Today I'd like to share the story of an Indie Author who took the eBook route after numerous accolades from her peers but couldn't break into the traditional publishing world.
Debra Holland, author of the Wild Montana Sky series, is a three time Golden Heart finalist and one time winner. For those of you not familiar with RWA's Golden Heart contest, it's a tough contest in that the judges give a single number rating - no comments on how or why the number was given, there are no specific elements of story which the judges must have in mind during the reading/judging. It's fair to say an author who manages to final more than once knows not only how to tell a story, they've also got advanced storytelling elements mastered.
But as many authors know, telling an exceptional story isn't enough. There are certain elements traditional publishers like to have in genre fiction (in general, I know there are some outliers!) and if a story doesn't have those elements, readers don't have an opportunity to read it.
This is the beauty of indie publishing. No longer are readers given choice between a filtered range of stories. The preference for specific elements and genre-specific stereotypes has been removed! Unconventional stories, unlikely time periods, unusual characters....readers have more variety, more choice than ever before.
Readers and writers benefit. Welcome to the Indie Book Age!
I don't know Debra but I have read both her books after hearing the buzz online - both books in her Wild Montana Sky series were refreshing and ended too soon!
For more information, here's a couple of interviews with Debra:
http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2011/06/kindle-author-interview-debra-holland.html
http://heatherthurmeier.com/2011/08/ask-an-author-debra-holland/
