Three times now, I’ve actually purchased a book online to review, only to discover when it comes that it is not, in fact, self-published.
The first problem is that the only way to “discover” self-published fiction in a world that still actively sneers at it is to search Amazon and other sites, using the advanced search and entering the name of the publisher of record. For instance, searching Amazon with “CreateSpace” as the publisher will show you a list of books published by CreateSpace.
The next problem is that when the book comes, it turns out to have been published by some tiny press somewhere, and not directly by the author. Now it may be true that some of these tiny presses are, in fact, nothing more than shell entities, and that the books in question really do qualify as self-published. For the record, if an author sends me a book and says it’s self-published, I will treat it as such, regardless of what imprint shows on the cover, but with a book I have purchased, it’s a different story. Given the difficulty of checking the veracity of what is basically my assumption as opposed to what the book seems to be saying, I am simply unwilling to act on the assumption.
So if you’re a self-published fiction author, or if you know someone who is, please get in touch with me!
Self-publishing and micro-presses are the future! There is no doubt about this. Digital publishing and POD print publishing are flattening the walls that have both created and defended the “big house” mentality in publishing. The only thing left to be shaken off is the mantle of scorn and disgust the the big houses (and their hypnotized readers) have placed upon us. That mantle ensures that we must band together and support each other until it has dissolved in the constant wash of reality.
I want to review your self-published fiction!
