Support Your Local Indie Author

Okay, I don’t like bugging people because you all have lives of your own, but if you read my book and like it, please tell someone. Put a review on Amazon, Good Reads, SmashWords or your own blog. Then let me know about it so I can put it on my website.

Now you are saying “I don’t know how to write a review.” You don’t have to be a literary major with a detailed critique. It doesn’t have to be long. A few sentences are fine. It also doesn’t and shouldn’t be over the top like “the greatest book I ever read.” Just give your honest opinion. What would you tell a friend if you recommended the book to them?

The New Yorker sure as heck won’t review an Indie author. We are rebels, an underground movement fighting the establishment. And when you support an Indie author instead of some big publishing house telling you what to read, then you are a rebel, too. We don’t have the backing of mass media, we need a grassroots campaign.

Most people probably assume I am self-published because no publisher wanted me. It’s just the opposite. I never submitted my book to anyone. I have heard too many horror stories. The New York Publishers are using practices that would not be tolerated in other business community, like contracts a lawyer couldn’t understand (you have to get a specialized one) or tricking writers over the phone into “signing” verbal contracts (legal in New York.) Even if they play fair the best you can ever hope for is 8% of the profits (and that’s only if you are a superstar.) I’m a small town girl who is used to being treated fairly. I decided I didn’t want to deal with these guys.

Another problem is I’ve heard so many authors complain about how they get rewritten by publishers--not to make a better book but to sell more copies. They don’t recognize their book anymore. Throw in some S&M scenes and some zombies. I have heard of many authors being turned down with “we love the book, but we don’t think the general public (who we think are morons) would like it.” I am willing to rewrite to make a scene better, but not to make it “sell better” to people who watch slash films.

Thanks to Print On Demand and ebooks, authors can circumvent the big boys to get to the readers. The good news anyone can publish now. The bad news is anyone can publish now. There is a lot junk out there from writers who don’t bother to get an editor and polish their first draft. So Indies need reviews, word of mouth, to let other readers know what is worth reading.

If you don’t like my writing, that’s fine. It just means you prefer a different genre or style. (If everyone liked the same thing I would have to write about sparkly vampires.) However, I do want you to support the Indies you do like, since they are in the same boat as me. At least hit the “like” button on their Amazon page.

Be part of the Indie Uprising. Viva la Revolution!