Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off

jgaiser · 10-15-2015, 05:11 PM

Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns, Prince of Fools) coordinated a self-published fantasy blog-off on reddit's /r/fantasy sub, asking for submissions from self-published writers and convinced 10 book review sites to wade through the submissions.

The blog-off is down to the 10 finalists (one from each review site) and the final pass is ongoing, with results expected my March 2016.

I picked up all 10 with a final cost of $0.99 (one book was neither KU free or really free) and have gotten through almost 3 books along with all the other books I've been reading the past couple of months (fell off a ladder and broke my shoulder at the end of July and I'm pretty worthless for much else). If the final 7 are as good as the first three, this will be the best $.99 I've ever spent.

If you want to see how good self-published books can be, check out the list on Mark's website.

DrNefario · 10-16-2015, 08:13 AM

I've been looking into this recently, too, in the hope of finding some things worth borrowing on my Prime subscription (in the event, 3 were free, 4 were in the Kindle Lending Library and the last 3 would cost me actual money). I haven't read any of them yet. Some of them don't sound much like my kind of thing. Nice idea, though.

DiapDealer · 10-16-2015, 08:34 AM

I like Mark. Both as an author and a personality. His contests and "events" are always fun and usually quite thoughtful. I think it's great that someone who's had the level of success he's had is willing to organize something like this in his limited spare time.

Many of these titles are on my Goodreads' "to be considered" shelves as a result.

jgaiser · 10-17-2015, 04:41 PM

I've finished 3 of the 10 so far. The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids, City of Burning Shadows and Priest. All are very well written and worthy of a publishing contract. My favorite so far is Priest. The protagonist is the fantasy equivalent of a Sin Eater. Action starts in chapter 1 and never seems to end. The book does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, but book 2 is out and the author has plans for 5 books.

DiapDealer · 10-18-2015, 01:47 PM

Do me favor and let me know if you come across any that are relatively self-contained. Love to give some of these a shot, but I'm not into starting any new, incomplete series right now.

jgaiser · 10-18-2015, 06:56 PM

Yeah.. It seems that multi-volume is a thing these days. Doesn't really bother me, but I understand. A couple of the ones I haven't started aren't mark as "Book 1", but we'll see.

DiapDealer · 10-19-2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Yeah.. It seems that multi-volume is a thing these days. Doesn't really bother me, but I understand. A couple of the ones I haven't started aren't mark as "Book 1", but we'll see.

I'm ok with the multi-volume trend. I just wish descriptions and publishers were a little more forthcoming about it. I have to check multiple reviews and author pages/blogs/forums to find out what I need to know, and even that doesn't always turn up definitive results--especially with debut authors. It gets tiresome after a bit.

Should be a big red warning in the descriptions: Book one of an eight-part planned (and currently incomplete) series. Expect little to no resolution in this installment!

10-15-2015, 05:11 PM	#1
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns, Prince of Fools) coordinated a self-published fantasy blog-off on reddit's /r/fantasy sub, asking for submissions from self-published writers and convinced 10 book review sites to wade through the submissions. The blog-off is down to the 10 finalists (one from each review site) and the final pass is ongoing, with results expected my March 2016. I picked up all 10 with a final cost of $0.99 (one book was neither KU free or really free) and have gotten through almost 3 books along with all the other books I've been reading the past couple of months (fell off a ladder and broke my shoulder at the end of July and I'm pretty worthless for much else). If the final 7 are as good as the first three, this will be the best $.99 I've ever spent. If you want to see how good self-published books can be, check out the list on Mark's website.

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10-16-2015, 08:13 AM	#2
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,195 Karma: 12000000 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I've been looking into this recently, too, in the hope of finding some things worth borrowing on my Prime subscription (in the event, 3 were free, 4 were in the Kindle Lending Library and the last 3 would cost me actual money). I haven't read any of them yet. Some of them don't sound much like my kind of thing. Nice idea, though.

10-16-2015, 08:34 AM	#3
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,491 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I like Mark. Both as an author and a personality. His contests and "events" are always fun and usually quite thoughtful. I think it's great that someone who's had the level of success he's had is willing to organize something like this in his limited spare time. Many of these titles are on my Goodreads' "to be considered" shelves as a result.

10-17-2015, 04:41 PM	#4
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I've finished 3 of the 10 so far. The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids, City of Burning Shadows and Priest. All are very well written and worthy of a publishing contract. My favorite so far is Priest. The protagonist is the fantasy equivalent of a Sin Eater. Action starts in chapter 1 and never seems to end. The book does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, but book 2 is out and the author has plans for 5 books.

10-18-2015, 01:47 PM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,491 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Do me favor and let me know if you come across any that are relatively self-contained. Love to give some of these a shot, but I'm not into starting any new, incomplete series right now.

10-18-2015, 06:56 PM	#6
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Yeah.. It seems that multi-volume is a thing these days. Doesn't really bother me, but I understand. A couple of the ones I haven't started aren't mark as "Book 1", but we'll see.

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