Finding the Best Indie Books

PJ Sharon is author of several independently published, contemporary young adult novels. Her titles, Heaven is For Heroes, On Thin Ice and Savage Cinderella have garnered many contest wins. She is currently working on The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, a young adult dystopian trilogy. Waning Moon, Book One, is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Writing romantic fiction for the past seven years and following her destiny to write extraordinary stories of an average teenage life, PJ is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Connecticut Romance Writers of America and Young Adult Romance Writers of America. She is mother to two grown sons and lives with her husband in the Berkshire Hills of Western MA. Welcome to Book Blather, PJ.

With the book market bursting over the brim, and the deluge of Indie titles flooding the market, finding quality books has become an Everest sized challenge. But never fear, there is a way…several ways to find great Indie books.

1)   Amazon’s Top 100 list- You can be fairly certain that you will find something to suit your reading pleasure on the Top 100 lists of Amazon and the Best Books list on B&N. Since Indie Titles are now commonly competing with well-respected traditionally published books, you can find some fabulous new authors on these lists.

2)   The IndiePENdents website @ http://www.indiependents.org/

This is a group of authors who decided to review books and vet them through a stringent process to determine quality. To get an IndiePENdents seal of approval, three separate reviewers must approve the book, meeting standards for editing, formatting, plot, characterization, pacing, grammar and punctuation, and more. Any book that makes their list will likely be a great read. I’m proud to say that my first book, Heaven is for Heroes made that list in the spring.

3)   RT Book Reviews-The Romantic Times Book reviews now has an Indie section that crosses all genres. This is a great way to see what top reviewers are saying about the latest Indie up-and-comers. I’m very excited that my most recent release, Waning Moon, Book One in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy, will be featured in the February issue. I’m biting my nails wondering what they’ll say.

4)   “Also Boughts”-If you have a favorite book, one that you thought was awesome, go to their Amazon Book’s page and scroll down below the sales info to a section called “Customers who bought this book, also bought.” You’ll probably find that some of those titles will be Indie books, and you might just find a new favorite author.

5)   Indie Book Collective @  http://indiebookcollective.wordpress.com/

This is a place where Indie authors hang out. If you want to know about a good doctor, you ask a nurse. If you want to know about great authors, you ask writers who are readers. This is where you’ll get the inside scoop on what Indie books are awesome. They also have a Blog Talk radio segment where you can meet the author and lots of help if you have an inkling to try your hand at writing.

6)   Good Reads- You will find a plethora of fantastic books here, and plenty of feedback about what’s good and what’s not. Good Reads reviewers tend to be rabid readers who have no problem giving an opinion about what they like and what they don’t. It’s also a place to connect readers and authors, or get in on book discussions and forums. Speaking of forums—Kindle forums are a great spot to get book recommendations—or warnings—about what’s new and good on the market. You can connect with me on GoodReads here.

These are just a few ideas for finding the best Indie books. There are tons of review sites, but I suggest for reviews you take them with a grain of salt, and get several opinions on a book before making a decision. Just like with any form of entertainment, judgment is purely subjective. The good news with Indie books is that they will likely be much less expensive and often free, so you haven’t lost much, other than your time if you happen to get a stinker. My experience, though, has been overall very good with finding some fabulous Indie authors through these methods above. Happy hunting!