indie authors – Page 2 – Stories Rule Press

When Bookstores Shrink Their Shelves (Even the Digital Ones)

16 January 2026 / Cameron Cooper

Barnes & Noble has begun quietly removing books from its digital shelves — not because readers don’t want them, but because the retailer wants a “cleaner,” more curated catalog. Overnight, titles vanish. Algorithms shift. Indie books get harder to find.

It’s the same old pattern: as big platforms age, they tighten the gates. The long tail shrinks. Choice narrows. And readers lose access to entire backlists, series, and genres without even realizing it’s happening.

The good news? You’re not trapped in anyone’s walled garden. Buying direct from authors keeps your books permanent, DRM-free, and untouched by corporate inventory purges — no disappearing titles, no algorithmic roulette.

Anyone Quoting Black-and-White “Rules” About Writing Is Full of Crap

14 January 2026 / Mark Posey

If someone is handing you absolute, black-and-white “rules” about writing, they’re full of crap.
Most of those commandments started life as reasonable cautions… before nuance died somewhere between a conference panel and a poorly edited podcast rant.

Real editors don’t enforce rules.
Real editors ask one question: Is this working for this story, this audience, this moment?

Follow every so-called rule perfectly and you won’t write a great book — you’ll just write a technically correct, emotionally flat one.
Rules can stop you from making mistakes.
They cannot help you make choices.
And writing is nothing but choices.

A Little Marital Bragging (Okay, Maybe a Lot)

Mark takes a moment to brag — loudly and unapologetically — about Tracy’s incredible achievement: completing the thirteen-book Once and Future Hearts series and preparing its exclusive hardcover Kickstarter. From behind-the-scenes glimpses to outright spousal pride, this post celebrates the epic scope of the project and why the upcoming campaign is such a milestone.

Mastering the Scene: Why Your Novel Depends on It

15 October 2025 / Mark Posey

A novel isn’t a pile of words—it’s a chain of well-built scenes. This post breaks down the five parts of a powerful scene (from Inciting Incident to Resolution) and why scene craft is the difference between a draft and a publishable book.

Review of The Artisan Author by Johnny B. Truant

19 July 2025 / Non-Fiction, Reference, Tracy Cooper-Posey

“At its heart, this book offers a liberating proposal: don’t play the game as it’s currently defined. Walk away from algorithm worship, punishing release schedules, and the grind of selling at 99 cents to churn-hungry subscription readers. Instead, write what you want to write, at the pace that suits you, and charge a fair price for your work.”