Ann’s Comments (group member since Jan 10, 2015)

Ann’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

These are resources that we feel all Indie Authors should have access to. This means that we moderators feel that they’re worth noting. They may or may not work for you, but many authors have found them helpful. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask a Moderator. Please note that we don’t allow additional comments in this section. If you have a resource or a topic that you think should be added, please message one of us privately. Thank you!

Humor or not, Nik, please understand that some people would not find it funny. This is a group of almost 3,000 members and we're doing the best we can to keep it Supportive for everyone. Use of the term moron isn't beneficial to anyone. Thank you for understanding and if you have any questions, please feel free to message me privately. Thank you.

*clears throat* Only if we can invite Kenneth Branagh into the discussion. Let me get out my 50+ copies of Hamlet. . . as well as all the papers I've written throughout my life on the subject. . .this could take a while. Can someone chill me a Reisling?

Um, wait up Dwayne. Coffee?

Yes, Charles. I'll include it in our monthly budget.

Welcome to all the new faces!! :) Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions or are having trouble navigating the group.

Happy Friday everyone :) Drink responsibly. SIA is all for moderation!

Don't worry, I didn't spike the lemonade. . .I mean, not too strongly at least. . .

Hey all,

I apologize for my silence on this subject to this point, but I have to agree with my fellow mod Christina. We just don't know enough at this point to really see how it's going to affect authors. But Amazon has a right to make its own rules - regardless of who they'll help and who they'll hinder. And you have every right to your individual opinion regarding the situation.

HOWEVER,

as stated, this is a Support for Indie Authors thread. We encourage positive thinking because it's crucial for us in this industry. Negativity has never gotten anyone anywhere.

I'm closing this discussion thread because it's sparking more arguments and negative/hurt feelings than it is helping. We've strayed from our goal to find and promote resources to help indie authors and instead are sinking into the easier path of what ifs.

I realize that change is frustrating. But we all knew that self publishing was going to be the less traveled road. I encourage everyone to take a deep breath, shake off the discussion, and attempt to look on the bright side. We're pushing forward and we'll KEEP pushing forward.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Feel free to message me with any questions you might have. While us Mods are here to help, remember that we're human too and are simply doing the best we can to maintain a positive environment for our fellow indie authors.

Thank you all for your help.

Ann

Please note that we are considering putting together our very own website. . .but that requires funds. So we are working on it. We're open to suggestions on what you'd like to see included!

And now I'll be doing the same. . .

Also to stay on point, I submitted a whole two query letters. And then I was introduced to self publishing. I've never looked back.

Here's what surprises me: we offer FREE beta reading and very few authors take us up on it. The free help is out there, the resources are here. How's that saying go? "Ask and you shall receive."

Because writing is an impulse much like cleaning my house is. I listen to authors talk about strategizing and forming their plans and I'm fascinated. I try that every once in a while and I struggle the whole time. But when the impulse strikes, I can write for hours and have no clue where the words are coming from.

I'm thinking my purple pens that I do much of my writing with and maybe my favorite drinking glass. Or one of my many writing buddies, like my miniature William Shakespeare figurine.

Sorry Hayden!! I'm doing the best I can! 75 books read so far this year!

I apologize for my pitchfork. It's a very sensitive topic for me as it's a battle I seem to fight daily. Although my opponents seem to be, more often than not, other indie authors as opposed to readers. This frustrates me to no end. I expected some traditional publishing backlash but never expected such disdain for indie author within the indie author community! (If that makes sense.) So yeah, I get a little fired up :) Very sorry.

Vodka water here. Yay 0 carbs.

Yes it's obviously a hot topic. One that I have no issue with people debating. But this group is for Indie Authors. We're here to support each other, build each other up, HELP one another. Not refer to other books as crap (even the ones I don't like, and yes they do exist). Not my cup of tea, not within my preferred genre, not my favorite book, but never ever crap.

The reason why I encourage this group to refrain from that type of language is because it's not beneficial to anyone. Telling someone politely and with respect "Look, I think your book needs a little more editing before you consider publishing it" is a lot different than "This sucks. Someone needs to tell you before a reviewer tells you."

Positive encouragement here folks. The world has enough negativity in it without us hurling at one another within a support group.

This thread is giving me a headache.

The questions that you're posing open up a huge can of other questions.

Have you given up on shopping because some retailers out there refuse to adhere to quality standards? I took my son to a fast food chain the other day -- I won't name it -- and with his hot dog, he received a toy. It was, quite frankly, junk. Cheap plastic. To me: Junk. But he LOVED it. It's still in the car and he wants it any time we go anywhere.

When you start giving people control over "standards" and "gatekeeping" in an industry, you give those people control over what gets published and what doesn't. Then the system inevitably corrupts because NO ONE is impartial.

So let's take that scenario with my son and adjust it slightly. I'm a book gatekeeper. This book comes through my email and I think "Oooooh, yeah, sorry. Doesn't live up to our standards." And I refuse to allow it to be published. My son just missed out on a book that he would have LOVED because I made a decision based on my opinion alone. Ridiculous.

And consider the implications for art and artists.

How dare we, mere individuals, try to put standards on a form of art. Shame on those of you who frown on so called "crap." That IS NOT what this group is about and I'm quite sick and tired of hearing about it.

Don't like the indie book you're reading? Return it. If you got it for free and "wasted" 15 minutes and can't find a damn thing to take from it, that's what, 5 commercials worth of your attention span? Deal with it.

Grow up.