Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Indie/Self-Published Books submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits. If you’ve never visited Nicole, be sure to stop by. I always enjoy chatting with Nicole about books and/or life!
Hello Readers! I was excited to see today’s prompt. Kudos to Nicole for such a great idea! It makes me so happy when I discover a book is an indie or self-published book. Some of my favorite books/authors started that way—and some still remain self-published. It can be hard to weed through indie/self-published books to find a gem, but it usually only takes reading a few pages to know if it’s worth my time.
This prompt was a little more challenging. It can be hard to know if a book is indie or self-published, especially if it’s eventually purchased and republished by a large publisher. It took a bit of googling and searching for me to come up with this list, so if any of the information is wrong, feel free to correct me in the comments!
Let’s see what I chose! (In no particular order)
(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)
- Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren – The duo’s first book, this was originally Twilight fan fiction published online.
- On Dublin Street by Samantha Young – This romance was originally self-published but was quickly picked up by a publisher when it sold over 200,000 copies in 4 weeks, gaining a new illustrated cover, as well.
- Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker – I’m a fan of Tucker’s and this one, which was originally self-published is high up on my tbr.
- Truth or Beard by Penny Reid – This indie author’s Winston Brothers series is one that has received a lot of buzz, including a possible adaptation. I’m hoping to finally pick it up this year!
- The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski – This self-published book was released over ten years ago amid the New Adult craze. It’s been lingering on my kindle ever since, but it continues to pop up on recommended lists. Someday I’d like to give it a try.
- Wool by Hugh Howey – Another self-publishing success story that started over a decade ago, this Sci-Fi originally started as a standalone short, and an adaptation will be released in May on Apple TV+.
- Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker – I’ve been a fan of this self-published fantasy author since I discovered The Emperor’s Edge series over ten years ago, but her newest series is receiving amazing reviews, as well.
- Addicted to You by Krista & Becca Ritchie – Thanks to TikTok, this spicy self-published series that debuted almost ten years ago, has received new attention. And I’m ready to jump on the bandwagon.
- Wait for It by Mariana Zapapta – One of my favorite newly discovered self-published authors, I’ve been working through Zapata’s backlist, and this is the next one I want to read.
- In the Weeds by B.K. Borison – Another TikTok sensation is the recent Lovelight series. Originally self-published, this one has been smartly picked up by one of the big publishers. (I’m featuring the second book in the series because the cover is more spring-like, but I of course want to start with the first book, Lovelight Farms, a holiday romance.)
Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I loved the Wool books, but read them after they were picked up
My TTT
https://seriesbooklover.wordpress.com/2023/04/04/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-self-published-indie-books/
Oh, that’s good to hear! I’m hoping to finally pick it up this year. Fingers crossed!
While I haven’t read any of these, I am familiar with a few of the authors. I was introduced to them through YouTube. I have to say social media in any form has helped many of these authors gain traction in the publishing world.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/fewer-than-1000-ratings-recent-reads/
Yes! Social media plays an important role for indie and self-published authors. It’s how I discovered most of these.
Wool is a good example. I’d forgotten that one was self-published.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-self-published-books-i-plan-to-review/
I’m hoping to finally get to it this year!
I’ve had Wool on my TBR for a while and now that I know it’s going to be adapted…I need to get to it!
My TTT: https://www.mollysbooknook.com/top-ten-tuesday-7-indie-authors-you-should-follow-on-bookstagram-their-books/
Me too!! I hope we both enjoy it!
Oh my goodness, I see a couple real favorites here. Ten Tiny Breaths was the first book I ever read by Tucker and is still a favorite. Addicted to You is probably my favorite contemporary series ever. And one of the few books/series that I’ve re-read. And Wait For It… that was the last Zapata I read. To be honest, it’s low on plot but I didn’t even care. I just loved those characters hard.
Yay!! I’m pretty sure it’s because of you and Deanna that Ten Tiny Breaths and Addicted to You are so high up on my TBR. 🥰 I need to get to them soon!
I haven’t rea 6 and 7 but I LOVED the rest of these! Nice choices today.
Thanks Deanna! <3
I can’t say I’ve really read any self-published books, at least that I was aware were self-published anyway so I switched topics today, but you did a great job!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/04/04/top-ten-tuesday-414-spotify-wrapped-book-tag-2022/
It’s hard to know sometimes!
It is!
That last book on your list has THE cutest cover designs for its series. Not sure they’re books I’d enjoy (I think I read about them a while back), but I do love the look and styling of the design! 🙂
Yes! The covers are soooo cute. It’s definitely what first attracted my attention. 😉
These are a few books that I did not expect to learn that they are/were self-published. Thanks for the list. I’ve only read Ten Tiny Breaths and it wasn’t my fave.
My TTT where I showcase books from my favorite self-published author.
Oh ok. It seems like Ten Tiny Breaths does get mixed reviews. I’m hoping since I’m a fan of the author, it’ll work for me. Fingers crossed!
These are all new to me – more for the TBR!
Here’s my TTT!
Yay!! I hope you found some to enjoy!
In the Weeds is on mine too. It sounds so good!!
Yes! So much hype for that series.
Great list! It can definitely be hard to figure out if a book is an indie, especially when the big publishers pick up some of those books to re-publish later. I hadn’t realized WOOL was self-published! I want to read that one someday.
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2023/04/04/top-ten-tuesday-top-10-indie-self-published-books/
Yes! I was happy to discover Wool was self-published when I was working on filling out my Popsugar prompts for this year. But now I have so many options to fill that prompt. 😃
Penny Reid is a favorite.I love her humor. I liked that Borison series too
I’m determined to get to both of those authors this year!
Ooh wow, I totally forgot about that CLo book! I discovered their self-pub books after I read a few of their trad pub books but I do remember this one being very fun but also super steamy 😂 Great picks!
Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard about CLo’s first series. So this is one not to read in public?! 😂