Self-publishing – Page 2 – Thomas Cotterill

My Favourite Indie Publishing Books

I decided to look into self-publishing on January 7, 2012 (thereby fulfilling a New Year’s resolution) and began in the obvious way by reading a whole slew of how-to books. These are often short – little more than articles really – and do not require a lot of time. Since their authors use them to promote other works, many of them are free for the downloading on Smashwords. Most of the rest are inexpensive. What you learn from them is essential if you are to have any chance of success. Do not skimp on this step. My advice is to soak yourself in self-publishing ebooks until the juices have made you a dyed in the flesh indie. I spent about a month with them.

Francis Porretto’s book yields an enjoyable and enlightening look at the indie writing experience.

Why Brian S. Pratt Sells So Well

Fantasy writer Brian S. Pratt is one of the most popular authors on Smashwords. Yet, while he generally gets good reviews overall, many people have panned his novels for their bad grammar, poor character revelation, and skimpy plots. (I believe that he had cleaned up his spelling atrocities before I discovered him.) I’ve read only the first book in his lengthy Morcyth Saga series, but unless he has improved dramatically, I have to agree with his critics. To make matters worse, his writing style is clumsy, repetitive, and lacks imagination. With all this going against him, you have to ask the obvious question:

Pratt’s heroes have sound values and genuine courage.

Why does he sell so well?

To answer that question we have to start with another: who reads Pratt’s novels, anyway? I think it is safe to assume that his audience comes mainly from the young. These readers, while enthusiastic, are not sophisticated; they lack the broader reading experience needed to tell the difference between a well-written book and a clunker. However, that’s not the same as saying they are stupid. We humans are born with an instinctive feel for story. No one – sophisticated or unsophisticated – wades through a full-length novel unless they gain some genuine satisfaction from doing so.

A Philosophical Writer’s Blog Begins

Well, after much hemming and hawing and comparing of blog hosts I’ve finally taken the plunge and started a blog on WordPress. I’m a mature writer with a wide philosophical streak that leans towards psychological explanations for our spiritual and mental lives. Naturally, I will announce the publication of my work here and document some of my experiences as I self-publish, but mostly I intend to post about writing from a philosophical perspective, what it means to be an intellectual, the nature of the authentic self, and my thoughts on the way Western societies are trending. I will feature a few reviews of indie works that seem especially good. For good measure, I will write about interesting mainstream books I’m reading and the ideas in them that have caught my attention.

Autumn is the best season in life for philosophizing. This blog presents a mature writer’s attempt to integrate creativity, philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. (Photo: Public Domain Pictures)