Indy Authors at Kootenay Author Fair!

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the first Kootenay book and author fair in Cranbrook BC (the Kootenays are the region of BC I live in). There were ten or more authors in attendance - I didn't count - set up at tables around the room at the library with displays of their books. In the center of the room were chairs and a podium. Every half hour one of the authors gave a presentation, read from their work and answered questions.

There was a wonderful mix. There were two authors that had been traditionally published - and I was excited to hear about their background. But as this is an Indy book blog I'll focus on the Indy authors who were in the majority. Unfortunately I don't have any links to point you too, so I'll just have to give my own general impressions of the experience.

I was struck by 2 things about all these Indy authors. The first was the diversity, the second was the quality.

Diversity: Among the Indy authors were several who wrote locally flavoured fiction, one who writes beautiful hiking guides, several children's authors with very different books ranging from local legends, to women's history, to Happy Hippos. The authors ranged from high school students up to retirees. It was fascinating talking to them all. What also interested me very much was their modes of publishing. My illustrator and I use Lulu, as did one other children's author/illustrator team. Another had used a service called Author house which she found to be very expensive. The rest had all done something I had never even considered - they had simply paid a printer for large runs. Some were on their first book, others were veterans with several titles in print.

Quality: I've said it before and I'll say it again: Self-published does NOT mean not good enough to be published! I am continually impressed by the work of Indy authors, and this group was no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed the readings from all the authors. I was also very happy to note that among those buying the books, no-one cared if a book was self-published or traditionally published. If they did ask about it, it was always out of curiosity and interest. Not one had a negative opinion of self-publishing.

One other thing that struck me was the how long it took for the traditional publishing route. One author had a completed copy of her book in her hands, but noted that the publisher wouldn't be releasing it until over a year from now. In stark contrast, our latest children's book Mommy is Too Tired to Play was exactly one week from the time I put pencil crayon to paper for first draft to the time we released it on Lulu. Granted, you can't do that with a novel - but you can do it on a kid's book if you've got an illustrator who's hopped up on too much coffee. Once finished, uploading it to Lulu is simple process.
Sure, our books aren't currently appearing on retail shelves across the continent - just locally (and available worldwide on-line) - but we do have an outlet for our creativity and are doing quite well in the market where we've been promoting the books.

This author fair was an excellent opportunity to network, to learn about other ways of doing things, to get some exposure and to sell a few books. If you're an Indy author - get out there and find a book fair near you to participate in. If you're a book fan, get out there and find a fair to see what kind of talent is your area.

Holiday shopping for Indy Books!

So the holidays are coming soon and it's the time to be shopping.  As always, books are great gifts.  With a book it's not just a knick-knack - it's another world, it's another life, it's a story, or a class, or a great meal.  It's hours with a good friend, and possibly years of cherished memories.  A good book can be a cherished possession.
Consider giving the gift of a book by an Indy author.  There are course the books reviewed below, with links to buy them.

Lulu.com is the largest self-publishing site on-line and they've got great deals going on all month.  See here:  Lulu Gift Ideas

Of course, there's also Amazon.
If you shop on Amazon through one of these links you'll be supporting this site and my family - and we thank you!  Not only do they have great books by Indy as well as traditionally published authors, but lots of other great gifts in other categories as well - DVDs, games, etc. etc. 

Amazon CANADA:



Amazon USA:



Amazon UK:



Thank you and happy holidays!

Fear of Falling by Hannah R. Goodman

I read a sample chapter of this book on the author's website and thought it was very well written and intriguing, so I asked the author if I could have my wife and daughter read it for the review.

The book stands alone well, but is part of a series about the main character.  A junior in high-school, she is a writer for the student paper and faces a dilemma when an anonymous gay student asks her to write an article about the homophobia in the school.  She writes it, but then is blocked by her principal and teacher from publishing.  Should she go against their wishes?

