Aionios Books, LLC

Our “A” List for February

Here are two books that made an indelible impression on us from our reading list this month. These are not necessarily new books: they’re timeless books. Books we love. Dan’s Pick: Swan Knight's Son: The Green Knight's Squire Book One (Moth & Cobweb 1) By John C. Wright Silver-haired Gil Moth, a very strange high school student who can talk to animals, takes his first dangerous steps toward being a knight in this YA-fantasy series opener. The faerie world in this rousing adventure tale is shown

Call for Young Adult Novel Submissions!

Aionios Books would love to see your young adult novel manuscript!  Aionios Books is especially seeking young adult novels in the adventure, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, perseverance, and horror categories. And, of course, the novels that aren't so easy to categorize.   Your submission should include:     ·         An "elevator pitch" (35-50 words) ·         A synopsis (500 words) ·         A brief biography, including social media activity (150 words) ·         A manuscript sample

From Heinlein to Hunger Games: The Enduring Popularity of Young Adult Science Fiction

Amazon recently released a list of the top selling Kindle books of all time. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was in the top ten for novels. Since I’ve never read the series, I picked up and quickly devoured the first book. Bestselling science fiction aimed at young adults is nothing new. Reading The Hunger Games made me immediately think of the Heinlein “juveniles” of the 1950s, specifically the 1955 novel Tunnel in the Sky. Heinlein today is perhaps best known for Starship

Should You Seek Distribution? Genre Matters!

Many indie authors and publishers spend time thinking about ways of getting their books into the physical book selling world of chain bookstores, independent bookstores, and other chain stores that also sell books. A lot of paper books are sold each year, and the number of paper books sold increased slightly in 2016. However, the brick-and-mortar book markets are incredibly difficult for an indie author or small publisher to crack. With hype given to reader’s return to print, many authors might

The Power of Giving

In today's wild and woolly indie publishing industry, collaborative giving optimizes the outcomes for all, and everyone wins. . . .

Scam Submission: Has your manuscript been stolen?

This month we had a strange manuscript submission. An “author” who claimed to be both a minor and speak English as a second language (having only picked up English six years ago) submitted a remarkably well-polished novel manuscript. More curiously, while the “author” claimed to be a teenager from Asia, the novel’s protagonist was a middle-aged detective from the Midwest, and the Midwestern setting had been convincingly rendered. So convincingly rendered that it seemed that the author must have

And the winner is . . .

The Aionios Books Indie Author of the Year Award goes to Kelley Kay Bowles for her young adult novel, Down in the Belly of the Whale. . . .

What can Amazon do to stop fake reviews?

When I first heard of fake reviews on Amazon, the concern was authors and publishers purchasing positive reviews. Apparently, the fake positive-review industry still exists, but that’s hardly Amazon’s only concern. The internet, unfortunately, brings out the inner sociopath in many people, and that’s meant authors who are at all controversial are being targeted by fake negative reviews, sometimes in organized campaigns. The essence of the fake negative review is that the reviewer has clearly

Carlsbad's Indie Author Day 2017

Aionios Books, Konstellation Press, Publishers & Writers of San Diego and of Orange County, Read Local San Diego, and Top Reads Publishing have joined forces to sponsor Indie Author Day at the Carlsbad City Library. The event is FREE to the public and will take place on Saturday, October 14, 10 AM - 2 PM, at the Carlsbad City Library (1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad). Here's what's on the agenda (download event flyer): Karla Olson (of Patagonia Publishing, Publishers & Writers of San Diego and of

E-books are dead: Long live e-books!

For the past few years, articles have been trumpeting the death of the e-book as readers purportedly return to paper. There’s some evidence for a return to paper, but the reporting wildly overstates what is actually happening. According to author earnings, print book sales in the United States grew 3.3% in 2016. But why have e-book sales fallen, or at least reported e-book sales? The best answer is probably from Econ 101: The price increase on e-books from the Big Five has reduced the quantity