On the never-ending search for books that are indie and good I have stumbled on many authors whose writing I liked and WHOSE BOOKS I COULDN'T GET MY HANDS ON.

Reasons?

1. There are no books. There are some scattered short stories here and there, or some poems, or some snippets of flash fiction, but not an actual book that I can immerse myself in. I don't care if it's a book of poems or short stories. Bundle them up! I want to read it, and if I like it, I will talk about it and review it. Without a book for me to read and to boast about you're losing an opportunity to engage me. That's sad titties. For you, not for me.

2. The website is confusing. I can't find shit on your website or it takes me forever to understand what is what and I give up. And when I search for your book on Amazon it's not there but it's on Goodreads, strangely enough. Or it's on Goodreads but not on Amazon, which is even stranger. So when I want to suggest it for a purchase to my library so I can actually read it, I can't find the ISBN. Silly things like that are preventing me from reading your damn book. MAKE IT EASY FOR ME. It will make a happy reader.

3. No book sample available anywhere. This is the most frustrating thing I came across. So I find someone new and promising. Okay, good. I like the writing style but I want to read a sample of the book before buying it, right? My finances are very tight and I can't just buy anything I want. I have to be careful. But when I look for a sample to read I can't find it anywhere, including Amazon. And if I can't sample the book, I won't buy it. You have just lost a customer, you writing genius.

4. Can't find the writer online to follow. All right, I get it that maybe there are no books out there YET by this new writer I found. The good news is, the site says that there is a new book in progress! It is being written! It will be published soon! Great! The bad news is, when I look for a blog I see that the posts are few and irregular. I look on Twitter to follow for the updates and can't find the writer, nor on Ello or Google+ or Instagram, and on Facebook I don't want to send a friend request because that would be intrusive to someone I don't know personally. So I go to Goodreads and there is no such author on Goodreads. Jesus Christ. Okay, so how can I follow the news? I can't. What do I do? I throw my hands up and give up and move on.

5. No way to contact the writer. I understand privacy concerns and all that jazz, but if you're only a beginning writer and have hardly any books under your belt AND you're an indie, I don't get it why on your website there is a form to contact you and not your actual email. The form puts me off. Yes, there are lots of weirdos out there, but there are also lots of awesome people who simply want to ask you where to buy a copy of your book. If I can't find it anywhere, at least I can ask you. Or maybe I want to ask you if you plan to write a book. Or maybe I want to express to you my enthusiasm over your writing and inspire you to write a book? I can't do any of it if I can't contact you.

I have recently come across several amazing writing pieces and wasn't able to add books to my reading list on Goodreads or check them out at the library or buy them for the reasons listed above. It's fucking annoying. 

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, WRITER. 

Make your books discoverable. I want to find them. I want to read them. But if there is nothing for me to find and read, guess what. There are tons of people out there like me who won't find you and won't read you either. So you're screwed. Unless you want your books gathering dust in the drawers of your grandma's bureau, I suggest you make an effort for us poor readers. Thank you.

That was my rant for today.

Onward.