- S. H. Pratt
- Jan 24, 2017
- 4 min read
I get asked a lot why I am an independently published author. Well, because I do what I want… LOL not really. I’m an indie author because when push comes to shove I am leery and mistrustful. Why? Well, let’s start with the definition of independently published…
Independent: not subject to control by others; self-governing.
Publish: to produce or release for distribution; specifically: print.
Author: the writer of a literary work (such as a book); one that originates or creates something. ~Merriam-Webster
Now that we’ve determined the individual definitions, I’ll put it simply, indie authors are people who creates a literary work and produces it for distribution without being subject to control by others.
At first I attempted to become “traditionally published” but wow, Harlequin is extremely picky. To my amazement, I was told that my books were “too dark”. Wait, what? Yes, my books deal with the loss of loved ones. Guess what, Harlequin, its called LIFE! And there is no way you’re getting out of this life without dying. And wow, Harlequin hasn’t seen anything “dark” by comparison to what I write these days! Now “life” has become about other real life events aside from death… PTSD; rape; child abduction; murder; drugs… well, you get the idea. I write fiction about non-fiction.
Next, I went through a “small independent publisher” which shall remain nameless because I was taught if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. We’ll call this company SIP. Now I thought “Hey, they’ll help me and I’ll get published and all will be hunky-dorey.” This is me admitting to naiveté. SIP requested money up front for “publishing costs”. *should have been red flag #1* At every turn they had some new “offer” to entice me to believe that my books were off the chart special that all required that I give them more money up front. *should have been red flag #2* And while I think my books are off the charts, really, there are a lot of “off the charts” books out there. And to top it all off, they had difficulty getting my titles right. *oh, hello red flag #3*
Lessons learned, water under the bridge. By the time I wised up and fired SIP, I’d learned enough about independent publishing to know I just don’t trust other people to do what I can. Granted, I’m still learning, but hey, as long as I’m still learning then no one’s pushing me six feet under… right? So, because I have trust issues, I publish me and my books.
The next thing that I hear is almost always… “Oh, so can you make me a writer?” The short answer is no. I am not a teacher. I cannot force creativity out of you. Just because I publish my books does not make me your publisher. Can I mentor you? Yes. Can I give you advice? Yes. Can I show you the places to learn what you need to do? Yes. But I cannot do it for you.
First and foremost, I am an author, but I am also a business woman, therefore to ask me to do for you what I do for me and not expect payment is rude. Am I comfortable in that title? It’s growing on me but I still feel a bit like a liar. Why? Because I don’t have a degree in business. I don’t have a degree in accounting. I had to learn every single thing by trial and error and through the generosity of other indie authors mentoring me. Therefore, I constantly have to remind people that I am a business woman who just happens to do the bulk of my business on social media and I don’t work for free.
Wait… what? I don’t work for free? Nope. Neither does my eBook formatter, or the lady who does my editing, or even the beta readers who read through my stuff and critique it. What do the beta readers get in payment, you ask? Well, they read the books I write months, sometimes years before the public readers do. If that isn’t a sweet payment… nothing like having an in, right?
But what you may not realize is that “payment” for my books comes in more forms than monetary. Huh? But…? Yes, I make a percentage of every eBook and paperback sold on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. Not a ton, but some. But the bigger payment is REVIEWS. Yep, you read that right. Reviews.
Why reviews? Because when a book has a high number of reviews and a positive average of said reviews, it is more visible and attractive to readers browsing through whichever platform they frequent, whether it’s Amazon or any of the others. Because with a higher number of reviews, those same platforms take notice of the book and are more likely to share that book with readers via the emails and other methods of marketing that they do. Because a reader is more likely to take a chance on new books or new authors if there are more reviews which in turn show the book is popular among other readers. Granted, positive reviews are better in the eyes of readers and the sales platforms but hey… any review is a great payment.
One other reason to pay in reviews… Amazon. That mysterious set of algorithms that they have. Everyone sort of knows about is and is kind of aware that there is a magic number in which prompts Amazon to help promote a book. Heaven only knows what that is or how the algorithm works… Amazon probably doesn’t even know… but there you go.
So, the next time you finish a book, think about what you liked and didn’t like about it. Then pay the author… not with money but with reviews… think of it as leaving a tip. Especially those authors who are independently published, because like all people in the service industry, we survive on the tips.
