Know any Good Self-pub Books?

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by mitford13

Anya Lipska's crime fiction titles, set in the Polish community in London, are excellent, IMO. She's still self-pub in the US, but I think now has a UK publisher and definitely a German trad publisher.
Where the Devil Can't Go is the first of three (so far.)

She's with harpercollons in the UK. Interesting to read. The setting is very London so may not fly so well in America.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Interesting to read. The setting is very London so may not fly so well in America.

Yes. Americans absolutely hate books set in other countries.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Judging purely by the recommendations in this thread, it appears that most good self-pub gets picked up by traditional publishing eventually.

My two absolute favorite authors ever were either traditional previously or are now hybrids.
Both also have their own worlds at Kindle.
Not sure if the first one has ever been on the NYT bestseller list but I know the other one has been there at least twice.
They are also both professionals.

Ok before I start sounding like the ultimate fan girl, I will just tell you they are J.A. Konrath/Jack Kilborn and Russell Blake.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Judging purely by the recommendations in this thread, it appears that most good self-pub gets picked up by traditional publishing eventually.

Only sometimes. Some (Konrath, Eisler) have left the trad pubs and are now indies completely. Some only do print contracts with the trad pubs (Howey) because self-publishing has an advantage for e-books but trad publishing has a HUGE advantage for print publication distribution. Some go all-in with the trad pubs because they don't want to deal with production anymore (and can afford it - Hocking).

I know there are many more that haven't gone trad pub at all though (the others in my list earlier for example). They just don't normally get the press that the ones who have been recruited do.

[hildea]

Courtney Milan (http://www.courtneymilan.com/) writes really good romance, mostly historical, but also some (well, one so far) contemporary. She went from traditional publishing to self publishing for both commercial and artistic reasons (for instance, she and her editor had to spend time quarreling with marketing before they were willing to publish a romance where the hero was a virgin).

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Yes. Americans absolutely hate books set in other countries.

Especially Arkansas.*





* = Not that there's anything wrong with Arkansas.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Yes. Americans absolutely hate books set in other countries.

americans place european countries on map

[Rizla]

Oops, wrong book.

[dickloraine]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Judging purely by the recommendations in this thread, it appears that most good self-pub gets picked up by traditional publishing eventually.

Often it just makes sense. Print is still bigger than eBooks and getting successfully in that market is done better by trad pubs.

Some of these authors have tried to get trad pubed and were rejected. As you can see at their success, trad pub has failed in these cases to pick the right books.

I mostly read trad pub books, but some times self published too. For my reading pleasure, only the quality if the book is important. Trad pub publishes so many bad books too. When was the last time, you picked up some random book, just because it surely has to be good, because it is published? I look at recommendations, reviews etc. to get inspirations to what to read next.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Rizla

americans place european countries on map

You seem to be under the impression that a reader's knowledge of a geography foreign to their own is somehow a prerequisite to enjoy works that are set in a real location foreign to their own. That logic simply does not pan out. For many readers, the known/the familiar/the comfortable is exactly what they're trying to avoid.

I've never been to Boston; couldn't pick out any of its streets, landmarks or suburbs on a map if I tried. That hasn't stopped me from enjoying novels set there. Same goes for Los Angeles, Bangkok, London, or Moscow.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Others I have enjoyed are the Chronicles of St. Mary's series by Jodi Taylor (time travel adventure);

Read the preview. Yes, very good. I don't like first-person (over-used and generally poorly at that). Interestingly she is published by what looks like a UK indie publisher, but garners far more reviews on the amazon .com site than on the co.uk site.

I like reading first works by at the time, as yet unpublished (but talented) authors' first works because I can see their lack of experience showing in mistakes in the prose, but the overall quality shines through. The same goes for the Polish-themed London-based thriller noted above.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You seem to be under the impression that a reader's knowledge of a geography foreign to their own is somehow a prerequisite to enjoy works that are set in a real location foreign to their own. That logic simply does not pan out.

Oh loosen up.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Oh loosen up.

And here I was actually hoping it was you who would do so.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by dickloraine

Often it just makes sense. Print is still bigger than eBooks and getting successfully in that market is done better by trad pubs.

Some of these authors have tried to get trad pubed and were rejected. As you can see at their success, trad pub has failed in these cases to pick the right books.

I mostly read trad pub books, but some times self published too. For my reading pleasure, only the quality if the book is important. Trad pub publishes so many bad books too. When was the last time, you picked up some random book, just because it surely has to be good, because it is published? I look at recommendations, reviews etc. to get inspirations to what to read next.

One difference I note between trad-pub and self-pub books is that I never read a trad-pub book where the writing was simply, objectively amateurish at a word and sentence level. I may not like the trad-pub book, find it pointless, long-winded, going nowhere, or whatever (i.e. not my thing), but the basic craft is normally there. Presumably they wouldn't get into print otherwise. (Plus maybe they were edited?) Whereas I've seen a lot of self-pub stuff where the author's prose is execrable. They simply didn't know how to write at the most basic technical level. Obviously not always.

Looking at the two books I cite above, both author's make what are IMO technical mistakes that a good editor might have highlighted, and therefore improved.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And here I was actually hoping it was you who would so.

I'm loose, baby.