Indie Only - YA, MG & Kids and Short Stories discussion

Hi everyone,
I am very new to the role of moderator, but I think this group can be a success. I've spent the last several years writing my book, Emerge and I have done everything in my power to make it the best it can be.
I love what I do, and I think I have the best job in the world, but it is very frustrating to run into so many brick walls just because I happen to be labeled as an indie author. (Sometimes I feel like I'm wearing a scarlet letter!)
We are at such a crucial time of transformation in the publishing industry and I strongly feel that the changes ahead absolute must start with quality control.
So take a moment to introduce yourselves and tell us about your experiences. Just please keep the self promotion to the designated area.
Let's do this!
Melissa

Hi,
I'm Haley and this sounds like it has the makings of a great group! Count me in!
I'm not an author yet, but when/if I ever finish my book, I will definitely want to participate. In the mean time, I love to read and I'm just getting into review books. I like YA and Fantasy genres best.
Haley

Hi Haley!
Welcome! Take a look around and let me know if you have any questions.

Hello! I'm Tanya, author of three books currently on Goodreads and more on the way. They are YA urban fantasy, superhero, and a new one coming in a month that's science fiction/fantasy aimed at an older audience. I'm not all that good at sticking to set genres or age groups, but I do love my modern day magic.

Reading-wise I'm currently on an urban fantasy binge that's light on the romance.

Hi Tanya, hi Keith,
Thanks for joining!
Remember to message me if you want to add your books to the list for reviewers to choose from.

Tanya makes a good point about not sticking to a set genre or age group. I think that is one of the best things about being an indie author. We get to be as creative and inventive as we want to be! I have a few friends that have signed with small publishing labels and they are miserable because they have lost so much control of their work!
Seeing what they've gone through just solidifies it for me. Self publishing is the way to go if you really want to get creative.
Melissa

Hello. My name is Bill. I write short stories and recently published my first piece on Amazon (hopefully shorts are OK for this group). I think it's a great idea--and is necessary--to up the quality control factor as far as reviews are concerned. Everybody claims to be "honest," but lets face it; a lot of reviews are outrageously lenient. I'm pretty new to this, but review swapping seems to be kind of a "you scratch my back; i'll scratch yours" type of deal. And in some cases, it's more like, "I'm not submitting a review until you do. You better have overlooked all 73 grammatical errors and given me a raving review or i'll go back and sandbag yours, or post nothing at all."...Somehow this has turned into a rant. Whoops. Anyway, I think it's a great idea. How should I send you my book?

Hi Bill,
Welcome!
I completely agree with your assessment of the review process. We all want great reviews, but we need them to be completely honest. When I am reviewing a book for another author, I find myself thinking, 'jeez, I don't want to hurt this guy's feelings, I know how hard he's worked on this!' And I end up giving it a higher rating than I really would have if I wasn't in contact with the author. I am hoping this method will really work here!
I am posting some submission guidelines today!
Melissa

Hello everyone! Excited to be here and thanks to Melissa for the invite!

My writing partner, Dana Howell Melton, and I write under the pen name Kirby Howell and we're currently working on a YA apocalyptic series. We live in Los Angeles and work in the television industry - I'm an accountant and she's a producer - she has the cooler job, by far...!

We've been writing together for over 15 years and about 7 years ago, we changed gears from writing scripts together to writing novels together. At one point, we had a literary agent and a publisher, but ultimately decided to break ties with both parties so we could publish our books the way we wanted. We learned how to do everything from formatting a paperback and coding a manuscript for Kindle to becoming a whizz with social media and marketing.

We independently published the first two books in the Autumn Series, Autumn in the City of Angels and Autumn in the Dark Meadows, in April 2013. The third and final book in the series, Autumn in the City of Lights, is currently scheduled for a late summer 2015 release.

Looking forward to checking out all of your books and making some friends!

Jessica...
(1/2 of Kirby Howell)

Hi. My name is Jeff, and I published my first fantasy book (YA/Epic, so may be up your street Haley :-) ) this month. I get frustrated with:

1. Reading terrific reviews of an indie book, and then getting it and thinking, "What?!"
2. Finding it virtually impossible to get reviews of any sort myself
3. The stigma that is attached to indie publishing.

