". They also say that by doing so, you're "not paying your dues". Worse, they'll accuse independent writers of not "honing their craft" because if we did, we'd have a book any agent would jump on in a second. By the sounds of things, they'd prefer if laws were passed making anything but the traditional route to getting published illegal.
     Now it's my turn to have my say. I think some of these authors are angry they didn't think about doing exactly as I've chosen to do with my novels. Some may even be jealous of the fact that an independent author will receive a higher royalty on each book sold. They actually have to sell more books to get the same payoff I'll get for selling less. What they fail to realize is that there is more work to do on my part than they'll ever have to do. Not only do I have to write my own stories, I have to act as my own editor, promoter, and salesperson. It's not always an easy task. I don't get to pass my manuscript on to someone else and do nothing more than sit back and wait for the checks to roll in.
     If you decide to do all of the work yourself, be proud of your accomplishments. Stand up and loudly proclaim you're an independent author. Even if you only ever sell one copy of your book, you've sold more than hundreds or thousands of other people who've never chased their dream to write a book and get it into print. The police aren't going to track you down, put you in handcuffs, and haul you off to jail.

Being an independent author is not a crime!