Why don't more people read Self-published authors? Showing 101-150 of 2,452

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for validating what I've been trying to get accross. In this new book revolution, with e-books, everybody wins.

[[deleted user]]

David Rory wrote: "Peggy how are eBooks free?
Do you not pay an editor?
I do.
Is your time worthless?
Mine is not.
Yes we can issue them at no cost but that does not make them free.
The idea that eBooks should be fr..."

I believe I already answered all this but I will add one thing. I write because I enjoy it. If it eventually pays off in the end, wonderful. Also, as a reader, I downloaded 25 $0.99 e-books last month and have finished reading them. There were some typos here and there but I would say 85% were really good.

And yes, my time is very valuable, like everyone elses, that's why I spend it doing what I love to do, reading writing, working out and having wonderful stimulating conversations like I'm having now.

Look, our goals are different. It doesn't make one of us right and one of us wrong.

[Fallon]

The last 10 books or so that I have read have been by self published authors and I loved them mainly more than #1best sellers and felt like the self published authors should be #1best sellers! :)

[[deleted user]]

Can I butt into this argument real quick? As a girl with a limited income, I appreciate free books. I understand the quality might not be the same, but a book's a book. If it is interesting and grabs my attention, why shouldn't I consider it legit? I just downloaded four free books and am really looking forward to reading them in my spare time. Also, as a writer, I set my price to free as well. I think someone said something about having many people download it and then getting a great review. That's what I'm after, not profit. I know I'm not up there with Cornelia Funke or Christopher Paolini to name a couple. But if I can get a review and learn from it or get encouragement from it, then that will make my writing better. Then I would feel better about pricing my book along with the greats.

[[deleted user]]

That exactly what I was trying to say. Bravo for saying it so eloquently. You will go far. You are a good writer and I need to check out your books.

[Karen]

Before you base your pricing on the hope of putting books in bookstores, be aware that most bookstores will not stock CreateSpace paperbacks, even though they're listed in Ingram, because they're not returnable as traditionally published books are. You may be able to negotiate some arrangement with a local independent bookstore -- but most of your paperback sales will probably be through Amazon and (to a lesser extent for most authors) bn.com.

Suzan wrote: "I am so glad to have found this group! ;o) I'm self published as well and would not have it any other way. If I could change just ONE thing, I would make self publishing to paperback far less expen..."

[Karen]

Some book stores will take self-published books on consignment -- most often, independent stores. Our local B&N doesn't do consignment and won't take self-published books, even if the author is willing to agree to the same return and discount terms as a traditional publisher -- probably because it would be a pain for the store to enforce such an agreement. I would guess that stance is common.

[Karen]

Please post the link when that post goes up!

L.G. wrote: "Hi Karen,
I agree that B&N will not get involved in author negotiations. I will be placing a blog on my author site that will describe some alternatives. If you would like you can take a look at i..."

[R.C.]

There have been some great comments in this thread regarding pricing of books.

I have two ebooks published and spent some time with both of them priced at $2.99, which for a book that took me a year to write and comprises approximately 97K words seemed reasonable. As an experiment, I lowered the price to $.99. Sales increased. This past weekend, I offered the first novel for free. 2,006 U.S. downloads in 48 hours!!! My sales for the first book have since taken off (and I am seeing a slow increase in the sequel which I anticipate increasing as readers finish book one).

I also have the books available on Lulu.

I realize I am not making a lot of money at this time but it is increasing. The sales and the great comments are encouraging me to write more. I love to read and love to write and I take great pride in what I have accomplished.

I have two friends who began as I have and both are now full-time writers. I hope to be there soon.

So, is my first book too cheap at $0.99? Yes! Am I gaining a following and notoriety because of it? YES!

Kind regards,
R.C.

[Cliff]

I read both, but have really gotten into reading self-pubbed/Indie published stuff since I've been a self-published author. Indie authors are way more interesting to read and way more creative since they don't have to follow 200 year old rules set by traditional publishers.

