New Kindle Fiction: The Roar of the Spheres

I’ve released a new book on Kindle: The Roar of the Spheres, currently available for $0.99. It’s a sci-fi novel, a backyard space opera heavy with action and humor.

Heh! Pretty crummy cover, right? Did it myself, that’s why. I’ve contacted a pro I know to work me up a better one, but I wanted to get The Roar of the Spheres up now for a couple reasons: first, it’s currently in the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and if it makes the next round of cuts, I want it out there for anyone who wants to check out. Second, there may be a few brave souls out there ready to overlook the second-rate cover, fork over a buck, and give it a read. Ideally, one or two of them will toss up a review by the time I have my new cover ready to go. Voila–all ready to market.

I don’t know if this is a better or worse strategy than waiting until everything is absolutely perfect to get it out there. The last thing an indie author* needs is to look unprofessional. At the same time, most newcomers take months to build up their presence. The Roar of the Spheres isn’t going to get much attention good or bad today; that cover will be replaced before more than a handful of people have seen it.

But in the meantime, it’s working its way through Amazon’s system. It’s out there if someone wants to read it. I stand by the body of the book itself. Pretty soon, I’ll be able to give it the snappy suit to match.

*For the record, I don’t self-define as a purely indie author–I’m still writing short stories and selling them to magazines, and unless I get Amanda Hockingsishly rich, I will continue to pursue traditional publishers with my next novel. But in the meantime, anyone who declines to self-publish work they believe in just because of the rapidly eroding stigma against self-published books–I think they’re slamming a door on an unknown and sometimes career-launching new world.