It's not often I write a personal post. I tend to keep all my posts book related. After all, it's the self promo I so desperately need and my personal life really isn't very exciting unless you want to read about me shaving a complete leg with the safety cap on the razor and wondering why it isn't working or how I dropped the car keys in the wheelie bin (again!) and had to practically climb into the stinking bin because I'm so god damn short. I thought not but I want to share with you the important things of being an Indie Author and what is important to Indie Authors.
Writing is the easy part and the most enjoyable. That goes without saying. You think of a plot, develop some characters and when they start talking to you, the writing comes naturally. I have had some stories that have practically written themselves in a space of a few short weeks.
Designing the cover. Now that's fun. Finding that all important cover that's going to sell your book. You have the perfect cover mapped out in your mind and all you want to do is find it. Whilst trying to find it, can be stressful and if you're not blessed to have the means to do it yourself or like me, have a mother who is brilliant at that kind of thing because I am useless, it can be quite costly. Seeing the end product is worth while.
Editing and proof reading. An Indie Author's nightmare and unless you have a brilliant team behind you or the funds to hire professionals, editing and proof reading can be a pure headache but one of THE most important things about the whole process. No one wants to be a victim to bad grammar and receive unpleasant reviews for it. I have been victim to this and it's not very nice. While negative reviews can be constructive because how else are you going to improve, I think some reviewers get a kick out of being mean and really they don't understand how much hard work goes into creating that story and for what? We get paid peanuts!
Every aspiring author's dream is to bag that all important book deal with a top notch publisher and seeing your book line the shelves of every book store and supermarket. Those that say it's not are lying. I mean, who wouldn't want the the five figure sum and to see your name up in lights? Set up shop in a book store, meet your fans and sign copy after copy of your books? It's all I have ever dreamed about since I was 14. It's my ultimate goal. My life would be complete BUT it's not easy. There's plenty of small publishing companies around who are willing to take on the likes of Indie Authors but unless you make it big, it's not going to work. If they ask you for money for outlays etc then you shouldn't do it. They should pay YOU.
Thankfully, today, there is the self-publishing option like Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Nook etc, which gives everyone the chance to get their work out there and share it with the world. I know it's been my life saver. I no longer have to write a story in my spare time and leave it clogging up my laptop. That's the beauty of self-publishing and hopefully it means, one day, a big publishing company or agent will pick up my story and say, wow, this is brilliant and offer me a deal. Well I can live in hope.
I only self-publish with Amazon. I tried Smashwords, it didn't work out for me. If you publish with Kindle Direct Publishing you earn yourself a whooping 70% stake in royalties but that means you can't publish with anyone else. If you publish with Amazon among others such as Smashwords etc, you get a mere 35% in the hope that the other publishers will make up the remainder 35%. For me it didn't. If it does for you, brilliant. It's got to be better to have a bigger selling platform that's for sure.
Pirating. Unfortunately it happens and not with just movies but with books too. Indie Authors already earn a pittance. I am lucky if I receive a cheque every six months that hits three digits. After all, eBooks aren't expensive. Mine range between 99p to £1.99. It's not much at all when you think about it. All that hard and you're lucky to make 29p out of a 99p download and £1.13 out of £1.99. So imagine how many people would have to download your book for you to earn anything worth mentioning? Of course you could increase the price of your book to download but then who is going to buy it? Who wants to pay a small fortune for a book written by an author no one has heard of? I find keeping them cheap, ups your chance of downloads and you never know, as a reader you might even find a new favourite author because you don't mind spending less then a quid on a download.
I know most Indie Authors don't even do it for the money. I mean how could we when we're barely earning but my reasons for doing it, is for pure satisfaction, for the achievement and being able to share my warped imagination with others and for them to enjoy it. That's what makes it worth while but it doesn't mean people should get it for free unless it's on a free promo from your publishing platform. Pirating is against the law for a reason so please share a thought before you do so. Think of the author who has written it, the sleepless nights they have encountered because the characters would't shut up talking to them, the cost of the coffee they went through to keep them going and the mind they lost. They deserve to be awarded with something, however little it is.
The only advice I can give to stop pirating is don't dish out your digital copies via emails. ARC's are dangerous. The person it's sent to will forward it to a friend who then forwards it to another friend and so on and then it's out there for anyone to read free of charge. Unless you completely trust that person it should not be done. If you want to give away eCopies, run competitions or need your team to proof read, send it directly to their reading device. Ask them for their Kindle email and get them to add your email address to their approved list on Amazon. It's the only way to stop pirating and they still get to read your work for free.
The perks of being Indie Author is the freedom. Not having anyone breath down your neck, screaming at you for not reaching that deadline and having the added pressure of the money. Someone editing your work so much it no longer reads like your work and suffering from writer's block when everything is staked on you and not being able to produce. Imagine the stress? Whilst the money would be great, I find Indie Authors passion for writing shines through more, they are more relate able and readable because no one has edited the shit out of it. We have the freedom to write what we like, when we like. So what if we bring out three or four books in a year or only release one? We are our own bosses. No stress, satisfaction guaranteed.
Reviews are the most important thing to Indie Authors. I don't believe in review swapping. I think that's classed as cheating, Someone isn't giving you a review because they enjoyed reading your book or they didn't. They are only giving you it because they are getting one in return. I don't do it. I like the honest to god reviews, whether they are one star or five stars although I prefer the latter obviously.
Reviews are what helps sell a book. The book with reviews is more likely to be downloaded to the book without. It's a known fact so please, when you've finished reading a book, take a minute to pop on Amazon or Goodreads and leave a review, even if it's short.
If you plan on writing a negative view, I do urge you to think about it before you do and word it correctly. I understand your need to write honest reviews, it's important to us too but please keep them constructive rather then mean. There's no need for nastiness. If you didn't enjoy the book, list your reasons rather then saying it's just crap or slag the author off. We have feelings. Keep them honest and constructive. After all, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. We can't please everyone.
Are you signed up to Kindle Unlimited? Amazon now pays royalties to authors on Unlimited as long as the reader reads one page of the book so please make sure you flick the pages so we can get paid. It's also another great way to find new authors. Don't ignore the Indie Authors. You're paying your monthly subscription anyway so why not make the most of it and try something new.
So that basically wraps up the The Important Things to Indie Authors. We're a friendly bunch just trying to make it in the big bad world and it's sometimes a scary place so any help is hugely appreciated. You never know, you might be surprised with what you'll find.
You can download any of my books from Amazon for a small fee and please remember, tip this Indie Author by leaving a review.
Amazon ➜ UK
Amazon ➜ US
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