• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search for Book or Author

AIA Publishing

Publishing, Editing & Book Design

  • Our Books
  • About Us
    • Authors
      • Raphael Aron
      • Lyn Behan
      • Michele Browne
      • Gaylene B Corben
      • Kenneth L. Decroo
      • Remi DeWitt
      • Trish Griffin
      • Diane Helentjaris
      • Sukey Hughes
      • David Kerr
      • Gary L. Kreigh
      • Magda Lamb
      • Ed Lehner
      • Mary Mandolin
      • M. J. Raco
      • W. M. Tarrant
      • Devanath Thenabadu
      • Don Thompson
      • Anna Vong
      • Joseph A White Jr
      • Barry White
      • Richard Zappa
    • The AIAP Review Team
    • Privacy Policy
  • Submissions
    • Frequently asked Questions
  • Services
    • Editing Services
    • Book Design
      • Book Covers
    • Book Promotion
    • Images for Social Media
    • Assisted Self-Publishing
  • Contact
  • Blog

Literary Myth Busters #1: Are Indie Books as Good as Mainstream Books?

July 30, 2021 by Tahlia Newland Leave a Comment

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?

If you liked this article, please don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Click here to receive emails when we post articles of interest to readers, including news about our books. You’ll also receive a free copy of Tahlia Newland’s book Worlds Within Worlds. With AIA Publishing you can be sure of a quality read.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Books & Reading, Writing, Editing, Publishing & Book Promotion Tagged With: Indie Authors, indie best sellers, Indie Books, indie publishing, mainstream books

« Introducing the AIA Publishing & Editing YouTube Channel
How to Publish a Book »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search Articles

Click to be notified when we publish a new book.

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

  • How is Transrealism different to Magical Realism?
  • Books We Published in 2022
  • Book Genres Explained

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Featured Books

  • Journey to the West: Devanath Thenabadu
    Rated 4.00 out of 5
  • Double Indemnity Double Indemnity: Richard Zappa
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $13.99
  • The Alien Who Woke Earth: Remi DeWitt
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $13.99
  • Whiteout Cover Whiteout: Mary Mandolin
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $13.99
  • The Indenture of Ivy O'Neill: Diane Helentjaris
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $13.99
  • A Date to Die for A Date to Die For: Gaylene B Corben
    Rated 4.67 out of 5
    $13.99
The Alliance of Independent Authors - Partner Member
The Alliance of Independent Authors - Partner Member

AIBA Approved Publisher

Book Categories

  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Historical Fiction
  • Humour & Satire
  • Literary & Cross Genre Fiction
  • Memoirs
  • Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction
  • Mystery
    • Crime
  • Non-fiction
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Thrillers
  • Transrealism
  • Uncategorized
  • Women's fiction
  • Young Adult

SUBSCRIBE TO NOTIFICATIONS OF NEW RELEASES

Copyright

All material on this website is under copyright to AIA Publishing and cannot be shared without written permission.

Copyright © 2023 · Amore Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

FREE Novel Revision Checklist

Written a book? Need some help reviewing and revising it? Download our managing editor's Novel Revision Checklist for step by step guidance.  

DOWNLOAD NOW
{"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"120","openAnimation":false,"exitAnimation":false,"timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"","cookieDomain":"","autoFire":"","isAnalyticsEnabled":false}

Please note: We are closed for holidays from Christmas day until Jan 30th 2023. Dismiss