My wife and daughter (age 10) found the story to be well written and the character enjoyable.  However, it was not an outstanding book.  My precocious 10 year old described the book as feeling a lot like one episode of a TV show.
My wife had a few issues with the references to 80s pop culture.  She understood them obviously, because she grew up in the 80s.  But the teens in this book's target audience likely wouldn't have much familiarity with Terms of Endearment or the Princess Bride (my daughter got that one because it's one of Mom's favorite movies :o).  She also questioned whether these issues would really be the kind kids deal with in 11th grade, or if it might be more like 9th grade.  But we don't really know what high-school's like now as our kids are young and we're a decade and half removed from that time in our lives.  She found herself intrigued by elements of the main character's background - her family and tragic past, and may read some of the earlier novels about the character.

warning this book has some mild foul language and deals with sexuality - reader discretion is advised

3 out of 5 stars

Amazon USA
Name Your Link

Amazon Canada


Amazon UK
Name Your Link

Review of Waiting For Spring by RJ Keller

I'll be honest that when I read what this book was about I didn't think I would like it - dramatic, overcoming adversity, emotional journey. This type of fiction is not something I would normally pick to read.  But I've committed myself to doing these reviews and being open to new things. So I opened it up and thought I'll just read a few pages now to see if it's any good before finding a volunteer to do the review for me.  I was more than pleasantly surprised.  Right from the first page of the prologue I was hooked.

 The style is an accessible first person prose with vivid images and a bit of a poetic slant.  Right from the start the characters are fleshed out and alive.
The story centers on Tess Dyer who has just divorced her husband and moved from one small Maine town to another nearby (truthfully it could have been set just about anywhere).  The story follows Tess's emotional journey as she moved past one relationship into another.  Her new love interest's sister is a troubled young woman who Tess seeks to help.  Several significant events occur which require Tess to make some tough choices and go places emotionally that she has not gone before.  I won't say any more than that to avoid spoilers.

However, the book isn't about plots, it's about people.  Tess in particular, but also those other characters in the book with whom Tess has strong relationships.  We see them and experience their emotions through the eyes of Tess, but if if anything, it makes those characters more real.      Each grows, changes and learns throughout the book.  Each is a real living, breathing character.

Time for another moment of honesty.  I actually cried at points in the last third of the book - real tears, real lump in my throat.  It's very unusual for a story to bring me there.  I think the last time was Bridge to Terebithia when I was young.

While I never would have chosen this book on my own - it really didn't sound exciting when I read its blurb. I'll admit - it's a book that I will probably remember for the rest of my life and think on frequently.  I am now a fan, and if Ms. Keller writes another book - and I sincerely hope she will write many more - I will willingly and enthusiastically read it.
Highly recommended.  5 out of 5 stars.

A caution:  If books were rated the way movies are, this would get a solid NC-17 (that's more R than R for those unfamiliar with it).  Sex and profanity are significant in the book, though not gratuitously so.  This book is very true to life in all things, sex and profanity included. 




If you wish to purchase Waiting for Spring, please use the Amazon link below as your purchase will support this blog and the work we do to promote Independent books. Unfortunately this book can only be found on the US amazon and not the international ones. Note there is also a Kindle ebook edition which you can find by doing a search once you're in the Amazon link below (for some reason I can't link directly to it). The proceeds from the kindle edition go towards a domestic violence charity.

Amazon USA:

Review of "The Lie" by Hannah S. Chacko

The Lie is the first in the Elementalist series.  A Fantasy series geared towards young adults but which is, in my opinion, equally appealing to adults.


Set in the broader context of an ancient conflict which involves many "realms" and a prophecy in the early stages of coming to fruition, the story centres on two young girls: Scortia and Caya.  The two are best friends.  They are also unknowingly two of the "children of destiny" who will play a crucial role in the fulfillment of the prophecy.  Fleeing from an unhappy home life, Scortia finds herself ascending the strange and magical Mount Zircon, pulled by an unseen force.  Caya soon follows in pursuit of her friend.  They encounter many perils and other characters en-route.  Eventually they start their training and begin to learn of the roles they will play in events to come. Meanwhile, another child of Destiny, Mattias, who is a young officer, comes to learn of his own part.
Though the book is well over 300 pages, it feels like you have just read the first chapter of a much broader and grander story.  Is that a good thing? Yes, in the sense that it leaves you wanting more. 

The storytelling is compelling and fluid, moving at a comfortable pace.  The author captures the reader's attention with an air of mystery that encourages the reader to keep on, seeking answers, but without creating undue confusion or leaving the reader lost.