I've always wanted to self-publish, and so far, I've indie published 6 novels. Be careful about going free on Amazon though, sometimes 1 star reviews come out of the woodwork to trash you and your work....

[Rex]

I've been at this for less time than most (since September 2011), but I've had a really great experience self-publishing. I'm releasing two new books at the end of this month, and I can't imagine submitting any book to the traditional publishers at this point. I love the control I have over hiring editors, cover artists, and formatting (I do formatting myself), and I love being able to adjust my prices, respond to reader interests quickly, and see the effects of marketing, reviews, and social networking.

I'm very glad to see that so many people are willing to give self-publishers a chance. I don't see the market declining by any means--either in supply or demand. The e-readers are reinvigorating the market, and with authors having so much freedom to place new work in the market, supply is certainly on the up-and-up as well.

As for pricing, I haven't had much trouble with my novel being 3.99 instead of 0.99. In fact, it sold far less copies at 0.99. YMMV.

[Karen]

Found it, read it, pondering it! Thanks!

L.G. wrote: "Hi Karen,
I have posted the article I mentioned to you. It is on my author site here on goodreads. I think you can just click on my picture and it should take you there. Let me know if it doesn't ..."

[Kashif]

I wouldn't know how great some indie authors were if I didn't self-publish. That's the only reason I read the ones that I did, interacting with the authors.

It is a shame to know that so many good books are out there that I overlooked, but I honestly don't read that much on my free time. After I graduated college, I felt that reading had become a task. When I started picking up books again, it was Harry Potter and Twilight. I just wanted to see what the hype was about. Those were great, but they weren't on the same level of my favorite indie stories.

I think, people don't read because they don't know.

You have no clue how many times I've told friends, "No. You don't need a Kindle to buy a Kindle book." It's like a foreign concept to them. Then, try convincing them to buy three dollar book.

I personally find it funny that so many writers feel that the selfpub market is flooded, but many of our readers are other authors. We make up a large percentage of our fans because we know more about this market than anyone else.

[T.]

Wonderful info and discussion here, Peggy, Karen, Zee and L.G. I've been a commerically published author since 1988 when my first scifi novel came out from Warner Books (RETREAD SHOP), but I have found over the years that waiting one to two years for a mainstream editor to skim your novel--even when you belong to a published author's pro group--is a waste of time. Instead of waiting on long shots, I prefer to spend time doing layout, proofing and cover design for my backstock of unbought novels. Recently I re-released my poetry book--MOTHER EARTH'S STRETCH MARKS--on Kindle and CreateSpace, and I have been pleased with their appearance on Amazon. I also plan to release the poetry on BandN, Smashwords and maybe Lightning Source.

Regarding the comment about circumventing ancient editorial market rules, I totally agree! My upcoming contemporary fantasy release, THE GAEAN ENCHANTMENT, takes my characters on a cross-USA car trip as Gaean earth magic is replacing science as the way "things work" and I had lots of fun with growing my characters, places visited (i.e. Toltec Mounds State Park), and a resolution that resolves the story and sets up for a sequel.This magic is not the usual "sword and sorcery" fantasy novel, but puts real people in a real world 'cope with it' situation when invocatory and sympathetic magic efforts start "working" with Mother Gaea, the Earth as a living organism. This is a style of fantasy that would be seen as "not commercial" per New York's assumptions.

Doing one's own marketing is tough and demanding, but I've found that offering freebie copies of my novels on Goodreads' Giveaway program is a fine way to introduce my titles to hundreds of people who I've never met. You can also create your own Author Page on Amazon, on LibraryThing and on LinkedIn, thereby gaining some decent social networking exposure.

On the pricing issue for ebooks, yes, 99 cents is a wonderful cost, which is what I'm charging for the Kindle version of my poetry book. When GAEA comes out in print in a few weeks, I suspect my ebook cost will be in the $2.99 to $3.99 range, since it is a BIG book at 100,000 plus words. The print trade paperback will probably list at $9.99 since it is 500 plus pages, with two interior maps and a fine color cover.

