Does indie have any special appeal?

[DevonMoroi]

Sometimes I hear about people who absolutely love their indie bands. Being indie grants the music some extra appeal or authority that mainstream/commerical musicians just can't match. I'm wondering, do indie authors or publishers ever get anything similar?

I've only had my kindle for a few days, but as I've scanned Amazon, it seems like a lot of the indie covers are pretty weak. I haven't read the books yet, but I was wondering what others thought.

[J R McLemore]

Hi Devon,

I have to agree that there are a lot of weak covers out there for a lot of indie books. However, I would justify that by saying that indies are responsible for every single stage of the creation process. Most of these people aren't graphical artists so their artistic skills are very lacking, therefore their story may be passed over because the cover doesn't convey what lies beneath. Their true talent should be the words that tell the story within.

There is a sense of accomplishment that indies experience by delivering a product to the masses simply by running the gauntlet of producing a finished work of art (let's face it, like music, creating a book is an art form). Having done everything yourself is very gratifying. Especially, if readers enjoy it, discuss the work, and share their opinions with the creator.

Happy reading!

[GGKeets]

Like indie music there is a lot of sewage to wade through. The problem with writing though is that it's not so obvious. It may take a bit longer then ten seconds to realize you've got a stinker.

Nevertheless the gems are out there. As the other poster said, many of the indie authors take complete control of their work. That could be great! However the problem is most people simply don't have the skills or patience to wear multiple hats. My advice is to find the more established indies first and don't hesitate to sample.

[DH_Sayer]

The great thing about indie authors, like indie bands, is that there were no gatekeepers preventing them from getting their stuff to the audience. That can also be the bad thing about them.

But plenty of bad stuff gets published, too, and considering how hard it is to write a book, the good/bad ratio is probably the same. Just have to keep your eyes open for the good stuff.

[history_lover]

Hi Devon,

I'm an indie author and I have to agree that there are a lot of weak covers out there for a lot of indie books. However, I would justify that by saying that indies are responsible for every single stage of the creation process. Most of these people aren't graphical artists so their artistic skills are very lacking, therefore their story may be passed over because the cover doesn't convey what lies beneath. Their true talent should be the words that tell the story within.

Indie doesn't automatically mean self published. There are plenty of independent book publishers who hire professional graphic artists to do their book covers. Indie is not excuse for amateur work in my opinion - even if one is self published... invest in a graphic artist, there are plenty of students out there willing to work for a small fee. Or use something like http://99designs.com/book-cover-design where you can get lots of options and pick your own price. If you want readers to take you seriously, you have to come across as professional, whether self published or not.

[Ben White]

Not yet. Maybe in a year or two.  Right now the whole thing's still too immature.

[OwenAdams]

For me buying indie books is all about finding those hidden gems. There's a lot more poor quality stuff to wade through because pretty much anyone can publish to the kindle store, but when you find one of the good ones it will often be so wonderful that it was worth the search.

[BTackitt]

I have been reading about 90%  self-pubbed/indie authors for over 2 years. I have found some great new authors out there. It does take time to "sift" through and find gems if one were to do it via Amazon. I prefer to do it by searching sig lines here on KB. It makes things MUCH easier, because most authors here are willing to put the time required in to give a polished finished product, great covers, edited & proofread work, and compelling, intelligent stories.

[mooshie78]

To me, no.

If anything it's a mild deterrent.  A published book has been vetted by the publishing house for quality, received professional editing etc.  So I view them as a tad less risky than an indie book, and much less risky than a self published book.

And part of that is just that reading is down my hobby list a bit, so I'm not really willing to put in the extra time to research and vet indie books very often when I have so many published books from established authors on my to be read list.  Including lots of books by authors who's work I love and just haven't had time to read all their books.  If I ever get caught up on all that stuff, then I'll probably give indie books a chance more often than I do now.

[Krista D. Ball]

The best thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.
The worse thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.

 

[Bards and Sages (Julie)]

The best thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.
The worse thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.

 

Hey, that's MY line!

Indie authors are not the Second Coming, nor are they the Anti-Christ.  It is just a different route to publication.  No more, no less.  All books are judged the same when I decide to buy.  Maybe a friend recommended it.  Maybe I caught a review somewhere.  Maybe I see the cover in the bookstore.  I read the description. Check out the blurb.  Read a sample.  Either the book makes me want to spend money or it doesn't.  Doesn't matter if it is an indie author I never heard of or Stephen King (and I love King.  I use to buy every book.  Then I read Insomnia...or tried to...and I don't automatically buy every book anymore). 

[Krista D. Ball]

You were busy scaring away little kids. 

[S Jaffe]

In addition to writing, I co-host and produce a podcast.  I have to sift through hundreds of indie songs to find the music for each show, and over time I've gotten to the point that I can tell within the first few notes if it's a song worth downloading to listen to further.  While I'm not at that point with indie books, I have found that within a few pages of the samples, I can determine if an author's writing style is a) at a professional level and b) something I want to check out further.  I still get some dogs, but I also have found some gems.

And, actually, I should take the word 'indie' out of that last bit because this same skill we're all learning (reading e-samples) has helped me with traditionally pubbed stuff too.  Remember, traditional publishing isn't primarily interested in what's well-written, but rather they're interest is in what's marketable on a mass level.  If it's well-written, that's a big bonus and, obviously, readers generally prefer well-written material.  However, marketability trumps all for the big publishers, which is why we end up with stuff like Dan Brown -- poorly written but extremely accessible, fun, light, and marketable.

[DebBennett]

The best thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.
The worse thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it.

 

So true. But a lot of traditional authors are now choosing to self-pub their backlists onto kindle. Writers whose contracts never mentioned e-rights because they hadn't been invented and whose books are often now out of print but who want to find a new audience. Check out www.authorselectric.co.uk for a whole stack of professionally-edited books.

