3 Things You Should Try for Indiecember

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Indiecember is a challenge created by twitter user @_megan_tennant. As a sort of NaNo but for reading, Indiecember is a challenge to read more Indie books over the course of December. It’s a great way to cool down and give your wrists a break after NaNo, and it’s a fun way to discover new authors. You can read the full rules here.

Don’t let this intimidate you, the same book can fill multiple categories.

I think this is an amazing thing for the writing community. Being an Indie author means you aren’t just writing your own books, you’re also doing everything else a publisher would do, which can take up a ton of time every day. Indiecember is a great way for Indie authors to reach new readers, and a great way for readers to discover new books! Here’s three things you should try for Indiecember:

1) Try a new genre

One thing I struggle with is reading outside my comfort zone. A book that doesn’t fall under the umbrella category of “Genre fiction” – science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other related genres – needs to come recommended by at least three friends, the Pope, a head of state, and the ghost of Benjamin Franklin for me to pick it up.

I exaggerate, but only slightly.

If you want to win Indiecember “flush style,” which is filling out every square on the card, you are going to have to step outside of your comfort zone. My personal goal is to get a bingo style win, and beyond that, fill out as many squares as possible. To do that, I’m going to have to read things that aren’t in my normal genre. If you typically stick to one or two genres, this is a great chance to push yourself to do the same!

2) Share your favorite authors

With the Indiecember hashtag spreading across Twitter and Instagram, you could help out your favorite indie authors by sharing their books! I’m personally going to take the opportunity to spread the books I read during the month, as well as recommend other Indie books I’m a fan of.

Like what I’m doing right now

Nothing is more helpful than taking a moment to share the indie books you love. If you already have, trust me, the authors appreciate it. If you haven’t, this is a great chance to start doing so!

3) Try some of these books!

So after looking over some of the books suggested to me, I’ve picked out a few I’m definitely going to be checking out. I have four  recommendations for you to read during Indiecember. One of them I’ve read before so won’t be reading for Indiecember, two are suggestions that I’m going to read for myself, and one is a shameless self-plug.

• • Chosen, book 1 of the Flameweaver Saga, by Casey White: In the Flameweaver Saga, Casey White takes the standard Chosen One narrative you’ve seen a thousand times, and does something I thought impossible: finds a unique spin on it. It’s an amazingly well written epic fantasy that keeps going down paths I didn’t expect. It’s book one of a four book series, with the fourth book coming out this month, and I definitely suggest you check it out. It fills the published in 2018, Fantasy, and 10-20 reviews boxes.
  • Breaking Order, book 1 of the Breaking Order series, by Catherine Kopf. They say don’t judge a book by a cover, but the cover of Breaking Order absolutely charmed the pants off me. A dystopian novel focused on a tyrannical regime that oppresses creativity, I can’t wait to to make this one my first Indiecember read. It filled the Published in 2018, Dystopia, and 10-20 reviews boxes.
  • La Sangre Tira Mucho: A Secrets of PEACE Short Story, by T. A. Hernandez. This one caught my eye since it seemed like a good way to dip my toe in unfamiliar waters, being both a dystopian book (which I enjoy) and a thriller (which is new and therefore scary.) A side story to Ms. Hernandez’s ongoing series, I’m excited to check this one out.
  • Weird Theology, Small Worlds Book 1, by Alex Raizman. Self promotion is fun! My story of gods, the apocalypse, and one poor guy caught in the middle of it is all. Weird Theology can fill three squares – Published in 2018, Fantasy, and 40-60 reviews at time of writing, although if you’ve already read it and want to help that number increase, I always appreciate honest reviews. If you’re going Bingo Style, you’d only need a contemporary novel and a mystery and/or thriller novel to fill out that column!

There’s also a lot of colors on there, although I managed to miss most of the cover colors from the contest. The stars are white, so that could count!

Planning to participate in Indiecember? Have any good Indie books to recommend? Let me know in the comments below!