As for print placement with standard bookstores, yes, the major networks mostly ignore you even if you are available on Ingram. But I have built great relationships with locally owned indie bookstores in Los Alamos (Otowi Station) and Santa Fe (Hastings Bookstore), both of which carry my books on consignment and both of which have held multiple author signings for me over the last nine months.

Re marketing you work, don't overlook radio interviews with your local radio station folks as these interviews will often repeat broadcast a few times. And doing a local bookstore signing can often result in a local newspaper article placement with your photo and book cover art, as has happened twice for me, thanks to the retail relationship between my local Otowi Station bookstore and the local newspaper editor.

And your own personally designed author's internet page with reviews, buying links for both ebook and print, name author endorsements, and freebie short stories or first chapters can be a decent promotion effort that shows up on Google searches for your name or your genre. Feel free to check my page at www.sff.net/people/t-jackson-king and on Amazon.com.

The above said, even this old dawg is learning useful info from the discussion of the ebook scene by you newer indie authors. And I agree--there are some outstanding quality new indie authors out there who are self-publishing well-written, decently self-edited, and nicely arc'ed stories. Keep it up! And Peggy--sorry this was so long, but thanks so much for this wonderful thread. Am looking to learn more from you and other indie authors. Tom (T. Jackson King).

[Christopher]

This is my general observation: as a self-publisher you will be held to a higher standard while having fewer resources on hand with which to meet that standard. It's not fair, but that's the way it is. Over time, that will get better. How much time is debatable, though I suspect the answer isn't "soon."

And you will always have people who will dislike indie books on general principle, no matter how much time passes. Just as there are people who will never like genre fiction, no matter how good it is.

Just shrug your shoulders, bear the slings and arrows, and keep slogging through.

[Christopher]

Jaq has a good point (good point Jaq!)

The bar to self-publishing is now lower than it has ever been. It can be done relatively inexpensively -- setting aside the time invested in actually writing the book, publishing Pay Me, Bug! in both ePub and mobi formats cost me all of $30 (the cost of the eBook creation software I used). And I've already made that back.

This is, without question, a great thing. Having that level of accessibility to a large audience is wonderful. But everybody has access to it, and not everybody will take the time and care into making sure their work is coherent. That's the downside, and it will drive people away because not everyone wants to gamble with their time, even for $3.50, or $.99, or even for free.

But there are enough who will, I think.

[T.]

Kodai wrote: "T. Jackson wrote: "Kodai wrote: "Heather wrote: "Kodai wrote: "Elle wrote: "It seems that either people love to read self-published authors, or they refuse to. Why do you or don't you read self-pub..."

Sherri wrote: "I've found that I enjoy the work of self published writers better. They seem to have a more authentic and unique perspective than the more "polished" stuff that's been reworked into dullness by age..."

Thanks, Kodai. Your webpage is impressive, and I like how your categories light up when scrolled over. Good that you have a blog going--me, not yet. Tom.

[S B]

This is an interesting discussion. As a recently self-published author myself, I can say that even though I haven't sold any books out of the trunk of my car, I have given them away in the produce section between the cantaloupes and avocados. It is humbling having to peddle your "wares" after pouring what you thought was everything you had into your book. I write about the experience (and other stuff) at http://honiebriggs.com. Maybe someone here will see my book and discover the treasure they've been looking for. Take a look at Summoning The Strength, by Stephanie Briggs.

[Kat]

I haven't read the whole thread (I'm late to the party, story of my life), but I love self-pub authors. I've read some awesome books in the last few months after starting my blog, and also met some amazing authors.

'Big' authors don't give a flying proverbial about my opinion, but I really enjoy telling other readers about a book they would not have even known about, and seeing those people pick up the same book and have an amazing experience!

[Christopher]

My experience with Smashwords has been... different. I would even say "excruciatingly frustrating." But word is not my primary writing tool, which probably accounts for much of it. Also, I buy my own ISBNs, which I did not account for in my previous post...

