It’s literary myth busting time
People hold a lot of misperceptions about indie books and about writing, publishing and literature in general. Some of these myths make life difficult for authors, and misinformed readers can miss out on great books simply because their beliefs don’t match reality. Here at AIA Publishing, we’re keen to bust as many of these myths as we can, because they’re unhelpful for both authors and readers, not to mention publishers! So this is the first of many articles and videos we’ll be doing that will aim to bust myths about indie books, writing and publishing.
The difference between beliefs and reality
Sometimes there’s a difference between what we believe to be true and what is actually true. Our beliefs about reality are not reality itself, they’re just a belief about reality. If our beliefs match reality, there’s no problem, but if they don’t match reality and we believe that they do, then those beliefs prevent us from engaging in the real world, and that’s a problem.
Racist ideas are a good example. Generally children pick up their parent’s beliefs and take it on faith that those beliefs match reality. We tend not to examine these ingrained beliefs unless something happens – like a social movement – that makes us do some self-examination. This is why awareness-raising activities are so important. We may think we hold no racists beliefs, and yet we may have some tucked away, unexamined until some awareness-raising campaign draws our attention to it. And then we have to make a concious decision to change that belief to make it match reality.
Understanding the difference between reality and imagined facts will help you construct your belief system in the most reliable way possible.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/09/12/construct-your-belief-system-on-reality-not-imagined-facts/
For instance, say you have a belief that dogs jump up on people leaving their filthy paw prints all over them. If you apply that belief to ALL dogs and stay away from all dogs because of it, then you’ll miss out on the pleasure of having a relationship with a dog that doesn’t jump up on people. Though some dogs do jump up on people, one well-trained dog should prove that all dogs don’t behave like that.
How does that apply to indie books?
In the same way, one well-written and well produced indie book disproves the idea that indie books are badly written and inferior to mainstream books. Some indie books are poor quality, yes, but so are some mainstream books! I’ve read mainstream books with plot holes so large you can fall right through them, and I’ve read, edited and published a lot of excellent indie books.
You could say that that’s just my opinion so why should you believe me, in which case you need to have the facts pointed out as I do in the video below. Surely it’s far better to have your beliefs match reality than base your decisions on myths.
Myth #1: Indie books aren’t as good as mainstream books
The truth?
Many people assume that indie books aren’t as good as mainstream books, but the fact is that plenty of indie and self published books have been repeated Amazon best sellers, and over the years many have been on the NYT Best Sellers list. Don’t believe me? Watch the video – or read the subtitles.
What is your perception of indie books? Has it changed after watching this video?
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