Why I’m Side-Eyeing Indie Books Lately (And Still Not a Snob About It)*

I am not a literary snob. I swear. I don’t clutch at pearls for dangling modifiers and insist each novel must be Pulitzer material. I just want to read some good writing—one with some good storytelling, interesting characters, and at least sentences not causing me to grimace.

But of late? That’s asking too much.

I just got a new Kindle (naturally), and it was bundled with three months of Kindle Unlimited. Score! So I did what normally would be assumed of book-obsessed, wheezing due to heart failure, mixed-race Caribbean chef-turned-first-time novelist me—I binge-read.

Alas, three books in and I’m questioning whether Kindle Unlimited is nothing more than “You get what you pay for” being said nicely.

These weren’t deep cut obscurities or avant-garde zines. They had respectable-looking covers and interesting blurbs. But the writing? Yikes. One of them needed an editor. One of them needed Spellcheck. And one of them needed intervention from on high.

I had no idea at first that they were self-published. All I knew was that as of chapter two, my editor brain was screaming. And then I did some research on them and sure enough—they were all “indie” titles. And let’s be real, is pretty much just code for self-published with Canva and vibes.

Now before the pitchforks come out of the woodwork in anger, I want to say it again: I’m not against self-publishing. I’m actually self-publishing my own novel. I’m not casting stones from the glass house of Barnes & Noble.

But here’s the thing—if people are paying for your book, you owe them something which does not read like a rough draft on caffeine. One of the books I read had so many obvious plot holes, I’m surprised the main character didn’t fall into one. For instance: two sisters come to America to meet someone they’ve never met. And yet somehow manage to recognize him in the customs line and just know it’s him. No photo. No description. No clue. Just… know? Did their cousin tell them, “He’ll have main character energy”? Because if not, then I’m lost.

That’s just sloppy storytelling. And worse still, it’s an insult to the reader’s time and neurons.

Another book had spelling errors. Grammatical anarchy. And all the pointless description in the world to make a thesaurus/PageRank out. I don’t expect perfection but do expect someone other than the author’s mom to have read the manuscript before the “publish” button was clicked.

Yes, I understand professional editing is costly. But disappointed readers are too. And you can only get one shot at making a good impression—particularly if you’re indie. If you have hopes of building an audience, your book should be edited. Not just ticked through Grammarly. Edited. By someone. Preferably someone who doesn’t owe it to you.

Look, traditional publishing isn’t perfect. Trust me. I’ve read some of the worst books ever published by Big Five publishers. Even literary greats like Stephen King have the occasional misfire. But the thing is: those books tend to at least have some threshold of readability. You can sense that somebody somewhere put some effort in.

I’m coming to appreciate the benefits of traditional publishing more and more. Even with reduced editorial staffs, at least there’s still some level of professional filtering. A copy editor. A proofreader. A beta reader who’s not your cousin’s roommate.

And true enough, there’s an ugly stigma surrounding self-published authors as people who were rejected from getting a conventional deal. I know it’s not fair. But some of these works are not doing the cause much good. And now with AI being utilized to write some of them, edit them, and likely promote them as well. You can sense the deadness. The absence of voice. The lack of soul.

So here’s the plea: If you do go about self-publishing, do yourself and your readers a favor. Hire an editor. Pay for it, trade for it, crowdfund it, sell your kidney, I don’t care. Just don’t omit it.

It doesn’t matter how beautiful your cover looks. If your story doesn’t justify it beyond chapter two, nobody will read it. Worse still, nobody will recommend it. And word of mouth is all you have as a self-published author. Don’t lose your story in the slush pile of amateur hour. Respect the craft. Respect your readers. And for the love of words—run your spellcheck twice.

Have you been burned by a badly edited book? Or found a self-published gem that restored your faith? Let me know in the comments—rant, recommend, or commiserate. And if you enjoy posts like these, hit that subscribe button so you never miss a snarky opinion or slightly wheezy book review.