[Suzan]

My two cents: I would rather sell 100,000 books at .99 cents than 100 books at 9.99.
I love being self-published because I do have control. Yes, it takes time and effort but anything worthwhile does.
I haven't spent a dime on advertising or software programs and right now, I don't intend to, but that again is a personal preference.
My book is doing very well (currently ranked 13 in Amazon's Top Sellers list for historical romance.) Please don't consider that bragging because that isn't my intent. My point is that if it is a good book people will recommend it to their friends.
Personally, I've never read a book simply because it was on the New York Times best sellers list. I read books based on opinions of friends, the blurb on the jacket and by taking a sneak peek of the first page or two. But that's me and everyone is different. ;o)
I also wouldn't spend 6.99 or more on an ebook. I would spend that much on a paperback. I have a Kindle (LOVE my Kindle! lol) but I also like reading paper backs. There are positive's and negatives to both.
I don't think traditional publishing will ever die but I do believe that epublishing and independent authors will give traditional publishing a run for its money.
With that all said, I do believe people read independent authors every day and they might not realize it because the cover, the blurb or the recommendation from a friend.
When I told people I had written a book and it was published to Kindle, they assumed I had a publisher and their first question was "when is your book signing!?!" I can't tell you the number of times I've had to explain what independent publishing is. And that's okay because I didn't have a clue until a year ago! lol The only reason I did the create space book was so those people could have a paperback that I could sign for them! lol

Don't give up the faith people. Don't worry about what the 'big boys' (traditional publishers) are doing. Concentrate on your writing and your passion and you will do well. ;o)

Suzan

[Damali]

I love 99 cents books! Who doesn't? I wouldn't pay $10 for an unknown indie author. It's just not going to happen, and it's easier to tell the indies online. I'd go as high $4 if I like what I've read in the free sample. That way, I can weed out all the bad writing, grammer mistakes, and typos. Let's face it -- some of the indie novels are God awful, but they seem to be getting better over the past year or so. I think authors are realizing sloppiness will get them bad reviews and hurt their reputations.

[Bryn]

Oh dear. These 99c comments make me nervous. For the indie here who didn't like to price hers low, there's a discussion on low prices in the group Indie Book Collective.

In my case, I price at $5, but I give a sample of 50% on Smashwords, and 50% is 100,000 words. By that set-up, you've gotta be keen on the book to spend. One of my reasons is that I have had research costs - as in, thousands of dollars, and not the very low thousands either - so indie epubbing hasn't been free for me.

[T.]

Kodai wrote: "T. wrote: "Kodai wrote: "T. Jackson wrote: "Kodai wrote: "Heather wrote: "Kodai wrote: "Elle wrote: "It seems that either people love to read self-published authors, or they refuse to. Why do you o..."

Hi Jaq. Thanks for the RPG info. RPG is not something I choose to play with, but I agree it is a fine intro/marketing tool for authors doing scifi/fantasy. And I was wondering . . . do you read contemporary fantasy, or just the more traditional medieval/premodern fantasy? Was curious, since you seem to do some reviews now and then. Best wishes, Tom.

[Sandra]

I wrote about this in my last blog -- The Long Tail or the Short Shrift -- Thoughts on Literary Self-Publishing. It can be really hard for a writer who self publishes to get reviews, as there is still a stigma attached to it. Check out the blog at www.sandranicholls.com.

[Damali]

I have a thing about the blurbs. I skim 2 sentences in the first chapter and 1 sentence in the last. They often give too many details of what's hapening in the book. So, it's either impress me with the free sample, or I won't buy.

I've only read two indie books so far that I got for free, and 99 cents, that I will now go on to pay full price for.

And, indies, please put the word count in your book description. That's the first thing I look at and compare with the price.

[T.]

Uh, Jaq and Kodai, my regrets for mixing you two up. My RPG comment and fantasy query was meant for Kodai. Jaq, good luck on your goblin RPG game effort. Hope all goes well for you both.

[Sandra]

Canary wrote: "For me, it's usually because the book's blurb does nothing to me. And if the author can't write a couple paragraphs to convince me to read the book, then how can I trust that the writing in the boo..."