The ideas behind this group look terrific. Let's hope it takes off!
Jeff

Hey everyone,

I'm Venus, I'm self-pub. I write YA Fic. If you've seen me on Twitter you'll know I'm all about Diversity, Latino Authors & WNDB. As I am Latina myself. I grew up in Boston, Ma where I lived in a four block radius my entire life. The local public library was my best friend growing up. The library is where I found my love for books at a very young age, and that love only grew stronger becoming into what it is now;a writer. 'The Hybrid' is my first published novel, winning its first five star silver seal. I am proud to be a Latina author, as I'm currently working on bk2 of 'The Hybrid Series'
I thank you all for accepting me into your group, it's a privilege to be amongst other fine authors.
Thank You for having me !!
Venus Morales

Hello everyone!
I write under the names Ashley Uzzell and Marie Krepps. Ashley is for my family-friendly/children's books. Marie is for more adult themed novels. For now I will be using this account for both (Goodreads is having issues with my other account, apparently.)

I published with a small publishing company a couple of times but I too found it a bit too stifling. For the most part, my writing tends to span several genres and I have only recently decided that self-publishing is right for me right now.
But I am now adrift in the sea of indie authors all screaming in one loud voice for a rescue. Most of us will never be heard over the cacophony. We should stop fighting each other for the desired attentions and rescue each other instead. I hope that this group can help with that!

As far as reviews go, I admit that I'm not very good at writing them. That doesn't mean that I won't, mine just tend to be short, sweet and to the point. When I first starting doing reviews for others and was introduced to the review exchange system, I, like many others, was afraid to hurt someone's feelings. But now, I tend to tell it like it is. If someone asks me for an "honest" review that is exactly what they get. I'm not mean, I don't berate the author for their mistakes but I do point out what could use some work. That's the beta reader in me coming out.

On the other hand, if I go through the trouble of promising you a review, don't hand me something that has more spelling mistakes than a Kindergartener's first spelling test. It feels like a slap in the face to the rest of us indie authors that pour our sweat and blood into our work. You should have asked me to beta read it first and I would to help you out.

Oh wow, I'm ranting too! All I wanted to say was hello to everyone and I hope that we can all help each other and learn from each other so that we can all grow as authors and the indie community can becoming less cut-throat and more amiable.

The topic is actually mislabeled; it should read:INTRODUCTIONS/RANTS (by significantly disgruntled indie authors). Works for me. Kindergarten spelling test ruhpellint.

I stopped reading contemporary fiction for twenty-five years. Worked for me.

I am convinced that if there is good stuff out there it is probably self-published. Finding them is hard.

I am about half-way through a novel called The City that Walked Away and I have just finished the paper edit of In the Night the Men Come.

Andrew wrote: "I stopped reading contemporary fiction for twenty-five years. Worked for me.

I am convinced that if there is good stuff out there it is probably self-published. Finding them is hard.

I am about h..."

I am of the same mind. Some of the best books I've read in recent years are independently published. I think indie authors have such a wonderful opportunity to tell their stories the way they want to, allowing for greater creativity. Indie books are not always perfect, but when they are genuine, and the author has really put their heart in it, it's an amazing reading experience. It's just too bad it's so difficult to compete with all those mass-produced titles out there.

Melissa wrote: "Andrew wrote: "I stopped reading contemporary fiction for twenty-five years. Worked for me.

I am convinced that if there is good stuff out there it is probably self-published. Finding them is hard..."

It's different now, isn't it? Something has really changed.

It's like there are too many people trying to copycat the mega authors that are out there now, so no one is really original anymore.

Hi. First, a shout out to Bill Jacks for the invite. I'm Chance Maree and I've self-published 3 novels and 4 novellas. I love it so much, I'm working on my 4th novel but plan to try to find a publisher. With every novel I strive to improve my craft. I'm looking forward to participating with like-minded authors.

Hi. I'm Martin Marais. This is a great idea. Having self-published I have come to realise that marketing is even more challenging than writing! This is a great chance for us all to help each other. I entirely agree with the philosophy, of raising the quality benchmark of self published books.

Martin wrote: "Hi. I'm Martin Marais. This is a great idea. Having self-published I have come to realise that marketing is even more challenging than writing! This is a great chance for us all to..."

Well said, Martin and welcome to the group! Marketing is indeed a challenge. Who knew writing the book would be the easy part??

Chance wrote: "Hi. First, a shout out to Bill Jacks for the invite. I'm Chance Maree and I've self-published 3 novels and 4 novellas. I love it so much, I'm working on my 4th novel but plan to try to find a publi..."

Hi Chance and welcome! follow the submission guidelines if you'd like to add one of your books to the current list for reviews.

Hi Everyone.
I am excited to be part of this group. I published my first novel The Dark Side of Chemistry in March which was both exciting and terrifying-a feeling I am sure you are all familiar with.
I am looking forward to interacting with you all.

S.J. wrote: "Hi Everyone.
I am excited to be part of this group. I published my first novel The Dark Side of Chemistry in March which was both exciting and terrifying-a feeling I am sure you are all familiar w..."