[MariaESchneider]

I just like good books.  I wouldn't say the indie movement has any special appeal.  I think it did at first.  People were happy to try books especially if they were inexpensive.  The tide seems to be the other way at the moment, where there's a bit of a resistance to indie books.   I still shop the way I always have--by description, by genre, by recommendations from the book friends and book groups I'm in.  I'm pretty careful about trying to sample.  I hate doing it because it's time-consuming, but I keep getting burned when I don't sample.  Just the other day, I came across this GREAT review of a book.  It was a trad book on sale for 1.99 ... I snapped it up.  Turns out it was a Christian "choose God in real life" type of book.  (Nothing against any type of literature here, but from the review I thought it was romance.) 

Luckily I was so enthused after reading the review, I started the book right away and so was able to return it.  I THEN checked the Amazon reviews.  See, I could have saved myself trouble had I done this all the other way around. 

[Jeff Shelby]

As Maria states above, I think people just like good books.  I'm not sure that readers necessarily care how they were published - they just want engaging stories with interesting characters that are told in an accessible way.  I don't think they say I'll only read this kind of published book or that kind of published book.  If the story is well-written, a reader will dive into it, regardless of how the book came into being 

[CDChristian]

I mostly read non-fiction (traditionally published), but when I read fiction it's primarily dark romance/erotic romance/erotica. Of the fiction books I read, 99% are indie books. The reason being is I've found indie writers can push boundaries or approach tried and true story lines from a different angle that I don't find if I read, for example, Sherrilyn Kenyon or Christine Feehan. They're able to take chances that a traditional writer might not be able to. For me, that is the main appeal in reading indie.       

[Krista D. Ball]

Just an FYI - it is rather disingenuous for indie authors to say indie authors are special 

[E. S. Lark]

Indies appeal to me about the same at traditionally published. One thing folks have to keep in mind is the word 'indie' first came around for small, legit publishers. Self-published authors have 'adopted' the word, clustering themselves with publishers such as a small press. So, it all depends on who published the work--the author or a small press.

As for me, I'll read just about anything, so long as it grabs my attention and the sample isn't littered with errors. I've read quite a few poorly writing books from big houses, and I've read poorly written books by self-published authors. In the end, it all comes down to what you're looking for, if you can find it and if the quality is still there. Luckily, I've picked more 'high quality' pieces of self-published authors than I've bought from 'low quality' ones.

[Dara England]

The only factors drawing me to indie books as such are low prices and/or some interest in the author, if I've met them. I'm not bored with or unsatisfied by the offerings of traditional publishers and am reassured by their familiar formulas. By that I mean I like knowing when I buy a book of a certain genre that it must fit the expectations of the genre and the publisher won't have allowed the author to deviate too far from the expectations of the readership.  

So I'm not attracted to any outside the box appeal of indies, I'm simply a cheapo who flinches at the $9 and up price tags when there are comparable cheaper titles. I don't view indie books as special or better than others, just another option for someone like me who has a small book buying budget or who has a voracious appetite for books of a certain type and has trouble finding enough of them.  

ETA: On the subject of indie covers being weak, I have to say (at the risk of appearing very self-serving) that yes, I believe indie covers in general are very weak. But I have seen improvement lately as I think more authors are getting proficient with design programs.

[dgaughran]

I think the price certainly does. My wallet is enjoying that over half my purchases since I got my Kindle were indie books (and the rest mostly backlist stuff from older favorites).

There certainly is a cachet of sorts to "indie" in music that hasn't yet, perhaps, translated over to books. I do think that indies have a more diverse range of voices, but that may take some time to establish itself.

I haven't stopped buying any of my old favorites, but I've stopped buying any of the stuff from the big publishers that I was on the fence about. All those dollars have gone indie.

[BrianKittrell]

Sometimes I hear about people who absolutely love their indie bands. Being indie grants the music some extra appeal or authority that mainstream/commerical musicians just can't match. I'm wondering, do indie authors or publishers ever get anything similar?

I've only had my kindle for a few days, but as I've scanned Amazon, it seems like a lot of the indie covers are pretty weak. I haven't read the books yet, but I was wondering what others thought.

I've always thought that I've enjoyed indie music because it was good. The same applies to everything else "indie": if it's good, it has appeal. People who enjoy indie books don't enjoy them because they're trying to make a point about publishing. They don't enjoy them because they, too, are rebels against the system. They read and like them because they're good stories.

So, like indie music, I like indie books when they're a good read.

[MLPMom]

I think they have a lot of appeal. They are like finding hidden buried treasure.

I have several authors and series that I adore that are from indie authors.

I don't know what genre you like to read but if you are looking for something specific let me know, I am sure I can recommend a few.

[HeidiHall]

I'm with Dara in that I love gorging on books and self pub/Indies is a great way to get my fill inexpensively. But I'm also extremely picky, so I sample, sample, sample. I, too, have my old standbys, but while I wait for them to come down in price, I've discovered many new favorites (most from KB!).

[Beth Dolgner]

In addition to writing, I co-host and produce a podcast.  I have to sift through hundreds of indie songs to find the music for each show, and over time I've gotten to the point that I can tell within the first few notes if it's a song worth downloading to listen to further.  

I work for an indie record label. You aren't kidding about having to sift through a lot of songs and artists to find a few gems! Indie authors are the same way but then, so are traditional authors. Just because an author gets a publishing contract doesn't mean I'm going to like what they write. What I like about indie is that you can find books that are edgy or aimed at a small readership: stuff that traditional publishers wouldn't have touched and wouldn't have seen the light of day otherwise.