MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - How Many of MR's Indie Authors Have You Read ?

rhadin · 05-26-2010, 10:29 AM

I selected 6-10. I like to give indie authors a try but too many of them here on MR seem to only offer their books on the Kindle, which shuts out those of us who aren't Kindlers and who do not buy from Amazon. In my own case, I tend to not download books from MR indie authors that are in genres I simply have no interest in, such as romance, horror, and vampires.

I am also reluctant to buy my first book from an indie author. What I mean is, if I haven't read the author's work before, I hesitate to buy. Too often the quality is not good when I have done so. OTOH, if I download a free book from a new indie author and find I like the author's writing, I generally immediately search for all other books the author has written and am willing to buy them. A good example is Shayne Parkinson's Promises to Keep series. (I reviewed this series here.) She offered the first book, Sentence of Marriage, free, I downloaded it, read it, and even before finishing the first book, purchased the other 3 books she had written.

Another MR indie author whose books I discovered here with a free first book and then immediately purchased the rest of the books in the series is Tracy Falbe and her series The Rys Chronicles.

Although Parkinson and Falbe are not the only indie authors whose books are well written and interesting (at least to me), too many indie authors are sloppy at best. You can find some examples of what I have encountered here.

It would be incorrect to say that some of the same problems do not exist with traditional publishing, but it would be correct to say the problems seem -- at least in my experience -- to be fewer.

When we find indie authors who can write and tell a good story, such as Parkinson and Falbe, they should be supported so that they continue to write. The problem is finding them.

05-26-2010, 10:29 AM	#20
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	I selected 6-10. I like to give indie authors a try but too many of them here on MR seem to only offer their books on the Kindle, which shuts out those of us who aren't Kindlers and who do not buy from Amazon. In my own case, I tend to not download books from MR indie authors that are in genres I simply have no interest in, such as romance, horror, and vampires. I am also reluctant to buy my first book from an indie author. What I mean is, if I haven't read the author's work before, I hesitate to buy. Too often the quality is not good when I have done so. OTOH, if I download a free book from a new indie author and find I like the author's writing, I generally immediately search for all other books the author has written and am willing to buy them. A good example is Shayne Parkinson's Promises to Keep series. (I reviewed this series here.) She offered the first book, Sentence of Marriage, free, I downloaded it, read it, and even before finishing the first book, purchased the other 3 books she had written. Another MR indie author whose books I discovered here with a free first book and then immediately purchased the rest of the books in the series is Tracy Falbe and her series The Rys Chronicles. Although Parkinson and Falbe are not the only indie authors whose books are well written and interesting (at least to me), too many indie authors are sloppy at best. You can find some examples of what I have encountered here. It would be incorrect to say that some of the same problems do not exist with traditional publishing, but it would be correct to say the problems seem -- at least in my experience -- to be fewer. When we find indie authors who can write and tell a good story, such as Parkinson and Falbe, they should be supported so that they continue to write. The problem is finding them.