Finding a new book series or an author with a fresh take is exhilarating. Your brain warms and the possibilities explode. Literature of all kinds is the greatest way to connect with others on a personal level.

Supporting new authors and following the journeys of your favorite storytellers is like jumping into history. It’s real. It’s pure.

Sometimes it’s fantasy.

Did I just hear bubbles bursting?

I’ve recently noticed some marketing schemes that are misleading, some that are downright deceptive. When you write for a living it’s difficult not to notice industry practices. I’m not going to whine about indie authors/publishers who use a popular book’s title for their own work to get more hits, or dwell on the stories that use already established big names as characters or “inspiration” and splay them on the cover of their lesser known project.

No. That’s annoying. It’s misleading and sometimes seems desperate, but in a flooded market content creators are desperate so I can forgive little tricks.

It’s the big ones that really grates my cheese. (Mmm grated cheese sounds nice right now. Scratch that.) I am the mom of 2 very different little bookworms. The older one will read anything you put in front of her and love it. The little one is way pickier. She prefers characters that she can connect with and stories about animals, involving animals, or about people who have lots of animals. She’s more like me.

Finding children’s books with animals is not difficult at all. What I have recently come across is finding books written by ACTUAL AUTHORS who are verified people that have written animals stories that interest my daughter…THAT…that is a little more difficult.

What do I mean?

I mean that the bigger, more established publishers know how to “create” a book specifically aimed for children with specific tastes. So they have a “team” of “authors” who sit down, push out a story, and they slap some made up author’s name on it.

This is nothing new. It’s easy to pull up author info, or a lack there of nowadays.

Now, I have no problem with the big 5 doing this when they clearly state that the author is fictitious. But lately, they have been giving these “pretend” writers bios, backgrounds, and even websites. They never have any phots, not one headshot and their bios often sounds as if they were written by Dorothy in Oz.

I don’t ask for much. The industry is filled with creative minds that compel me to challenge myself and my thought process. I respect every author who genuinely sits down and pours their heart into a book. I even give credit to the teams of creators who sit down to produce a cash machine for the big 5.

But I cannot, will not, endorse a book, series, or other type of story that is presented as a well-crafted work written by an actual author, when that author is not a real person. It belittles my profession, breaks reader’s trust, and makes a joke of the entire process.

The more I look into it, the more frustrated I get, and the more proactive I’ve become. It has always been stated that the main thing that drives book sales is the author’s name. People trust names. Now I know exactly why. It’s not about popularity, or trends, it’s about making sure that you are being told an actual story from an actual storyteller.

Yes, I’m also one of those people who will never read a book written by a computer. (Believe me this is going to become more and more common). Writing was birthed from the oral tradition. Sitting around a fire and telling a story is still my preferred method and I will not watch it die at the hands of greed or business prospects.

Indie books are more important than ever. Mainstream novels can hold a wealth of intellectual sustenance, but it is up to the reader to make sure they are not being duped. Good thing readers have brains.

As always, the readers are what matter. As long as you guys care, authors like me will keep working. I’m definitely paying more attention than ever now. What a time to be a writer!