It's true, the blurbs are so important. And hard to write for yourself, although I am getting better at it! This is one reason I sought out the comments of established authors who enjoyed my book, and I added those to the back cover. This has really been helpful, and encouraging!

[Sandra]

Damali wrote: "I have a thing about the blurbs. I skim 2 sentences in the first chapter and 1 sentence in the last. They often give too many details of what's hapening in the book. So, it's either impress me with..."

Does this mean you equate price, quality and word count? I don't quite follow.

[Damali]

I equate price with word count, and I'd never go over $10 no matter how many pages it is. Quality is what I'll determine after I've read the sample.

[Sandra]

Damali wrote: "I equate price with word count, and I'd never go over $10 no matter how many pages it is. Quality is what I'll determine after I've read the sample."

Fair enough. Thanks for the reply!

[T.]

Thanks, Kodai. I fully understand. I will keep you in mind for my military SF novel STAR VIGILANTE, about a cyborg human who is hired by an albino human/alien hybrid woman to right a wrong done against her colony world by an interstellar conglomerate. His persona is modeled a bit after the movie character Paladin :) It will be out in print and in ebook, with sample options available on Amazon. Tom.

[Adrienne]

The reason I think some people are not into self publishing authors is because everyone can self publish a book, whether it's good or not.
I truly believe that most of the self publishing presses don't do as much as a normal publishing press would and there for, a self publish book lack sometimes of that extra umpfh where a published book gets reviewed by an editor and even gives you ideas of how to improve your story, where I feel self published agents don't have, unless they go out of their way and ask people to read it and give their honest opinions.
I am not saying that I don't support self published authors, have read a couple of books but feel that they could have done more to the story. I sometimes feel that self published books lack so much in everything and think that is why a lot of readers don't give them a chance. I haven't read a self published book that blew me away yet.
Just my opinion.

[Adrienne]

Kodai wrote: "Isabella wrote: "The reason I think some people are not into self publishing authors is because everyone can self publish a book, whether it's good or not.
I truly believe that most of the self p..."

I really have nothing against self publishers. I do give them a chance occationally and I hear what you say about SF that is published by the big 6. That is one of the reasons SF is not my fav to read because it's always the same kind of story line, plot etc and publishers struggle to take a chance on authors if it's something different (althought they kept saying they are looking for something new.)
Have think about self publish my novel but will keep searching for a publisher until I find one. I will not give up.

[Jess]

I never check to see if a book even has a publisher before reading it. If it has some good reviews, and it interests me, there is a good chance I'll read it.

I can even overlook some spelling and grammar errors as long as the story grabs me.

[Timothy]

I've been banging on for years to other 'indies'about getting their work edited. There is so much out there now, which is frankly unedited dross, all it achieves is to make it difficult to find the 'good stuff'. I'm certainly not the greatest writer, but I can spin a tale as well as anyone. My first effort, published in 2003 'RO' was a true story, with hindsight [a marvellous thing] it was in need of a good edit, it has recently been released as a kindle, minus the errors and typos of the original paperback, and does it make a difference!
If I had to pick the best six books out there at the moment ALL are 'indies'
'The life in the woods with Joni-Pip [Carrie King]
'Clan'[David Elliot]
and the trillogy by Sue Rule, 'cloak of magic', 'staff of power,' etc.
None of them are in a genre I have any real interest in but they are so well written. The other is much more to my taste 'The Novak Legacy' by John Douglas-Gray. This compares with a good Le Carrie, my favourite author.
If you don't believe me on how good they are, read them and see! I can't think of a current main stream book which even gets near these, possibly Dan Smiths follow up to 'dry season', he's an excellent young writer, a lot better than most of the so called best sellers. I've been so busy of late I'll confess, other than knowing his 'new one' is out I haven't had chance to check it out. Even if it turns out not to be as good as 'dry season' it is a safe bet it's better than most of the over hyped dross pushed out as best sellers which someone described as regurgitated verbage! How I wish I'd come up with that one!
Rant over folks, but seriously, check out some of those books I mentioned, you won't be dissapointed.
All the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Sherri]

I think they just don't realize we're out here because they're so used to going to bookstores. I hope that will change as e-readers and tablets continue to rise in popularity.

