Why You Should Read Indie Books

People may be weary of independently published books, but I’m here to tell you why you shouldn’t be!

What’s the difference?

Most, if not all, of the books you see in your local big chain bookstore are going to be traditionally published books. Meaning,

For most traditionally published authors, the process goes something like this:

· Author writes book

· Author sells book to publisher

· Publisher produces and sells book

· Author receives royalties for book sales

An independently published book goes more like:

· Author writes book

· Author proceeds to do all the other steps on their own (cover art, marketing, printing, etc.)

So, why should you care?

If you’ve found this blog or my social media, you’re probably interested in the diversification of the fantasy romance genre, or just novels in general. The need for diversification in media is pervasive in almost every form and with novels in particular. Progress seems slow in this area, although it’s not for lack of trying. The trouble with relying on traditionally published books for diversification is that publishing houses are ultimately tied to their bottom line. Meaning, they are most likely going to buy and sell the books that have performed well financially in the past. Then we see diverse reads fall victim to the trap: if they haven’t sold in the past how are we to know if they perform well.

In recent years, we’ve seen them branch out with particular interest in the Afrofuturism and Afrofantasy in the young adult genre, think The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi or recently released The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport. But what we find is that publishing houses are slow to branch out and even when they do, they tend not to stray far from the newfound success. That’s not to say these books have not done wonders for the visibility and validation of black readers, but it leaves room for further growth.

How do indie books solve this?

That’s where indie books come in. Independently published books are not bound by the same constraints of predictive sales. Independently published books come to fruition by sheer force of will from the author themselves. People publishing their stories simply because they want them to see the light of day. In my experience, it is easier to find a diverse read that is independently published as opposed to traditionally published.

Indie books are also a great way to directly support an author’s work. A traditionally published author is likely to make 5-20% in royalties from print books and 25% on eBooks, whereas an independently published author will retain approximately 60% and 70% of the profit, respectively, from a retailer like Amazon. Obviously, there are some tradeoffs there, being the support of the global retail conglomerate that is Amazon, but in a world where I try to be more conscious about how I spend my dollars, I think I feel a bit better knowing that more of my money is going to the artist. There are also plenty of independently published authors you can purchase from directly.

And if we think about this based on long-term impact, the support of indie authors can be used as a tool to validate the financial reliability of diverse stories, and maybe…just maybe…publishing houses will see that there are ravenous readers waiting for diverse stories in almost every genre.

So, what does this have to do with you?

If you haven’t already, I suggest that you try to find an independently published book for your next read. Or, if you’re of the crowd that has tried it in the past and decided it wasn’t for you, leave a comment. I’m interested to know what pushed you away from these stories.

You can find some independent reads here on Moreauwrites.com, in my newsletter, on my Instagram, and my Goodreads shelves.