Support Your Local Indie Author!
As I sit here munching on some dark chocolate kisses (my muse insists on those, and if she doesn't get them she gets awfully cranky!), I thought I'd tell you, if you don't already know, just a bit about a fascinating subspecies of humanity known as the "indie author."
Indiana Jones, Not Necessarily To Be Confused With Indie Authors
"Indie," of course, is short for "independent," as opposed to Indiana, as in Indiana Jones (and if you're wondering who Indiana Jones is, click here!), or the lesser-known state of the same name. A number of indie authors may fancy they have a great deal in common with the famous hero, but most aren't nearly as good looking, can't crack a whip worth a damn, and look silly wearing Jones's trademark hat (I manage all three, of course, but I don't want to brag).
What they can do, however is write. I bring this fact to your attention because there is a huge literary domain out there that you may have never been aware of, a largely unexplored realm beyond the plot-line sausage factories of the major publishers.
So just what is an "indie author," you may ask? An indie is someone who has, for whatever reason, chosen to brave the perilous path to publishing his or her work…alone. The indie not only puts the story into words, but shapes and forms it through a grueling series of edits (often with the help of joyfully sadistic friends), properly formats it for print and the growing variety of ebook formats, and – in many cases – the author even does the cover art.
In the past, indie authors were generally derided in the larger publishing world as not being "real" authors because they hadn't found a Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka and been picked up by a publisher. But that stigma is gradually dissipating as the reading public gets more of a taste of what some of these pirates of prose (sorry, we just watched Pirates Of The Caribbean movies the other night and I had to say that) have to offer.
"Okay," says you in your best pirate-y voice, "what do these indie scalawags have to offer?"
In short, indie authors offer you the complete freedom of their imaginations, unbound by the rigid marketing principles of the big publishers. They are, truly, artists unchained, and you can find stories of every kind imaginable, and many wonderful works that don't fit the narrow bounds of the big publishers, but are awesome to read. To be fair, not all indies are an undiscovered Stephen King or J.K. Rowling: just as in the traditional publishing world, quality runs the full gamut from hurl-in-the-garbage awful to spellbound-into-the-wee-hours fantastic.
The nice thing is, though, with new technology like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook (among others), you don't have to take a chance on an indie author before you plunk down your hard-earned gold: you can sample their work! And if you prefer print books, many authors, such as myself, offer free samples on their sites, or would be happy to email you sample chapters if you request them (heck, some authors even offer an entire book for free!). Remember, they wrote their story just for readers like you: they want you to read their work! Indie books also tend to be much less expensive than many of the books from the big houses, which is another nice thing, especially if you're a voracious reader.
So give an indie author a try today. How do you know if an author's an indie? Well, they don't carry badges (although I should suggest that at the next Indie Author Indiana Jones Lookalike Contest), but they're not hard to find. Google for them on the web, or search for them on Facebook or Twitter. They're out there.
And, because I'm both a reader and an author, I'll be posting reviews on my favorite indie books and authors that hopefully will help guide you to ones that you'll enjoy. So keep a weather eye out for posts in the Indie Reviews section (or sign up for my newsletter), and enjoy your journey of reading discovery!
