Even if you are a famous author published by a top publishing house and celebrated in rarefied literary circles, you will never write anything better than the description of a self-published author's book.

There are many more aspiring authors than there are book publishers. There are also many more aspiring authors than good authors. This is where the self-publishing industry comes in.

There are certainly unsung writers without connections to the inbred "literary" world for whom self-publishing offers a valuable method for circumventing a closed and elite system. There is a much larger number of people who "always thought they had a book in 'em" for whom the self-publishing industry offers a way to spend some money and receive a book which no one will read. We support this, as America is a free country.

Some believe that most self-published books are garbage. Perhaps. But the blurbs for self-published books, written by the authors themselves and posted on the Xlibris online bookstore in order to attract readers, are absolutely golden. You'll find no better reading material in this world. Some of the very best are below.

Poetry

Accidentally Poetic, By Melinda Farrar-Wilkinson

ACCIDENTALLY POETIC is a collection of poems written from my everyday life. I called it accidentally poetic, because I kind of accidentally became a poet. My work is quite "Aussie" and I write like I talk. That is what makes my work fun to read and listen to. There are many that end with a nice little twist that I bet you never seen coming...

Historical Fiction

World War III Blues, By J.F. Donahue

Is it possible for one man to save a country with just the words he had written? What if this man were actually a prophet and his songs had meaning far beyond that which he had originally intended? Bob Dylan finds himself exploring these questions after an unexpected disaster has left much of the United States underwater and bitter political philosophies have forced the survivors into a Civil War. He is now one of these survivors and the Legend discovers that he may possess the only secret that can truly bring peace and reunite America.

Religion

The Engrafted Word of God, By PJ Minchew

Search the Scriptures for data upon data. But, before you search for data upon data, search the Scriptures for Scripture upon Scripture. But, before you search Scripture upon Scripture, search the Scriptures for rib upon rib. Search the Scriptures: For in them ye think ye have eternal life: And they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39) For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, and he was reckoned among the transgressors: For the things concerning me have an end. (Luke 22:37) Then opened he their understanding, That they might understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:45) Cover design: BF Ames

Autobiography

From Horse and Carts to Sputniks, By Phillip J. Noonan

I was born in Cobar, on 12 June 1939, and left there when I was only two weeks old. I think my mother and I went to Winbar Station where my father was breaking in brumbies for saddle stock horses, for the station hands on the property, to use for mustering. My father's name was John Bernard Noonan (he was known as Jack), and my mother's name was Laura; her maiden name was Blacker (in her later years, my mother became known as Lorna).

Travel

The Good Old Days, By Harold Flagg

In 1999, I flew from Fort Lauderdale, FL, to Japan for $28.39 round-trip. Previously, a round-trip from Fort Lauderdale to Turkey cost me $17 and change. On the Turkish flight, a computer glitch wiped out my documentation shortly after I landed in Frankfurt, Germany. To compensate, Delta Air Lines upgraded me to BusinessElite class, featuring free champagne and choice of filet mignon or salmon steak served on a cozy table set with sparkling crystal and the finest silver and china. Most of my caviar lifestyle on a tuna budget has been based on United States Social Security and Bahamas National Insurance payments, having worked many years in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. What's the catch? Basically, it was playing the discount-fare and frequent-flier game to the Nth degree, N as in nothing, in many cases. My best free junkets in senior-friendly skies came via Delta Air Lines frequent flier mileage. My Delta SkyMiles were tallied by such senior-citizen bargains as a Fort Lauderdale- Hawai'i round-trip ticket for as little as $440. That alone added some 10,000 FF miles to my account. Signing for a Delta SkyMiles credit card netted 10,000 miles; a switch to MCI telephone service scored another 5,000 or so. An MCI WorldCom/SkyMiles long-distance card is good for five 10 HAROLD FLAGG miles per dollar spent. There is at least one case where a "motormouth" literally talked his way into a free trip! Investors can rack up major mileage via Delta

Entertainment

Marilyn Monroe Her Shoe and Me By Howard G. Allen

Basically this book is about the week that I spent with Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller at their apartment in New York City on East Fifty Seventh Street back in 1960 when I was a young wide eyed aspiring actor of twenty. Marilyn showed me the whole city; took me everywhere. It was and still is the most exciting week that I have ever spent with anyone. Then she revealed something to me that she had never revealed to another single soul. This book is about that week, what she revealed to me and the results of the secret that she revealed to me back fifty years ago.

