About Papyrus

This is a site dedicated to the review of novels, novellas and short stories published independently.

What is an independent author?

To keep things simple, my definition of an independent author is an author who has chosen to publish his/her work(s) independent of a major publisher. I have deliberately included the word “major” as there are quite a few minor publishers which are in fact small outfits put together by authors themselves. I do not want to exclude these smaller organisations from my site.

Why a site for independent authors?

I admire authors in general. Authors have spent a good deal of their talent enriching my life. Those authors published through the major publishing houses have done so with the additional resources afforded by the publisher in question – including marketing. When an author chooses to publish independently, this is a choice to forego those advantages.

I want to encourage independent publishing as I believe it provides an open and unfettered means for expression that can continue to enrich us all. However, it’s unrestricted nature also provides some disadvantages. In a ocean of voices, how can a single voice be heard? For traditionally published authors, publishing houses by their very natures provide somewhat of a quality filter role for this “slush pile” presumably helping us hear the voices that benefit us. Independent authors rely heavily on word-of-mouth as readers are not always willing to play the role of filter for independent publishing’s slush pile.

I’m hoping that sites like this help independent authors reach an interested audience by having impartial reviews which can be found and read by those willing to take a risk to discover a new voice.

I am not a professional reviewer, nor am I a literary academic. I am just a reader who wants to give to authors a small token of my gratitude for an art form that has given me so much joy since childhood.

Why Papyrus?

I find it humorous and fitting to provide a definition of the word papyrus as found in my Kindle’s Oxford Dictionary of English:

n. (pl. papyri or papyruses)

1 [mass noun] a material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant, used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painging on and also for making articles such as rope.

Given that my medium for reading has progressed to the digital, it pleases me to name this site in juxtaposition.

6 Responses to About Papyrus

  1. Hi Caleb
    I find this site very impressive and professional as compared to some of the reviewers’ sites. I have a sci-fi thriller launching soon, and as soon as I get the ebooks live I’ll officially submit.

  2. CL Parks says:

    Good to know I’m not the only one getting bogged down with spam posts. Both my website and personal blog are constantly unindated with spam from Viagra sales, and long lost relatives from Kenya.

  3. Thanks, Caleb, for supporting indie authors. You’re doing a very valuable job.

    John

  4. Omar says:

    If nothing else, thanks for the note about papyrus. For writing on, and use as a rope, often the saviour, makes for an apt moniker. As others have pointed out, nicely done and friendly site.

  5. AR Simmons says:

    Caleb,

    Being a historian myself (in a former life) and being also old-fashioned, I appreciate your use of papyrus. I like your site layout and the fact that you set forth your conditions clearly.

    Al

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