I think releasing your first book is kind of like having your first kid. you're terrified. You want everything to be perfect. You do everything by the book. And then you release your second book and that's like having your second kid. You're still worried, but the terror is not really there anymore. You still want everything to be perfect, but you know what you're doing now and it's all good.
Welcome to the group!

That is so true Melissa.

Hello All!

My name is Samantha Britt and I just released my first novel, Will of Fate: Dual Court Kiss I on Amazon!

A fellow indie author recommended joining this group, and I have to admit I am excited by all the support this group provides! I cannot wait to join in the fun by reading and providing reviews to pay it forward! :)


Y'all are awesome!
Samantha

Hello!

My name is Tabi, and while I've been writing for as long as I can remember, I've finally gone and done some self-publishing as of September. I love to read (have been reading longer than I've been writing) and am a huge advocate for well-written stories =)

Tabi wrote: "Hello!

My name is Tabi, and while I've been writing for as long as I can remember, I've finally gone and done some self-publishing as of September. I love to read (have been reading longer than I'..."

Hi Tabi! Welcome! I just added your book, Spinner to the reading list. Check it out and make sure I got the genre right.
Melissa

I'm in, Melissa. Obviously!!

Patrick wrote: "I'm in, Melissa. Obviously!!"

Fancy meeting you here. YAAR!!

Hi everyone, I'm C. M. Boers. I'm an indie author. I published my first book last year and second in August. It's been an interesting journey, but one that I have loved! Looking forward to seeing how this group works! I have added my first book, Obscured, to be vetted.

C.M. wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm C. M. Boers. I'm an indie author. I published my first book last year and second in August. It's been an interesting journey, but one that I have loved! Looking forward to seeing h..."

Glad to have you here! We're working on finishing up a few review rounds and then we'll add you.

Hi everyone! This is my intro to good reads as an author. I'm looking to read, review, and learn from more experienced authors. I'm set to release my first book in June. MG Mystery series aimed at Girls who love science. I'm so excited!

Hello! I just stumbled across this group - and joined - only to find that it's been pretty quiet in these here parts since February!

Was that an echo I just heard?

Anyway, if there is anyone there, I am a writer from the UK who writes for both children and adults. I have written thirteen books (twelve of which are self-published as paperbacks and for Kindle, with the thirteenth being in the publishing pipeline). I have also had writing traditionally published in several anthologies, as well as online.

I'll just tell you a little bit about my writing for children as that's why we're all here.

My books are for MG readers (that's readers of about 7-12), and are mainly mysteries, though not exclusively. Here they are:


The Secret of Pooks Wood
A time-shift adventure set over Christmas at an old manor house (currently on promotion and FREE until Dec 2nd).


Glass Dreams
A circus mystery where all is not as it seems.


Mandrake's Plot
A boarding school mystery set in the Scottish Highlands.


Salt
A seaside mystery set at Pirates' Cove.


Martha and Mitch
An orphan turns up at Lottery Lodge, home of millionairess Martha.


Song of the Moon
The neighbourhood witch goes missing.


Mr Charlie Chumpkins and The Further Mishaps of Charlie Chumpkins
The light-hearted adventures of minuscule Charlie (two-books-in-one).

You can find out more on my website for children here:
http://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/helen...

Or, alternatively, just ask!

Hi everyone! My name is Morgan. (My author pen name is M.L. Tarpley.) I write quirky lower middle grade novels that are set around the world. I love reading newer MG like The Tapper Twins and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and revisiting the beloved books of my childhood such as Mr. Popper's Penguins, the American Girl series and The Phantom Tollbooth. My first MG novel will be indie-published this fall.

Hello Friends,

I'm Anita Mishra, a middle-grade adventure and mystery writer. I'm so thrilled to share with you that my first book 'Ethan Murphy and the Quest for the Minal' is now published. I love to read anything middle-grade: sci-fi, adventure, mystery, horror, you name it...
I'm here to read, review, and connect with other middle-grade writers just like me. :-)
Glad to be a part of this community.
Love,
Anita Mishra

Hello, I am Dawn Treacher an author of fantasy adventure MG novels. I love reading fantasy MG too.
My books published in 2020 are:
The curse of the goldicoot
Kringleset Chronicles, rise up, rise up (The first in a trilogy)
Would love to connect with other MG readers and authors.

Hi, I am Sunny Kapoor, from Kolkata, India.

I am a poet, author, designer, and entrepreneur. I have written books before but I am rebooting my career with a series of Children's books called The Jungle Heroes.

 https://www.thejungleheroes.com

The books are about inspiring children to never give up against the odds, to fill them with passion and kindness towards nature and animals.

I have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and I keep reading books on spirituality, comics, entrepreneurship, startups, crypto, and designing.