Conventions vs. Chaos + Borchert review + Benny's Last Dollar
Indie Review and short fiction - listen or read.
Headline: Conventions vs. Chaos
Conventions vs. chaos. Style guides establish uniform rules for editing. Formatting follows standard conventions. As a reader, you may not notice until something is out of place or somehow makes it difficult to read. Indie authors who want to be taken seriously follow those editing rules and formatting conventions before printing books. People who publish a chaotic mess damage the image of indies.
I started doing indie reviews to help readers find books they might otherwise miss. I’ve reviewed some excellent books where the authors have taken their manuscripts through multiple layers of editing and they’ve made sure the final format meets industry standards. A few weeks ago I reviewed a book where the author made a couple minor technical errors repeatedly, but aside from that had done an excellent job. Then I started reading a .pdf an author had sent and noticed little things every few pages - some just subjective items where wording could have been better, others where there was a clear error. She’d said it was edited. I hoped I’d accidentally gotten an early version. My blog has several posts about editing.
Then the paperback book arrived - with the same mistakes and formatting that showed a complete disregard for publishing conventions.
I have nine indie paperbacks waiting to be read, so I flipped through the rest just to see if they were formatted according to conventions. Another was just as bad, not even placing the copyright page where readers expect to see it. These two go to the bottom of the pile. I don’t want to give bad reviews, but I don’t want to promote unprofessional work, either.
Two books followed conventions for the arrangement of front pages and they have mirrored margins. They both start numbering pages in the right place, but in one of them, the first page number reflects all the unnumbered pages. They’re on the top of the pile.
The last five had quirks in the page numbering - starting too soon or starting in the right place but the first number reflecting all the unnumbered pages - plus other oddities. The inside margin needs to be wider or the reader has to break the spine of a book to read easily. Two of these books had even margins. One had mirrored margins but a ragged right edge instead of being justified, as is the norm for most novels.
Pay attention to the basic conventions in traditionally published books. Even if you hire someone to format your book or use formatting software, you need to know how to evaluate the result. Which pages come where for front and back matter? What do they look like on the page? Where does numbering start? What pages have no numbers? The author of one of the most professionally-done books I’ve reviewed so far said she used Atticus for formatting. I use Microsoft Word. Hers looks a little prettier, so I may try Atticus on my next book. There are lots of other options as well. But you need to look at books and know what a professionally done book looks like. If you want instructions, here are a couple links:
Heads Up
News
Per this Publishers Weekly article, a Bowker study found over four million books were published in the U.S. in 2025, the vast majority of them indies.
Writing Opportunities & Contests
Spotify is looking for commercial fiction, specifically romances this round, written for audio, 10,000-40,000 words. Authors retain print and ebook rights and can distribute and sell those formats on any platform. (Check the contract, of course.) Deadline is April 30.
On the first weekend of each month, the Australian Writers’ Centre offers the Furious Fiction Challenge. They post specific criteria and give you 55 hours to write 500 words or less. It’s free. Later in the month, they showcase the best stories online. You retain rights. The next challenge starts about midnight Thursday April 2 in the States (depending on time zone)
Writer’s Digest also has an Annual Writing Competition. Check the link for specifics. Early bird deadline May 4, 2026. Entry fee $25-35. Decent prize.
Awards
Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards: Early bird deadline April 1, 11:59 EST. First entry $100. Each additional $85. All books published or revised and reprinted between 2021 and 2026 are eligible.
Kindle Book Awards: 2026 Registration deadline is May 15, books published 5/1/2023-5/1/2026. Cost $35
The BookLife Prize for unpublished or self-published fiction opens April 1 and goes through the summer. I let them know some details were missed when they updated the webpages for 2026-2027. However, this is an established prize open to unpublished and self-published books with no publishing date restrictions. While expensive, each entry gets a review by a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
The Rubery Book Award closes March 31 UK time, so US folks think March 30.
