By Lorilyn Roberts
If you love to read, relish a good story, visit the library or bookstore frequently to satisfy your unquenchable thirst for something new and original – this blog post is for you.
If you are a Christian and love reading more than watching TV, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, or sleeping, don’t miss out on this great opportunity to discover new authors.
Book lover beware: If you don’t want to listen to the ranting of an eccentric author, skip the next two paragraphs, but I feel led to share some thoughts that have been burning a hole in my heart. Here goes, the pent-up frustrations of an indie author.
I’m tired of indie authors getting a bad rap. I’m tired of readers and editors and authors and self-proclaimed experts bashing authors who independently publish. I’m tired of hearing that indie authors are unprofessional, have too many grammar mistakes, produce inferior quality books, don’t know how to write, and want to plug up Amazon with worthless books that are mostly given away or sold at 99 cents. I’m tired of reading “this website is for real authors (meaning those traditionally published).” I still struggle with being ignored or bullied. Some authors who have contracts with traditional publishers snub writers like me who have chosen to go indie. You’ve read their comments on blogs and in public places. Worst of all, they contaminate readers. They tell readers indie published books are no good and not to buy them.
I want to respond to those bullies. Does God really care how books are published? You, the reader, if you take their comments to heart and believe them, are sacrificing an opportunity to discover new books by unknown authors—including me. I will never publish with a traditional publisher. A traditional publisher would have to pay me six months’ advance salary while I wrote that book, and because I make a very comfortable living providing sports captioning for television, no publisher is going to do that.
That’s the end of my negative rant. I’ll probably never post this anywhere else on the web because I can’t help but be optimistic about the future of book publishing. The opportunities afforded to writers who are willing to work hard and follow an uncharted path are enormous. Readers deserve every opportunity to discover new authors, including this unique pre-Christmas feature offered by the John 3:16 Marketing Network.
I lead a network of authors readers might not have heard of because I don’t advertise or promote the network. Authors find us. The John 3:16 Marketing Network includes both traditional and indie published authors. Before I admit an author into the network, I check out the author’s website and make sure the prospective author is born again and believes writing is a calling from God.
God should be at the center of everything we do. As a network of Christian authors, our passion for Jesus Christ spills out onto the pages of our books. We can’t hold back the blessing—we are simply the conduit, the voice, and the pen. Authors find their joy and fulfillment in God when they use their talents to glorify Him. As we fulfill our calling as writers, we trust God to get our books into the hands of readers.
If you want to buy books that are cutting edge, books that aren’t written just to make money, but books that define the times in which we live, that speak of redeemed lives from broken dreams, or take the reader to faraway places, I ask you to go to our Christmas page and check out the books we have featured. Many authors have chosen to go indie. Others are traditionally published. We have done book comparisons that you will find nowhere else.
Let me give an analogy. If a new restaurant opens up in town and no one goes to that restaurant to “check it out,” is that restaurant going to stay in business? If readers want the options that indie authors offer, I ask that book socialites support us. An opportunity readers don’t want to miss is right here. I hope everyone will check out these wonderful Christian books, many published in the last year.
While you can give presents for Christmas that will make great gifts, I challenge you to give a gift that will last a lifetime—the gift of reading. Give your mother, your father, your daughter, your son, your best friend, your teacher or your boss a book waiting to be filled with memories. You can sign the book and personalize it. Most recipients of signed books keep those books in a special place on their bookshelf.
When I think of what’s survived the last few thousand years, the written word has outlasted almost everything. We treasure those relics, we use books to rebuild the past, we cherish the books we read, and we long to enjoy another good story that will touch our souls and become a part of us. Take this opportunity to make future memories for you and your loved ones. Check out the link below and discover new books. You never know what blessing you might be missing if you don’t take a peek.
All of the books by John 3:16 authors are highly rated. Help us to keep writing books you want to read by supporting John 3:16 Authors.
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