C. R. Robinson

By Chris Robinson | JAN 9, 2021 | General

Greetings Everyone!

I pray you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let us all join in a heartfelt prayer that 2022 will be better than 2021!

My name is C. R. Robinson, but you can call me Chris. I’m the author of Paired: Book One – Call to Action. Paired is a Christian Fantasy book series about a young girl’s journey to become a Paladin, a holy warrior. Her faithful sidekick is a Seeker named Scout, who is a rambunctious rat terrier. You can read a sample of the book here: www.crrobinsonbooks.com

Okay, back to this blog. In the days before the internet, yes I’m that old, it was difficult to learn about my favorite authors because all I had to go on were the short blurbs located inside their book’s jacket. Today, we have the internet, where anyone with basic computer skills can create a website, publish a book, or create a blog.

I know many traditionally published authors may disagree, but I believe we are living in the golden age of speculative fiction! The odds of an author being picked up by a traditional publisher is akin to winning the lottery, and understandably so. It takes tons of resources and money to publish a book. There’s editors, book cover artists, promotion, etc. And on top of all that, there’s no guarantee the story will result in enough sales volume to enable the publisher to recoup their investment and earn a suitable profit. It’s certainly a speculative business and people’s interests can be fickle at best.

Now, take an independent author (indie) like myself and one-hundred thousand others… publishing out books encompasses the same processes as the traditional publisher but I believe we are more entrepreneurial at heart. We don’t balk at challenge! Oftentimes, we elicit the help of friends and family to critique and edit our work, hire local artists to create our book covers, and seek help from fellow indie authors who graciously share their successes and failures.

There are a dozen ebook marketplaces out there where you can purchase indie science fiction and fantasy books for a pittance. You may occasionally encounter a misspelled word or two, or possibly slow sections. Let me tell you, this business is hard work. I read two to four novels a month, some by indie authors and the balance by established publishers. I can tell you that even the big names in publishing don’t catch all of errors in their manuscripts!

Back when I really started digging into science fiction and fantasy with a voracious appetite, I would visit my local bookstore and purchase pocket book novels (4.25 inches by 6.87 inches). I paid $3.95 or more for that book in 1985 and today, that $3.95 is equal to $28.08 in U.S. Dollars! Indie authors are selling their wares for anywhere between $0.99 – $2.99 on average. For the work it takes to produce their art, this is a bargain for the modern reader!

I look forward to sharing my fantasy and science fiction stories with you, my thoughts on the process of writing, and the importance of servant leadership in a world that appears to be falling apart. So, let’s begin this journey together and see where it leads us!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me, chris@crrobinsonbooks.com, and I will do my best to reply.