Interestingly, Ms. Chacko does something most first time authors are strongly cautioned against.  As writers we are told there are "rules", and only well known authors can "get away" with breaking them (because it's assumed that if you're not a well known author then your breaking of the rules just means that you're inexperienced, rather than clever).  In my opinion, Ms. Chacko breaks a few rules, but she seems to know what she's doing and it works.  For example, she uses an unusual format of placing what would normally be relegated to a footnote right in the body of the text, which she calls "notes to readers".  It gives one the sense of a storytelling pausing in the tale to convey some background information crucial to the story that would have otherwise been awkward to weave into the narrative itself.  I found it refreshing that these notes are presented in this way instead of forcing me to mark my place in order to flip to a footnote or glossary.  It also works with the way the story is presented from the start as being the observations of the "documenter of events" and gives the feel that the storyteller is conversing with the reader.

My 10 year old daughter, who is a voracious reader, read through this book with zeal in near record time.  She loved it, would give it 5 out of 5 stars and said it was just as good as her favorite book "The Two Princesses of Bamarre" by Gail Carson Levine and as good as the books by one of her favorite authors, Tamora Pierce.  High praise indeed!
When I informed her that a sequel had already been written and was in the editing stages she responded with an enthusiastic "Cool!!!"



I found the story to be original and well written.  Hannah Chacko is certainly an emerging young talent.  I highly recommend giving this book a read and I look forward to its sequels.  4.5 out of 5 stars.

If you wish to purchase The Lie, please use one of the Amazon links below as your purchase will support this blog and the work we do to promote Independent books.

Amazon USA:



Amazon Canada:



Amazon UK:

Interview with author of Life outside the Asylum

The book reviews are coming soon, I promise!

In the meantime here's an interesting Interview with Indy Author Marc Zirogiannis.  Mr. Zirogiannis is the author of the book LESSONS FROM 1 NORTH: A Guide to Life Outside the Asylum.  It is a true story and self help book dealing with his time in a "loonie bin", as he puts it, after attempting suicide due to a depression brought on my the economic turmoil in the USA.

I haven't read his book (yet), but the interview is very interesting.  I commend the author for his courage to ignore the stigma and taboo of psychiatric illness and speak out about this very important subject.  I found the interview itself to be both informative and fascinating.  Definitely worth a listen.

If you're interested in purchasing the book, please do so through the link below as it supports this site and the work we do to promote Indy literature.

Interview with Indy Author Marc Zirogiannis.

We're so vain? Why self-publish?

Self-publishing is often referred to as Vanity press - a rather pejorative term which implies the only reason the work is published is because the author was so vain that they paid to get published even though their work was "not good enough" for a traditional publishing house.

Granted, in some cases this is true.  There's some pretty crappy self-published work out there.  But there's also some very great work out there was self-published for one reason or another, and vanity is usually not on the top of that list.  So what are those reasons?

I can't speak for all Indy authors - I'll leave that for the comments section - but I can certainly speak for myself about some of the reasons I chose to go this route.

1.  Traditional publishers turned it down.  Whoah - wait a minute - didn't I just say it wasn't because of not being good enough?  Yes, I did.  Getting turned down by publishers has little to do with the quality of a work.  I can think of dozens of extremely popular books - many even classics of particular genres - that were rejected by numerous publishers before being accepted.  Ever hear of Harry Potter?  Yeah, I thought so.
You see, there are thousands of publishers.  Each one gets thousands of submissions - they call it a slush pile - and they can only accept a few each year.  These have to not only be good quality, but also have to fit what the publisher is looking for at that time.  So, even if you have a good book, finding the right publisher at the right time  is a difficult task and involved a great deal of chance.  It can take years and a lot of work - not to mention a lot of postage!  You send in your manuscript with a carefully crafted cover letter or a query letter - then wait months for a reply that may or may not come.
I got some very positive feedback on my manuscripts - handwritten comments on the manuscript from editors -not just form letters. But it just wasn't the right book at the right time.  It's a tiring game with no guarantee of any pay-off for the effort you put in.  I grew tired of that game rather quickly and decided to take control of the process instead.

2.  Artistic control.  Indy music and films often cite this as a reason for what they do.   The artist wants to control the creative process - not hand it over to marketers who will change it and take control of it.  In kid's picture books this is especially true since he author doesn't get to choose the illustrator.  In my case, I not only chose my illustrator, but I gave her direction on what I wanted the pictures to look like, where to make changes, etc.

