The Return Of Self-Published Fantasy Month

Last year I hosted a Self-Published Fantasy Month here on Off The TBR. It was meant to be a month where I focused on nothing but Self-Published/Indie fantasy with reviews, author interviews, and really anything related to self-published fantasy.

The idea came to me after reading a couple self-published books and then discovering #SPFBO hosted by author Mark Lawrence. I discovered #SPFBO in 2018 and loved the concept. I thought, “why not devote a month to self-published fantasy on the blog?” I wrote about it in my post: The 2018 #SPFBO (And Maybe A Self-Pub Fantasy Month).

I wrote more about why I wanted to devote a month to self-published fantasy in my post Announcing Self-Published Fantasy Month. Essentially here’s what I’d discovered…

• I’d read some self-published books that completely changed my view of what to expect in terms of quality (I no longer thought self-pub must = bad)
• #SPFBO had clued me in to how much great self-pub material must be out there
• I discovered self-pub sci-fi and fantasy books were now making up nearly half of all online sales on Amazon (link to article Science Fiction And Fantasy Book Sales Have Doubled Since 2010)
• Yet many self-published authors still have a difficult time finding an audience

My goals were two-fold:

• Bring more attention to self-published fantasy
• In order to get more great self-published fantasy published

Now I grant that my lowly little blog wasn’t going to do a lot to bring attention to self-published fantasy, nor was it going to do a lot to get more published. Mark Lawrence’s #SPFBO does a far better job of that. But I did feel, and still feel that every little bit helps.

Last year things didn’t quite go as planned. It started well, but almost right away I was pulled away due to a request from my employer to sit for a professional certification exam and to take a class at the local college to prepare for it. For the rest of the fall semester I was busy with that and I pulled back from reviewing. I really only got to do about half…maybe a quarter of what I’d wanted to do for Self-Published Fantasy Month which really sucked. This year I want to give it another go.

So…what does this mean?

Well for starters I’m going to devote September to Self-Published Fantasy once again. I’ve got some books lined up to review and even more to read. I’ve got a ton to read actually and don’t know where I’m going to start. Here’s a few I hope to review…

I’ve read Up To The Throne, and I hope to read Tales Of Kingshold and Fortune’s Fool either before September or around the beginning of the month. We’ll see if there are any others I can add to the list. I’ve got a few more on my TBR shelf and a bunch on my Kindle. These include authors such as K.S. Villoso, Devin Madson, Rob J. Hayes, Carol A. Park, M.L. Wang, J.C. Kang, Dyrk Ashton, Steven McKinnon, Michael Sliter, T.L. Greylock, Travis M. Riddle, Sarah Chorn, and more. There’s just so many to choose from and there’s no way I get to them all in September so most will have to wait until some later month.

Your’re Invited To Participate!

Like last year I’d love it if you to joined me on this quest to read and discuss great self-published fantasy. Part of the enjoyment of finding new books is getting to talk about them with other people. I’d love to discover what self-published books have blown you away, and which authors are now on your auto-buy list.

If you think you want to join in let me know. Feel free to use the banner and the hashtag #SelfPubFantasyMonth. You can participate on your blog, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube (BookTube) or wherever you go to talk about books. We’ll kick things off September 1st and go for the whole month. At the moment I don’t plan to come up with a detailed schedule of events or themes. I’m not opposed to such things, I just don’t know that I have the time. If someone else comes up with an idea for a schedule let me know and maybe we will use it. Otherwise I’m keeping it loose and simple with posts about anything and everything self-published fantasy.

A Few FAQs

Is Self-Published Fantasy Month associated with #SPFBO in any way?

No. I was inspired in part by #SPFBO, but Self-Published Fantasy Month is not something done in conjunction with #SPFBO or meant to replace/usurp it in any way.

Can others participate?

Yes! Please! The whole point is to shed light on great self-published fantasy and the only way to succeed in that is to have as many people chatting and posting about it as possible.

What kinds of posts are you looking for?

Anything! You can post reviews, author interviews, top ten lists, cover reveals, you name it. If you just want to post pics of books you love do that too. It’s really up to you.

Do I have to link back to Off The TBR?

No. I mean I’d love it if you did so I can know about it and chat about it, and share it with others, but no you don’t have to link back to me.

Can I use the banner?

Yes! Feel free to use mine or create your own. I pulled the art from Adobe Spark and added the text. The idea is the author guiding (lighting) their book (ship) down the river of self-publishing. Cheesy I know.

Why September?

No particular reason really. I chose this month because nothing else really seemed to be going on and it was before the big fall holiday period.

Well, that’s if for now. Look for more in the coming weeks as we get closer. I really hope you’ll join me. In the meantime let me know in the comments what great self-published fantasy you’ve been reading.

– Jason