What is an Indie Author?

Ask for things you associate with 'Indie' and I'm guessing you'll hear terms like: small, alternative, non-mainstream, and different. An 'indie author' possibly conjures up images of some sort of barefoot hippie who likes to write bad poetry about non-conformance. So, what is an 'indie author'?

Indie

Indie author alert!

The term 'indie' is short for independent. Oxford dictionary defines this as, "free from outside control; not subject to another's authority". A list of synonyms contains the words: freethinking, unconventional, free, liberated, self-governing, autonomous, self-sufficient, separate, and sovereign. These words explain the key points of what an indie author is.

Indie authors self-publish their work and do not go through a traditional publishing house, such as PanMacmillan, HarperCollins, Bloomsbury, Hachette, or Penguin Random House. This means they retain full control of and responsibility for the entire publishing process.

What Indie Authors are Not

Indie authors are not necessarily small or 'non-mainstream'/alternative. Indie authors can write books that are indistinguishable from those that are published by the traditional publishing houses, and they can earn just as much, if not more, than those authors who are signed by traditional publishing houses (see my blog post: 'Traditional and Self-Published Author Incomes'). Not all indie authors are independent because they cannot get a publishing deal. Many authors choose to stay independent to ensure they retain full control of their work and the publishing and marketing process. Admittedly, many indie authors do not have the same financial backing and budget as traditionally published authors, or the same network of contacts and professionals, which leads to much smaller marketing campaigns. This is why book reviews and word-of-mouth are so very important to indie authors.

Now, the topic of money leads into my next point...

Quality

I can't write this blog about indie authors without raising the topic of quality. Anyone can self-publish their own books, and anyone does. This means that, unfortunately, there are many poor-quality indie books on the market. Books with bad covers, riddled with spelling errors, bad grammar, and crappy stories. These books give indie authors a bad name. This is why there are perceptions in the public that indie authors are just not very good. Some are 'just not very good', but others are truly brilliant, with incredible covers and content that is every bit as polished as traditionally published books.

I did not use a professional photographer for this picture

Now, I have a confession to make here. Polishing books takes money. Incredible covers cost money (unless you are a graphic designer), development editing, structural editing, copyediting, proofreading - they all cost money. Perfect blurbs, illustrations, formatting, and then marketing, this can alllll cost money! Some will argue that if you can't afford to pay for these things, then you shouldn't be able to saturate the market with poor-quality work. Others will argue that not all of these things are necessary. Still others, like me, will say that money should not be a barrier to presenting your art. Now, you can tell what my confession is, right? I paid a cover designer for my book covers, but I have not used professional editors for any of my books. My first four novellas were written and released with barely a third readthrough (oops! I do plan on removing these from Amazon in the future). With my two full-length novels, The Silver Sheep and The Silver Shepherd, I used non-professionals. I gave people love, gratitude, and bottles of wine for reading my books, providing feedback, and proofreading. One point I want to make is that without being able to release my first, admittedly less-than-brilliant book, I would not have had the opportunity for other people to read my work and provide the encouragement, support, and confidence that I needed to continue my writing journey (thank you). I also know that I am improving. Having the opportunity to get my work out into the world enables me to receive valuable feedback and be part of a community that helps me to learn, grow, and improve as an indie author. Each new book is better than the last (I dare you to read them all to confirm or deny that for me lol).

Now, on to what indie authors are.

Free as a bird... or a granny doing cartwheels

Free

Indie authors are free. Yes, they are free to make their own crappy covers and release a book filled with spelling errors, but they are also free to select whatever cover they wish and use editors they choose, without having publishing houses tell them what and who to use. Indie authors are free to set their book prices, market their books their way, and write about whatever they wish in any way they wish. They do not need to argue with anyone about anything. They are also free to choose their own publishing timeline. Traditional publishing takes time. Self-publishing can be a lot quicker. Indie authors get to call all the shots.

Multi-skilled

Indie authors do a lot of things. Not only do they write books, but they also make all creative and marketing decisions, coordinate the release process, maintain a social media presence, maintain a website, edit, proofread, research, advertise, write posts &/or blogs, write a newsletter and maintain a mailing list, market and promote themselves. There are so many things that indie authors need to try to become experts at: SEO, automated emails, Amazon keywords, group promos, blurb and tagline writing, bio writing, ISBNs, pre-orders, photography, library liaising, and Canva. The list goes on and on and on. Honestly, indie authors are hard workers.

Cute cat vids welcome!

Accessible

Indie authors are available, and they want to hear from you. Most of us want to know what you thought about our books. We are active on social media, and we want you to reach out and tell us what you thought about our character, or send us pictures of your cat. Most of us will reply. We want (need) to know that people are reading our books, and we want to engage with our readers. Honestly, we also want you to help us market our books. We need the help lol. If you liked what you read, then please leave a review (another blog post for you: How to Leave a Review on Amazon and Goodreads {and why you should}), post about it on social media, and recommend the book to a friend. Please reach out to us, and for us! We will be eternally grateful.

Conclusion

Indie authors are people who independently write and publish their books without the resourcing and financial backing of a traditional publishing house.

Indie authors rock! Sure, I may be a bit biased, but honestly, being an indie author is a love job, not a get-rich-quick scheme. We love books and writing, and we respect each other and the hard work it takes to stay in the game. We all want to learn and grow. Not very many indie authors think that we are incredible writers who know it all. We acknowledge that we have a lot to learn, do a lot of research, and constantly seek out opportunities to learn and improve. It is not an us-and-them thing between indie and traditionally published authors; they are just two different paths to the same end goal: Publishing a book.

Much love,

Marley