3.  Experience.  In the print on demand format that I'm using, I am responsible for creating the PDF, uploading it, marketing it etc.  I have learned so much in the process that I wouldn't have otherwise.  I took my illustrator's pictures, sequenced and arranged them, added the text, created different size formats etc.  Now I'm responsible for marketing the book to retailers, libraries and direct to individuals.  The experience I've gained is huge deal.  I really do feel independent.  I'm not dependent on anyone else to hold my hand or do things for me.  I'm in control.

4.  Money.  I didn't know it before-hand, but you can make a lot more money self-publishing in most cases.  Granted, a large publisher can put your book into lots of stores, but if you're only getting $1 a book or less, and you still have to pay to promote it, it's something of a losing proposition unless you happen to be a best-seller already.  I don't get a big advance, but I invested some money in ordering enough copies of my book to get significant bulk discount on the printing costs, which means that my royalties per unit are quite high.  Also, I'm rewarded for my work.  The more effort I put into marketing the book, etc, the more results I see.
I recently read this Yahoo answers post.  Someone asked "How much do authors make?" and an author replied.  I found the answer rather scary - what a lot of work for such a little reward!  It made me feel happy about my decision to self-publish.  Interestingly this author says you should "run fast" from a self-publishing company.  Given how she describes her experience trying to make it with a traditional publisher, I completely disagree.  All her hard work made a lot of money for editors, agents, publishers and retailers and almost nothing for her!  See How much do authors make?

5.  Getting noticed.  Self-publishing a book that sees some success can be a good way to get an author to stand out in the slush pile the next time they submit a manuscript to a traditional publisher.  If you're a proven author with a fan base, have shown your books can sell, and have experience promoting your books, then a publisher will be much more willing to take a chance on you.  This is a business after all, and new unproven authors are a risky investment.  Proven authors, not so much.  Self-publishing can be used as a spring-board.

There are many other reasons to self-publish - especially depending on the kind of book you're publishing.  Some works are intended for smaller niche markets or need frequent revisions like text-books, and for these print-on-demand publishing is simply the best route. 

Are you an Indy author? Why did you choose the SP route?

My own book got reviewed!

As it happens - and it's just a coincidence, I promise - the first review on this web site is my own book.  I'm re-posting here from http://kiddielit.blogspot.com/2009/10/hal-unwashed-dragon-book-review.html a children's lit blog byJanette Fuller of Houston, Texas that kindly reviewed my book Hal the Unwashed Dragon.

Here is her post:

I just read Hal The Unwashed Dragon by Marc Archambault. This children's book is illustrated by Lorna Foot and self-published via Lulu.com. This is the first published book for both the author and the illustrator.

Hal has a problem. He is cute and friendly but he seems to scare everything and everybody away from him. The flowers wilt and the animals run away when Hal comes near. He doesn't know what is wrong.

Hal feels hurt and sad and confused. Why is everyone treating him like this? Why can't he make any friends?

Hal finally meets an honest bobcat who tells Hall that he STINKS! Hal has bad breath and body odor. He runs home and takes a shower and brushes his teeth. He is soon a clean, happy dragon with plenty of friends.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It deals with a common skill that all children must learn. The subject of personal hygiene is presented in a very humorous and engaging manner. Hal exhibits very realistic emotions when his friends reject him. Children will relate to Hal and will understand how important it is to develop good grooming and hygiene habits. The colorful illustrations in this book are just outstanding. The facial expressions on Hal and the other characters in the story are just delightful.

I predict that this author/illustrator team will soon receive offers from established book publishers. I look forward to many more books to come.

***

Thanks Janette!

If you would like to purchase Hal - there's link in the side-bar.

Welcome to My Indy book review

As everyone knows, Indy music is hot and has a loyal following.  Indy films are also popular and even have their own cable channel.  But what about Indy books?  As an independent author who has just released a self-published kid's picture book, I ran into something of a stigma.  People have the impression that self-published books are, by definition, of lesser quality than those published by traditional publishing houses.  This is just not true.  As I'm sure you're aware there are some traditionally published titles that are just terrible, and some that are excellent.  It's the same with self-published books.  Some are great, some are horrible, some are just OK.  Some are polished, some need more work.  There are many reasons people chose to self-publish and it's usually not because the book "isn't good enough" to be published.  We can get into that in other posts.

My aim here is to provide a two-fold service.  1.  To promote independent authors and their books by reviewing their books.
2.  To help readers discover some of these wonderful books that they may otherwise pass over.

Now I'm just getting started, so if you're an Indy author, email me and I'll review your book.  In return, you tell everyone you can about this blog.