Giving Thanks for Indie Authors!

This weekend is both Canadian Thanksgiving and Indie Author Day. Combining both celebrations, I am posting today about my gratitude for indie publishing and indie authors. And of course, even if you don’t want to read the rest, you must scroll down for some great new reading material!

thankful-indie-authors

Independent (indie) authors come in many shapes, colours, personalities, and flavours. They may be self-publishing through Kindle Direct Publishing, iBooks, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, Draft2Digital, or any number of other distributors. They may be publishing print books through Createspace, Ingram, Lulu, or another POD printer, or they may be publishing through a small press or micropress publisher or a local printer. They may be recording audiobooks themselves or with a narrator. They might be publishing in another language. They may be selling direct through their websites.

Indie authors might be teenagers or seniors publishing their first book. They might be experienced writers publishing their twentieth or fiftieth book. They might be hybrid authors who either started out in traditional publishing or split their work between self and trad publishing.

They might be your next-door neighbour, niece, or grandfather publishing under a pen name.

They run the gamut from those who have sold only a few copies to those who are drawing six figures. Or more.

I have greatly enjoyed indie publishing. I have learned so much in the past few years, and I have improved not only my writing craft, but my knowledge of graphic design, marketing, web design, social networking, mailing list management, and so much more. In the past three years, (October is the third anniversary of publishing my first book!) I have published twenty of my own books (with three more coming in the next three months), five translations, three collections, eleven annotated classics, one audiobook (with two more coming out shortly), and have helped with a few other projects that were only published privately or were published by others. What a great time!

So why am I thankful for indie publishing?

  • I have control over my product(s)
  • I can set my own hours and deadlines
  • I can publish more than the one or two books a year that a traditional big publisher would allow
  • I have met so many great authors

What is so great about indie authors?

  • They help each other, sharing their tips and knowledge and sometimes even free services with each other
  • They cooperate and help to cross-promote each other’s books, rather than competing or trying to corner the market
  • While of course, they come in all different personalities, they tend to be down-to-earth, genuine, everyday people ready to share a laugh or to commiserate
  • They publish lots of great reading material!

And with that thought, here are some of the indie authors in my online communities and the books they are offering!

David M. Kelly, Three Lives of Mary

mary-r02-01-600This is an awesome cover, David. Three Lives of Mary, a short story, is currently priced at $0.99.

Mary is part of an elite CySapient team, surveying planets looking for potential worlds to colonize. Her partner, Ben, is a total conversion sentient spaceship—and her husband. 

While investigating the surface of a rare, potentially habitable planet, Mary encounters a strange plant-animal hybrid that threatens to destroy her despite her near invulnerable Cynetic body. Ben rescues her, but the lifeforms create a violent lightning storm and almost blast him out of the skies, severely damaging his systems—including his highly expensive Dataract.

Sparrow R. Jones, The ABCs of Autism Acceptance

autism-61kcrfbz4glSparrow is an autistic author writing about autism. I have read Sparrow’s first book, No You Don’t, and really enjoyed it. I have read some of the essays in The ABCs of Autism Acceptance, and am looking forward to reading the entire book. This is one book that encourages thoughtful consideration.

Autism awareness is merely a starting point. Awareness without acceptance and understanding does more damage than good. The ABCs of Autism Acceptance takes the reader on an Autistic tour of the alphabet, visiting important topics ranging from healthcare access to bullying and trauma to love, and much more, stepping beyond simple awareness into the understanding and acceptance that are required of each one of us if we hope to truly welcome and support the Autistic members of our huge and diverse human family.

Talena Winters, The Friday Night Date Dress

fridaynightdatedressI recently met Talena at a Writer’s Conference. She attended a couple of my panels, and her book was next to mine on the display table. She beta-read Chloe, the fourth book in the Between the Cracks series for me, and came back with some great feedback.

The Friday Night Date Dress: She sews runway masterpieces… but who will mend her damaged heart?

Tragic loss has made Melinda Myers invisible. She hides as a nondescript waitress at an average diner during the day. But each night, she sews runway masterpieces that she wears only once before putting them into a box forever. Peter Surati, an aspiring Asian Indian photographer, can’t help but notice beautiful, sad Melinda. He makes it his mission to help her find her smile again. But can he find a way to mend her damaged heart?

Mahrie G. Reid, Came Home Dead

home-deadMahire G. Reid, a Nova Scotian, a minister’s daughter, and a lover of mysteries, oceans and islands penned her first book at age eight. Decades later she came back to pen and paper and has published three books with the Atlantic and an island in them. The Caleb Cove Mystery Series will be followed by book #4 (Came Home to a Grave) in 2107. 

S.K. Wee, Absence of Color

51um8x7rzwlFind Absence of Color here.

Are our destinies preordained? Darby and Wagner are hired mercenaries employed by an organization called The Black Rose, led by a woman sometimes known as Lil Red. Their newest mission is to rescue two children and then escort them across the country while posing as peddlers. Join the adventure of this Coming of Age Fantasy. Magic, friendship, and romance abound.

Meredith Rose, Chains of Silver

unnamed-5Chains of Silver is free on Kindle

In the high-stakes world of the theater, stage fright can seriously crank your career, so apprentice Minx Mellor hides her phobia, studying as a technomancer to create fantastic, steam-powered devices. 

But when the mysterious serial killer known as The Peacock targets one of their own, Minx can hide no longer. To save the life of the woman she loves like a mother, she teams up with her sworn enemy and a dashing young director whose powerful magic wakes the nightmares she’s kept secret for years. 

C.C. Naughton, Don’t Piss Off the Faeries

fairiesfrontcoverI had to include CC’s full title and subtitle, which is: Don’t Piss Off The Fairies: An offbeat fairy tale about a spirited girl, her enigmatic grandmother, an incredible forest, baffling quests, and adorable (but also slightly creepy) fairies!

Nellie stopped believing in fairies when she was very small, although her Gran insisted they make extremely tiny shoes and give them a bowl of milk to drink each night. Why they had to be the ones to keep the irritating little things clothed and fed was beyond Nellie’s understanding. 

Lena Mae Hill, When in Rome, Find Yourself

img_20160718_231118Lena Mae Hill currently has a YA Paperback Giveaway going which includes Once Brothers.

When in Rome, Find Yourself is on sale for $0.99. Rory Hartnett has sworn off love, so boys will not be a distraction on her six-week study abroad trip to Rome. She has her plate full dealing with her anxiety in a foreign country, making new friends to explore the city with, taking classes, and applying for an internship at a travel e-zine. But when she meets the cute artist sharing her eccentric host mother’s lodging, all bets are off.

Joanne Van Leerdam, Leaf

2016-05-05-19-05-11-2This poetry book by Joanne Van Leerdam can be found here.

Tell me what you think!

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