Blogmas #14-Reading Indie

I love Indie authors but they have featured already in my posts so far this month and I don't really want to repeat myself. Today I'm just going to chat a little about why I enjoy them and why more people could be reading and promoting them.

INDIE AUTHORS ARE CRAP WRITERS THAT CAN'T GET PUBLISHED! 
Nooooo, so not true! Yes there are some bad authors who self publish a vanity project just to say they've done it but that is certainly not true of all indie and self published authors. The mainstream publishers can be picky about what they decide to take on, and have their own opinions on what people want to read. Our Indie authors don't always fit into this neat little box and get rejected for many reasons, despite having written something really good. Y'know 'it isn't the right time for this kind of book' or 'the subject matter isn't popular at the moment' etc. Smaller Indie companies however, can specialise in horror or SF or something and give a lot of these authors a chance to publish their books.

Mainstream publishers can also put heavy demands on an author, wanting them to change endings, cut out and edit things, have a certain type of cover and so on. A lot of authors don't want their work mutilated and have a cover forced on them. The self publishing route allows the author to retain more creative control through the entire process, which can be attractive to an author who is protective of their work. It is important of course to pick the right company for your work. 

ALL INDIE BOOKS HAVE CRAP EDITING! 
I admit that a lot of Indie and self published work has not been edited properly. I've seen books released that are no better than a thrown together first draft and it is dreadful to wade through all the mistakes and try to make sense of some of the mess. I've seen my share of books like that. I can forgive the odd spelling or grammar issue here and there if the actual story is really good. I can gloss over small issues and still take great enjoyment from the book. Lots of Indie authors do take it seriously and try to eliminate all the errors and there are plenty of them that have no errors at all. Besides, I've got mainstream books that also have editing and grammar issues and they have been professionally edited and produced. 

It all comes down to whether you can forgive the odd error to enjoy the story. There are so many brilliant books out there that you could be missing out on by totally avoiding these authors, for fear of a couple of words with spelling errors.

WHY SHOULD I READ THEM THEN? 
There are great authors waiting to be discovered! There are exciting books that don't get the same publicity and attention that mainstream books get! The authors are easier to connect with and are grateful for every review and blog post you do about their work. A lot of their work includes giving away the first book free to persuade you to them read the rest of a series. They have the same love of books and vivid imaginations that people like JK Rowling have and if you give them a try, you will find some real gems. Yes there is chaff to wade through too but really, we take a risk every time we pick up a new book or try a new author, regardless of how they publish. We never know what we'll love until we give stuff a try!

Why not make it your new year resolution to read more Indie and self published authors next year? I'll be doing that and sharing the books with you on my blog. Chuckles Book Cave is proud to promote Indie books and I hope you join me on that journey next year!