If you have read my In My Mailbox for 12/2, you would know I have recently received two different e-books from two different authors. Those two books just happen to be self-published or published by indie publishers.
I was reading one on my Nook during Study Hall when my friend asked my what I was reading. When I told her, she was curious, because she, a bookworm, like me, haven’t heard of the book before. I said something about it was probably because the book wasn’t published by a big well known publishers like HaperCollins or Simon and Schuster. We then went into an argument whether it was worth it to read indie/self published books.
She argued that most indie/self published books were ones that were rejected from publishers like the ones mentioned above.
I argued that just because they got rejected doesn’t mean they are badly written. Now, now, before you get a fit about rejection being bad, let me explain. Big, well known publishers are often looking for a book that follows a certain formula. Why? Well, because they know that books that follow that formula are more likely to make more money. For example, how many books have you read that took place in a dystopian world and included a love triangle? I don’t know about you, but I lost count of how many books with that description I have read. Just because a book was rejected by a publisher, doesn’t mean it was bad – maybe it just wasn’t what the publisher was looking for.
In fact, I argued that is a good reason why to read indie/self published books – they are different from other books you probably have read, in a good way. I mainly read YA books, this is a YA blog, and most of the people who drop by here are, YA readers. Tell me, does it bother you when every book you read seems to contain some sort of love triangle? Does it bother you when the main character chooses the boy you didn’t want them to choose? Enough about love triangles, there will be a separate post on them later.
I guess the main question is – does it bother you to keep reading books that seem the same?
There are other reasons why books by indie/self-published authors are worth reading. I just gave one.
What do you think? Do you read books by indie/self-published authors?
I haven’t read many English indie books cause it’s hard to get them here in my country. Well, I do agree that not all indie books are badly written. I think the reason that not many people know about them is cause they are lack of promotion. But I’m sure there are hidden gems in indie books. Yeah and I am annoyed sometimes when there’s a love triangle, especially those which come out of nowhere. But I admit that I do like some love triangles. And yeah, it’s quite rare to find YA series WITHOUT love triangle nowadays since it has become an inseperable element of YA books. Hmm, I think if there aren’t many love triangles in standalone books. Oh, I would love to read your post about love triangle! 🙂
I totally agree with you. Without the backing of large publishing companies, indie and self published books lack the promotion, other books get. Hahaha, you probably don’t want to read my post on love triangles… it would probably end up being a really long rant.
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂 I really appreciate it.