ebook authors - Surely not all cast from the same clay?

[David]

Having joined the literary world as an author only recently, I am rather dismayed to see so many negative comments concerning ebooks, which have been written by non mainstream, indie authors. Like many of you, I too have downloaded ebooks which were frankly terrible, for all sorts of reasons.

When I first began to self publish, it was somewhat forced on me after my first novel - The Great Satan - was physically published, and the publisher subsequently went under, just days before my first six-month royalty cheque was due. It was a small 'house', and my excitement overcame caution. I should have known something was amiss when the deal my Agent struck promised higher returns per copy, but without the benefit of an initial advance. To make matters worse, the book had sold well in the high street.

Stung and somewhat embittered by my experience, I decided to go it alone, and self-publish with Amazon. Being green, and lacking the backup of a team of high-powered editors and proof readers, I fell into the trap of thinking I could do all these jobs perfectly well myself. Well, I couldn't, but I have learned...

I now have four books out there. My latest book (just published),'Eagles of the Damned' has already benefited from a thorough independent proof reading service.

Having been stung by one bad review, I also uploaded a revised edition of another of my books, and plan, shortly, to revise the others to weed out the odd typo or whatever that might detract from the overall standard I want from my hard work.

Although the money is always welcome, I also want my brand name - David Black - to mean something. Experience has taught me not to even consider releasing book number five until it has been thoroughly vetted.

I hope I won't initiate a shower of poison quills by telling this tale, but please, don't think every indie author doesn't care, because honestly, some of us do care very deeply, having learned bitter lessons about getting things right, and not letting enthusiasm overcome caution and professionalism.
Its a tough world out there in literary land, and alas, everybody wants to be a critic...

[Andrew]

It's a fair point.

My book of short stories is very clearly an Indie effort. I designed the cover myself, using a photo I shot in a pub garden just hours before publishing. I've had a bit of experience laying out ads for the day job but... yeah, no expert. Sue me.

There's that old saying, though, about books and covers, and the importance of not judging the one on the strength of the other. More than half of the short stories in my book had been published previously in magazines, or had won competitions of some sort. I wanted to put them out there as a collection, and Amazon was the obvious outlet.

My book is a minor collection of short stories that isn't racking up thousands, or even hundreds, of sales, but it is full of professional work, I'm proud of it, and think it's worthy of sitting alongside other self-published ebooks. There is some awful stuff out there, but the volume of decent indie books is increasing, and the critics are starting to look little more than snobbish.

[David]

Thanks Andrew.

This is a tough world we live in.

I think people sometimes do get a little bit sniffy, or carried away with their appreciation, or rather lack of it. Probably the best retort, apart from shouting 'Yar boo sucks!' is to suggest the severest critics go through the entire procedure, from start to finish, and try to write, and then publish something themselves? I really don't think people who haven't been there really understand just how complex it is to stand up without the comforting safety net of a mainstream publisher, and go it entirely alone.

All criticism isn't bad though, if its constructive. Sadly, I'm lacking a professorship in the classics, and someones degree in English Literature will always trump my English 'O' level!

Ah well, rough with the smooth eh? Soldier on...

Good luck with your book buddy.

David

[Adriane]

Thanks for sharing your perspective about e-publishing, and independant publishing in general. I'm not an author, nor do I have the slightest inkling of becoming one so I thoroughly appreciate the position you guys are put in. I've done some freelance illustration and it's much the same situation where it's not exactly what they expected but in no terms can they tell you what was wrong.

You guys are brave for putting yourself out in a public arena like that. And I have to say some of the most enjoyable books I've read on my kindle have been indie e-books. It's hard when you don't have a team of editors, but keep in mind even high profile books end up with typos and issues in them. As long as you're book is enjoyable and readable people will like them regardless of typos.

[Autumn]

I designed my own cover too. I do work part time as an editor, so I did that job as well. If I end up hating my cover, my SO is a graphic designer so they could vamp it up for me. I am still scared about promotion. I don't want to spam and run or even give that impression because I love reading other people's books and do that at least 4-5 times a month. :)

I do believe a work will something to say will stand on its own, no matter what negative views it gets. A lot of books that are classics now got negative reviews or the author had to go to 30 publishers before they got published. Critics can be jerks, so I take that into consideration or they just didn't get what I had to say.

[Andrew]

I've done just about every job in professional [magazine] publishing from ad sales to ordering the paper, and as I mentioned most of my stories have been published professionally. So it's galling to be written off as an amateur based purely on the quality of cover design and lack of a label imprint. But, you know, that's the challenge.

I think indie authors basically find themselves in the same space as women in the workplace - you have to work twice as hard to be considered half as good as trad published authors. But that's fine, I love a challenge.

[[deleted user]]

Adriane wrote: "Thanks for sharing your perspective about e-publishing, and independant publishing in general. I'm not an author, nor do I have the slightest inkling of becoming one so I thoroughly appreciate the ..."

Thanks, Adriane, for the reader view and understanding. I hope there are many others such as you with Kindle in hand!
Cheers!

[Helen]

It's a shame that indie authors who DO care can't have a gold rosette attached to their book covers as confirmation that what is inside has been well-edited. We need some way to sort the wheat from the chaff! Sadly, the label 'indie author' now brings with it a whole lot of baggage and negative expectations.