[[deleted user]]

I think Isabella is thinking of vanity presses which, I have to say, aren't particularly interested in putting out a good product. I had one of my stories published by a vanity press (FirstBooks, which became AuthorHouse). The mistakes and formatting problems were appalling. The cover for one of my novels - Pharaoh's Son - that is shown most on Good Reads is the cover for that edition, which came out in 1999. I'd gone with them because they were the first place I heard of to offer e-books, and I thought it was the wave of the future. (I was, apparently, ten years too early). I was also smarting from an entanglement with a criminal agent (the United States Postal Service was very interested in his activities...)

Anyhow the title was reissued by me in kindle and in paperback, edited, properly typeset. It's selling fairly well for being out just over six months with no advertising.

So why don't people want to look at self-published books? An anonymous poster on another put it this way:

It has to be said, sad but true. You didn't get published, for whatever reason the hours of hard work that you put into a book did not pan out. It is the height of huberous (sic) to beleive that just becuase every profesional in the biz says your book is not good enough to publish that you still go out and publish it!
My friend the writer told me that this is how things happen
1. A writer writes a book
2. He edits it for about 3 months
3. He sends out letter to get an agent
4. The agent sells the book---sometimes
5. The economy sucks so not many sell
6. The editor now edits the book with the author
7. All this takes about a year and the book gets transformed
8. Published
9. I read it l

Self publishing does not make it a real book, it has not been edited or profesional proof read! So why would you have people spend 9 or 10 dollars on a book that really does not belong on our book shelves.

That actually is how some people still feel about trad pub versus self pub. (Apparently they haven't read Harlequin Romance or anything from St. Martin's Press in the 80's...)

Blake was self-pub...

[Timothy]

Hi Diana,
You make some good points, there are more sharks out there in the 'self publishing world' than in all the oceans of the world. I'm sorry one had a bite at you. I had a 'war' several years back on behalf of a load of other indie authors who had been ripped off by one of these unscupulous types.

I got lucky, and it was luck, I use a company called 'Authors OnLine' to do the bits I can't do or can't be bothered to do . I've been with them since 2003 and can see no reason to change. They don't make promises they can't keep, and always have done a good job.
It is a fact, getting a book published is a dream for many people, I told Richard Fitt, the boss of Authors OnLine, it is in his job description, making dreams come true, not like some out there who turn that dream into a nightmare.

As for 'Anon' I have some bad news, on the editing/proof reading thing, good 'self published' books go throught that process too. Being published by a traditional publisher is no guarentee things will be 'done right'. Increasingly they are cost cutting, and tend to pour recources into 'celeb' titles, anything else tends to get the 'oh, that will do' treatment. If anyone cares to look they will find more typos and mistakes in a 'non celeb' title from mainstream than in a good 'indie'.
The problem is finding the good ones!
All the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[[deleted user]]

You are right - editing foul-ups are not limited to self-publishing. One kindle book put out by a high-selling mystery writer is full of coding errors and strikethroughs (!).

The lazy self-pub people who (I think) just want to get a book out there and are unaware tht they have to work to make the thing as perfect as possible are making things hard for the rest of us.

[Paul]

Sometimes I think I come close to spending more time proofreading and checking (and working with a small team of proofreaders) than I do actually writing the book in the first place!

I hate the thought of even a small typo getting through to the published book, but something always does!

[Cheryl]

Jess wrote: "I never check to see if a book even has a publisher before reading it. If it has some good reviews, and it interests me, there is a good chance I'll read it.

I can even overlook some spelling and..."

A girl after my own heart! I'm the same way, Jess.

