Reader Depression

I got on a Goodreads group forum today. I went to a discussion about blogs and bloggers that review books. I thought, “Oh, I could add my blog to that list.” So I click into it. Know what I found?

A whole lot of authors talking about their book they want reviewed.

Shocker.

Ya’ll know I love being an indie author, but this is what I HATE about the indie world. For every one reader or blogger out there, there’s two hundred indie authors trying to poke their soon-to-be bestseller into your inbox (and by inbox, I mean down your throat.)

I think we all need to take a step away from “writer” town and remember that first, above all else, a writer must be a reader. A writer needs to have a passion for stories, for books, for characters – and a love of the craft that goes into creating those things.

And, I mean, I’m just sick of getting those indie writers, “Hi, I’m NAME, and I’m a(n) INSERT CAREER/MARTIAL STATUS. I’m INSERT POINTLESS/IRRELEVANT FACTOID. I’ve just self-published my debut novel, a book about INSERT POORLY WRITTEN SUMMARY OF A BOOK THAT DOESN’T FIT YOUR GUIDELINES. I’ve already taken the liberty of attaching the PDF for your convenience.”

You know what happens to those? They get introduced to my DELETE key.

And this funk has me thinking that the few professional/decent indie authors out there are getting overshadowed by the mountain (and growing) of bad indie books. It’s making my publications less of an accomplishment and more of a mar on my record. It’s depressing. This is also a depressing time of my life. It has been since I hit 26. All down hill from there. I miss 15. No pressure. A future of opportunities. I could sit at home all weekend and do nothing. Sigh… you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.