What Indie really means…

Indie does not mean ‘low quality’. It essentially means that as an author or publisher that you have decided to pay for the publishing process yourself. You are willing to pay for editing, copyediting, illustration/cover design, copyright, marketing, book formatting/typesetting, ebook charges, and print costs. People that decide to go indie do so with the full knowledge that this is an expensive endeavor that requires careful money management, realistic goals, discipline, and time. The idea that someone will spend years producing poorly conceptualized books is a false notion. Most of the independent publishers and authors have worked in this industry for a number of years as booksellers, reviewers, editors, and more recently authors. Yes, there are authors that have decided after fifteen years to begin to develop their work independently of large publishing houses. The stress, politics, and small payments written about on blogs all over the web have contributed to this development. Those looking to get published should know that most independent companies have calls for authors year round and have great success with getting their authors awards, speaking engagements, and making amazon best seller lists. I highly recommend that budding authors and publishers continue to do their research. Please learn about the industry from informed insiders that have years of experience with publishing. If you are deciding to go indie, this advice could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

 

Good luck on your journey and Happy Reading.

There is no such thing as an 'honest review'

I just finished finalizing a new book release. It took me six months to ensure that it was quality work. I know that it is review time. Currently, I am looking for reviewers. Don’t get me wrong. I know plenty of reviewers that can read my work and give reviews. However, I am that rare form of author that is brave enough to ask different people for reviews. Therefore, I search for new reviewers with each book release. This past week I stumbled across three review groups on Facebook. They were hilarious to say the least. In the description it stated that no one should ask to trade reviews or pay for positive reviews. Additionally, there was more comedy as the description stated that this was a place where ‘honest reviews’ take place (Insert laughter here).

Since everyone seems to have opinions on how authors get reviews…I think I will take a stab at it as well…

I don’t believe for one minute that most authors get ‘honest reviews” and this is why…

First, the only people that should be reviewing people’s books in my opinion are readers. This means people that actually purchase your work. If you are sending free .pdf files of your work to random people, how can you look someone in the face and state that you want honest reviews? You are gifting your work to someone and then begging for a review. There is nothing honest about this practice since in fact you are paying them with a free book.

Second, there are thousands of authors on amazon.com that make their work free for thirty days in order to garner reviews and even get best-seller status. Not only is this indeed unethical. It is once again a scam to garner reviews from people that did not pay for your work by ‘gifting’ them a free book. Further, this practice makes it look as if an author has a higher ranking on amazon.com than they actually do. Sorry authors but the scam is up.

Third, never tell someone not to pay to get a book review. That is ridiculous. There are many large review companies under the publishing industry umbrella that in fact do get paid to produce high quality and reputable reviews. What about book critics? What about literary columnists? There are also independent reviewers and those that run literary blog tours that in fact get paid to review authors work.

Finally, most authors send their work to the same review houses over and over again to ensure they are getting reviewed. Positive reviews are often based on the relationship between the author and the review house. I have seen it time and time again in this industry. Do you really think that publishing companies don’t have relationships with review companies? No one can really believe that this true.

Please stop with the ‘honest review’ nonsense. Focus on getting a more thorough review of your work that includes a review of the syntax, storyline, story elements, content, and overall writing style. This is more telling to the reader in terms of the type of experience they will have when they engage with your work. Steer clear of the ‘honest review’ mantra since this clearly hinges on something personal rather than professional. Reviews are hard enough to come by and since most readers report that this does not influence their decision to purchase there is no need to convolute this practice with foolishness.

As always happy reading!

    

    

R-E-A-D

The most essential component of any writers experience is reading. This is the way that authors learn to write, conceptualize ideas, and form those ideas on paper. Most best- selling authors are avid readers. They have their favorite authors and name them quite often. They attend writer’s retreats, participate in writing groups, and exchange books with one another. At the core of great writing, is the pleasure or indulgence of reading a great works. There are some writers that go to school to learn to write and/or to learn to teach writing. Others are self-taught through library programs, writing workshops, and self-help books. The majority of the writers that are self-taught can name at least fifty books that they have read several times. Although they are writers they haven’t quite reached the level of their favorite writers and work a lifetime to achieve a fraction of this greatness.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “There is creating reading as well as creating writing.”

Many authors hold that truth to self-evident regardless of the genres they read and write. I encourage those that want to be really great writers to read, often.

As always, here are some reading recommendations until next time:

Classic Read:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

African American Fiction:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Contemporary African American Fiction:
Deadly Sexy by Beverly Jenkins

Children’s Book:
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Young Adult Novel:
I hadn’t meant to tell you this by Jacqueline Woodson

Happy reading!