Spirituality

Cloud Dusting By Ocean Jade

Cloud Dusting is a unique true story of my personal journey from ordinary beginnings to a very spiritual awakening. Many lessons learnt and many rescues accomplished. There are some funny stories and light entertainment. Some content will shock and surprise you some of it will keep you awake at night. With an added bonus of photos of spirit which are very rare especially the photo of Spirit Divine, I believe this to be the only photo in the world.

Political Science

A Voter's Journey, By Bill Lewers

A few years ago, I published a book titled Six Decades of Baseball: A Personal Narrative, which described my lifelong passion for baseball, written purely from the perspective of a baseball fan with no inside knowledge of the game. A Voter's Journey sets out to do the same thing, only this time with politics. I hope that the telling of my story will encourage the reader to reflect upon his or her own lifelong political journey. For in a society like ours, saturated with politics and elections, each one of us, whether we are politically inclined or not, makes a political journey of some kind or another. This is the story of mine.

Philosophy

Ideas That May Change Your Life, By Martha Marino

IDEAS If you are glued to a certain idea, it prevents you from seeing the present as it is. Ex. If you have to look happy all the time, you can't address the situation logically or accurately. Ideas may be wrong. What you think is important may not be. Ex. I thought my wisteria vine was dead and it was more beautiful than ever this year because of the rain. Ex. I felt sad that I did not sweep my patio before my guests arrived, but they didn't go there anyway. Ideas are often slippery. You have to grab them before they disappear.

Fantasy

The Clueless Dead, By Keith Greenwood

The Clueless Dead is written as a vampire story from the male perspective and to counter a large number of annoying themes that have become prevalent in several works of vampire fiction. My character is an ordinary guy, a professional musician (but not a rockstar). He is transformed into a vampire as a result of a series of coincidences. He then must deal with the consequences of having vampire powers as well as the temptations involved in possessing the ability to mentally manipulate people, besides the spiritual quandary of being a vampire and a Christian.

Young Adult

The Fourth Friday Night, By William Brian

Alistor was like any regular kid. He loved playing with his friends. He loved Friday night wrestling. It sounds so simple. So how did it go so wrong? Gorilla's are on the loose? Fourth on the run from a Deputy? How could his sister, Megan, let this happen? What happens when all of the earlier questions are answered will help you remember the crazy fun and adventure of "the fourth Friday night!"

History

Aunt Elois and the Death of a President, By Elizabeth O'Mara Anderson

My great aunt Elois usually didn't wear her glasses, and she was not wearing them that day in Dealey Plaza. For reading her Bible, she always used a magnifying glass, and she called it her "spy glass." She searched every day in her Bible for new scriptures to put into practice. Aunt Elois had her own car to drive, even in the 1950's.

Maxine worked as a volunteer at a local hospital gift shop. She always remembered her many relatives with beautiful cards and thoughtful gifts. Maxine's father, Judge William Carey Graves, was a former Texas State Senator. He was a wonderful story teller and loved to smoke his special pipe. His huge collection of "National Geographic" magazines was started in the year 1911.

Sci-fi

ROXANNE of Dark Energy, By Dean Marquis

In the US Army's, Field Manual of Electronic Warfare in Operations (FM 3-36), it states that: Hardware is described as Computers, Relay Stations, Circuits, Radios, Scanners and other things of their ilk. Software is described as the Programs used to Direct the Operations of the Hardware, to function within a command control system. Wetware is described as the Personnel that operate or maintain the Command Control System. It doesn't say why the Pentagon gave Wetware the name it is. I can only use my imagination and assume that Wetware is what happens when People have Anti-Radiation Missiles shot at them. The other fact is that the Human Body is 98 % water. Only the Pentagon could coin a phrase with such an innocent content but has such devastating effect. In Today's Internet Based Environment it rings with a larger intent. It also assumes that Hardware is easier to replace then Wetware. It is also along this same vein, that Roxanne of Dark Energy has been constructed.

[Image by John Tomac]