[Harold]

Wonderful commentary. We self-published authors need a boost of confidence. What sympathetic readers can do for us is take a chance, read what we've written, and write a review. Take the chance only after you've looked at our samples and decided the subject matter interests you. Then, please write a review. Tell us exactly what you think. There is nothing more frustrating than recognizing that nobody is going to read your book because nobody knows it exists.

[Sandra]

Harold wrote: "Wonderful commentary. We self-published authors need a boost of confidence. What sympathetic readers can do for us is take a chance, read what we've written, and write a review. Take the chance ..."

I so agree Harold. I am not sure which commentary you are referring to, but I hope you read my blog "The long tail or the short shrift," in which I discuss this issue. It's interesting, I just managed to convince the Ottawa Public Library to stock a few copies of my book ( generally their policy is not to take self-published books) and since it hasd been available it has been constantly in use or on hold. Interesting, eh? You have to really have confidence in yourself and push on....persistence pays off. Cheers!

[Cindy]

I self-published and donated books to several regional libraries. One of the librarians told me that my book looked much more professional than most of the self-published books that came her way.
I think it is important to find a good printer and create a professional-looking book. We looked through several "professional" volumes to help us set up our edition.
Editing can be problematic. It should take time, and you should have some trusted friends who love reading be some of your first draft readers. Even then, you will need to go through it several more times to catch errors. And, unfortunately, probably because you've become so familiar with the story, you will still miss some mistakes.
I felt horrible about the mistakes we missed until I read one of my favorite authors most recent book that was professionally published and found a glaring continuity error.
Just keep at it. We self-published with Lulu and have been very happy.

[Harold]

Thanks, Sandra and Cindy, for your posts. I self-published with booklocker.com. I like them. Print-on-demand publishers won't edit their authors' books. Some might try to "up-sell" you, try to get you to pay x-amount of dollars for editing. Booklocker doesn't do that. I had to do all the editing myself, quite a chore even for a retired English teacher. Yes, being familiar with the writing does cause you to miss things. I managed to correct most of my mistakes but noticed after the book had been sent to the printer that in two places I didn't have double spacing to separate scenes. Embarrassing. I'd like to believe that anybody who might like the book wouldn't be put off.

[Cindy]

I asked some of the readers of my "flawed" editon if the errors had distracted them from the storyline. Some hadn't noticed, others had, but didn't care. No one said the mistakes ruined the story for them.

[Annie]

Well, as a reviewer/promoter, I feel that the biggest problem is that people don't know you. People aren't going to automatically buy your book just because you wrote it, even if you have a book that people have been buying. You also have to overcome the thought that self-pubs are lazy/sloppy in their work, and the best way to prove yourself is to roll up your sleeves and get involved with your own marketing. You have to reach out to readers. As an author, you have to either work your butt off reaching out to readers, hire someone to support your efforts while working on your own marketing stuff, or be prepared to spend some serious money to have someone take care of your marketing exclusively (if you have the means to do so and do not want to spend time doing your own marketing). I personally recommend that authors reach out to family and friends, get as many reviews on their books as they can, and hire someone to support them without spending a fortune. That's the best way to do it because I think the best authors are those who are involved in their own marketing.

[Paul]

Melissa wrote: "Even reader reviews can be disappointing because many, maybe most, casual readers don't notice the glaring irritations that make a book unreadable to me."

I am MUCH harsher about my own writing than anything else I read. I will forgive much about the books I read, providing the story is entertaining and the read enjoyable. I hadn't really thought about it before, but suspect I have two reading modes depending on whether I am reading to improve the work or reading for enjoyment.

I don't think I've ever taken any notice at all who publishes the books I read. The author is by far the most important element.

[Catherine]

I read anything too, as some others have said. Of course, I was a self-published author before getting a contract with ImajinBooks, so I am probably biased. However, being self-published does not negate the worth of the writing, in my opinion. Now that my series has had some exposure to the world through Imajin, my books are selling well - and they are, apart from some varied editing, the same books. The Bridgeman is becoming a best selling ebook. Check it out if you can. http://tinyurl.com/7rjkpbl