You want me to read WHAT?!: Why you should give Indie books a shot

The publishing industry is going through a fundamental transformation. Self published authors have sprung up and are now selling their books online right next to the traditionally published authors. And those indie authors are sometimes selling a LOT of books.

But how good are the indie books? Well, let’s be honest: some of them are horrible. And I mean H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. Luckily, with e-books, you can download a good portion of the book to see what you are getting. Better news, e-books can often be downloaded for free. Yup, free. So you don’t lose any money.

Why else should you try an Indie author? A couple of reasons. First, it is getting tougher and tougher for new writers to break into traditional publishing. What that means is quality writers who would have been snapped up a decade ago, are now self-publishing instead. In fact, agents and publishers are reported to be trolling the internet looking for the books generating sales.

Two, all your favorite authors were at one time unpublished, praying that someone, anyone, would read their book and like it.

Not convinced yet? Okay. Well, here’s something that might tempt you: Indie books are often priced incredibly low and sometimes free. Why free? Well, Amazon has a program called KDP Select that allows authors to get paid, while offering their books for zero dollars.

Okay, so now we know traditional publishers are less likely to take on new authors, all your favorite authors were at one point unpublished, and three, you can often pick up an indie for very little or absolutely nothing. So now you’re saying, yeah, let’s try those indie books. Where can I find them?

Well, they’re at all online books distributors. But sometimes it’s a little difficult to parcel them out. I’ve found a website that I like that tells me about the latest reductions in indie books, including books that are offered free. At Bookbub.com, you choose the type of books you are interested in, and they send you an email everyday telling you what the latest deals are. It’s great! (Caveat: To be included in Bookbub, authors do have to pay. So the site does not cover all indie books, only those that pay to be included.)

So give a struggling author a thrill. Read their book. You might just like it.