Let's Hear It for the Indies!

Ever wonder why some wonderful authors are self-published? Today we have none other than A.M. Jenner here to sum it up from her perspective, (and no doubt from that of many other Indies as well)! Oh, and you'll want to get your comments ready, because she's put together one AWESOME GIVEAWAY!!! (Details to follow...) So grab a refreshing beverage and a taquito or something, as you enjoy:

Why I Am Self-Published

I'd like to thank L. Carroll for swapping blogs with me. Her post will be up on my blog on Tuesday, August 30.

It's nice to meet you! I'm A M Jenner, and I write fantasy and suspense novels. The question I’m most often asked is, "Why are you self-published?" Most people think the answer is that I'm not "good enough" to get an agent or publishing contract. The truth is this: I choose to be self-published.

People believe having a contract with a publisher means the publisher sets up all your promotions and book tours, pays for it, and all you have to do is go where you're told and sign books. Not true for most authors; only the “stars” get star treatment. Everyone else does their own promotions. By self-publishing, I do my own promotions just like any other non-star author.

I like owning autographed books. So do most readers; this is why authors do book signings. My books are sent directly to my readers, so I design and hand-make bookplates; labels to put in the front of a book that show who the owner is. We have a different design for each book, and anyone who buys a print book only has to email me and ask for one. I inscribe the bookplate to them and mail it, free. Everyone who buys my books can have them signed, not just the lucky few who come to a formal signing.

Like any other author, my books are available in print and ebook. My print books are paperbacks because I want to save my readers the cost of hardbacks. My ebooks are sold for considerably less than my print books, because electrons are less expensive than paper. I refuse to charge paper prices for electrons. As a self-published author, I control the price, and keep it as low as possible for my readers.

I have control over my books. No editor tells me to change things. I tell the story right. I make the cover the way it should look. No one tells me what my next book is about, or when it needs to be finished. I usually put in 6-8 hours daily writing, editing, preparing for publication, or promoting my books; but I have the option to rearrange my schedule if a family emergency turns my life inside out.

Finally, there's the money. Authors with a publishing contract typically get around 10% of the sale price of their hardbacks, and 8% on paperbacks and ebooks. They pay their agents 10-15% of what they get from the publisher. The author gets whatever's left. As a self-published author, I get between 30-60% of my print sales, and anywhere between 40-70% of my ebook sales, depending on the point of purchase.

The question is often, "Why are you self-published?" The answer is, "Why would I pay other people most of my money for the privilege of giving them the rights to my creations?"

Okay everyone, now that you've finished that taquito, it's GIVEAWAY time!!! The winner of this contest will get to pick an ecopy of any one of A.M. Jenner's books! They are:

Tanella's Flight

  

Preparing for her wedding to a man she's never met, Princess Tanella is kidnapped.

 

Escaping the cottage wasn't difficult, but finding her way home alone and on foot is the greatest challenge she's ever met. She must return in time for her wedding, or there will be war. The only things standing in her way are the Black Army, the traitors at court, three hundred miles, and the Great Krakitts Mountains.

 

The fate of the Ten Kingdoms is at stake!

 

 

Fabric of the World

 

A Dangerous Birth...A Powerful Man!

Orphaned at three, Quibell struggles to control the power he was born with. Overcome by emotion at a public Burning on his seventeenth naming-day, Quibell lashes out at the Mages. He flees Turpan only to be captured by a band of desert nomads.

Can he return, bringing justice and freedom with him, or will the Mages who murdered his mother retain their dominance of the city?

A Heart Full of Diamonds

Once she saw the diamonds, she was out of options.

A wig, a change of clothes, and nerves of steel freed Marilee from her diamond-stealing husband, but Tony has too many friends in too many places for her to trust anyone.

A thousand miles away, she's fashioned a new life in a safe haven. Her brawny neighbor Richard and his engaging son Derreck would do anything to help her, but she keeps her past a secret until two of Tony's goons kidnap her in broad daylight.

The race is on, and Marilee's life hangs in the balance.

Deadly Gamble

It's a race to the courtroom - or the grave!

 

Mystery author Shenda Brown was only in the alley to check a fact for her novel; she certainly didn't plan to witness the murder, or get shot.

 

Trenton and Stanly Stone need to dispose of the body, the evidence, and the witness before papa and the Family find out what they've done.

 

Even with the help of her self-appointed hunk of a bodyguard, can Shenda survive long enough to testify?

 

 

AND

 

Clues to Food

 

Contents: Good recipes that call for everyday ingredients; helpful hints for letterboxers; signature stamps from the contributors; clues to boxes.

 

What is a 'Letterboxer'? It's someone who loves to follow obscurely written clues to a secretly hidden container full of a small logbook and a (usually) hand-carved rubber stamp. Most use 'trail names' when online and on the rubber-stamp hunt. For more information, visit Letterboxing North America or Atlas Quest. Be sure you read through the tutorials and best practices before you go out hunting any letterboxes. Don't let other people see you retrieving or replacing the letterbox in its hiding place, or it may not be there for the next person.

 

 

Oooo! Such tantalizing choices!!! Here's whatcha gotta do. Leave your comments before 11:59 p.m. EST on September 2, for a chance to win one of these ebooks! On or around Sept. 3, A.M. Jenner will choose one lucky commenter as the winner. Please make sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you win. You can comment on this guest post as many times as is allowable by law, but keep in mind that only one comment per person will be entered in the contest. Let the games begin!

 

A M Jenner lives in Gilbert, Arizona with her family, a car named Babycakes, several quirky computers, and around 5,000 books.