Free Advertising
Each month, BookLife runs the Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine. Industry professionals, media professionals, and librarians read this magazine. There is no charge, but the competition is enormous. Fiction or nonfiction, adult or children’s, secular or religious, written or graphic - all types of books will be considered IF the subject matter matches the month’s topic.
In March, they are accepting submissions for April - humor and satire.
In April, they’ll accept submissions for May - memoir and autobiography.
Follow these directions. Submissions are emailed to booklifeeditor@booklife.com with required information and a subject line that changes each month.
Learning Opportunities
Wisconsin Sisters in Crime are offering a free program: The Expert Editor Advantage – Saturday, March 28th 2026 11AM CST (9AM PST). Topic: When & why to engage an editor to polish your manuscript & how to maximize the author/editor relationship.
Pre-Pitch Coaching Session Thursday, April 2 at 12 – 1pm PDT Registration is free for anyone already signed up for Pitch-O-Rama 2026. If you haven’t, prices are $10 for WNBA-SF members and $25 for non-members. WNBA-SF stalwarts who have run Pitch-O-Rama for many years will tell you what to expect, tips and strategies for inspired pitching, and how to get the most from this mini-writers conference.
Other Resources
For statistics on books, publishing, etc.: https://wordsrated.com/
Book Festivals list by Prolific Writers.
Beware: I’ve decided to keep these posted each week, as the need keeps arising. If you know another good site, let me know and I’ll add it.
https://writerbeware.blog (search on right)
https://authorsguild.org/resource/publishing-scam-alerts/ (most recent first)
https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/watchdog/ (scroll down to view ratings links)
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/terms/ Read #4 – they claim EXTENSIVE FOREVER rights to EVERY ENTRY! Thanks to Hope Clark for pointing this out in her newsletter. She also writes some mystery series you might enjoy.
Call to Action - Get your indie book reviewed!
Now that I’ve had a few books submitted for review that were not produced to professional standards, I’ve updated what I expect. Sometimes I’ll review books that help writers with their craft or self-publishers with their business, but I’ve been judging books for Independent Publishers of New England the last few years and I’d like to help readers and indie authors connect. I’ve had a great response since mentioning this on an Authors Guild discussion. I have, however, learned to “read sample” or “look inside” before saying send me the book - if the opening doesn’t grab me, I probably won’t finish or review it.
Details are explained in this website blog.
Free Reading & Listening
Writers: Let me know when you’re doing a free or reduced price promotion and I’ll post it here! Readers: Enjoy and post reviews!
Those with Kindle Unlimited may read these books for free:
June Gillam’s House of Eire: A Hilary Broome Novel
Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life (Not an indie, but a favorite.)
Tom Huggler’s The Woman She Left Behind
Geri Krotow’s A Midsummer Murder
I reviewed Tom’s book January 13 and Geri’s January 27.
The Australian Writers Center showcases the best entries into their furious fiction monthly challenge.
If you sign up for an Audible Standard trial, you can get my favorite Stephen King book for free: 11/22/63: A Novel. The main character travels back in time and has to figure out whether or not to stop the assassination of JFK. If you’ve never read King’s work because you’re not into horror, this is the one to read. He’s an amazing writer.
Book Review:
Her Own Legacy by Debra Borchert
Her Own Legacy by Debra Borchert is the first of three historical fiction novels that begin in the French Revolution. Her descriptions of life in the city of Paris and life in the royal palace illuminate the reasons for the rage that led to the revolt. Her primary characters are multi-faceted, with ties to both wealth and more practical living. The Revolution and more personal issues present one threat after another, maintaining tension and forward motion. As the cover suggests, there are also romantic lines in the story. I read the Kindle version like an editor (it’s a lifelong habit), and there were spots where I’d have offered notes, but they didn’t slow me down. If you enjoy historical fiction, strong female protagonists, or all things French, put this on your reading list.
Fiction:
Impressions: Benny’s Last Dollar
You can read this on my website blog or listen to it here:
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Thanks.
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©Sheri McGuinn
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Thanks, Sheri--an amazing newsletter, start to finish