One book separates me from a sort of a milestone. When I finish the book I am currently reading, I’ll have read 150 books by indie authors or published by small press. It has been an amazing journey, which I don’t plan to stop.
A few years ago, I found that I didn’t feel the usual excitement upon entering a bookstore. In addition to a pleasant anticipation that had always been my faithful companion choosing new books, I felt wary. I wasn’t sure that the books I’d choose would bring me what I was used to get from reading. An avid reader for more than three decades, I had found myself in the gloomiest place imaginable for someone whose deepest enjoyment from life lies in delving into the worlds drawn by words on the pages.
But then, I wrote a book and discovered independent publishing.
The problem of having difficulties in choosing a book to read was solved. For the last three years, I bask in the sensation that I always have more books that I’ll enjoy than I can physically read. I won’t lie. Without a doubt, I haven’t loved each of those 150 read books equally. We all are different and different books make an impression on us. Still, I can sincerely say that with the traditionally published ‘super mega bestsellers now a major motion picture/insanely popular Netflix series’ the ‘success’ level – by which I mean my personal satisfaction from the reading experience – the proportion was one book in ten. While with indie books it turned out to be the other way round.
I’ve discovered authors whose works are now among my all-time favourite books. I’ve read all the books published by some indie authors. I’ve already shared the reasons why I consider indie books worth at least checking out by every reader. Here they are:
- Indie books offer unique stories and voices
- Indie books tell you the stories, rather than offer opinions
- Indie books are cheap
- There are a lot of indie books to choose from
- You can make someone very happy
You can read more about each reason in this post – https://evekoguce.com/2023/01/11/reasons-why-you-should-give-indie-books-a-try/
Having read (almost) 150 books published by indie authors or small press, I maintain my previously expressed opinion. Moreover, my faith in it got even stronger. Still, like with anything in life, there are two sides to every story. Even when you do something positive, you are bound to experience some negativity. Becoming visible in writing/reading communities on social media platforms because of supporting indie authors isn’t an exception.
I’ll start with a small disclaimer to avoid any misunderstandings. My intention isn’t to offend anyone or to expose some ‘malicious’ behaviour to the world. Just like literary agents insert a standard sentence about ‘publishing being a highly subjective business’, I’d like to stress that everything mentioned below is solely my personal perception of the situation and in no way it should be read as an accusation. I simply share how I feel, not implying that some people should have done something differently. This is the same as with authors sharing their distress about a bad review. When they complain about receiving one, they mean it made them feel bad, not that the reviewer is a bad person. Equal rights should be equal, shouldn’t they?
1. If you read and review indie books, some authors and or/their publicists consider that you want to read their books.
When I receive direct messages or emails with a ‘naked’ offer ‘you might want to read this book’, I feel like a dumpster whose purpose is to absorb anything dropped in it without any consideration to its wishes.
If I read and review a lot of books, it doesn’t mean I have a shortage of reading material. It doesn’t mean that I jump at the chance to read any book like my cat Honey jumps at any piece of rustling paper whenever she sees one.
I mostly buy the books that I read and review. Sometimes authors ask me to read an ARC of their book, and I do that with pleasure, knowing how important every review for a new release is. But again, I don’t read ARCs of any random author, grabbing a file whenever I see someone posting a call for ARC readers. I read ARCs only of those authors with whom we’ve already established some relationship on social media and most probably I’ve already read one or more of their books.
Nowadays, there are a lot of opportunities to ensure an endless supply of free/ARC books in your preferred genre. These services are easy to find online and mostly free for readers. I don’t read books for the sake of reading. I carefully select every book I read, and I don’t appreciate being a target of impersonal and uncalled-for ‘read a book’ attacks.
That being said, it feels absolutely different when an author sends me a personal message that shows that they have seen everything I do to support other authors. In this case, even though I rarely accept free book offers in exchange for a review, I feel appreciated and get a much-needed reassurance that I’m not screaming into the void, trying to promote other authors’ books. I do know how difficult it is to find readers if you don’t have a well-oiled promotion machine behind your back. And reaching out to other authors is as good a method as any to try to get the word about your work out into the world. Still, reaching out can be done in different ways. And the aggressive ‘cold call’ style isn’t appreciated, I suspect, not only by myself but by most authors.
2. Some authors say that social media is useless for authors since you cannot find ‘real’ readers there but only ‘authors reading other authors’ books.’
While I agree that social media isn’t the place for getting a steady flow of book sales, I believe that it is excellent for finding your ‘literary circle.’
A lot has changed even in the last few decades, with the Internet taking over many spheres of our life. And the way writers interact with each other was bound to change too. Writing is a specific passion not everyone can relate to in full, so writers always sought other writers to share their ideas, read their stories to, and, I guess, complain about things like writer’s block and critics’ harshness.
Writers always supported each other. The edition of “The Sound and The Fury” by William Faulkner I recently bought to reread had a foreword by another author, Richard Hughes. True, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky weren’t the best friends, but both literary titans’ books contain references to them consulting with other writers while writing their masterpieces as well as to other authors’ commentary about their books in press. F. Scott Fitzgerald helped Hemingway with his first novel, among other remarks having advised him to delete a few dozen pages. I wonder if that was the first step that led to the ruin of their friendship. But that’s a different story.
Nowadays, a catchy phrase from a review by one bestselling author on another bestselling author’s book is common practice. I wonder if anyone believes that Kathryn Stockett simply happened to see the new book by Kristin Hannah on display at her local bookstore, bought it, fell in love with it and immediately sent an email to the publisher offering to send them a praising line to put on the cover. It doesn’t happen this way, and there is nothing bad or condemnable about that. That’s something that works, thus the industry uses it just like other tricks that help sell more books.
J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis attended the meetings of their informal literary discussion group “The Inklings” for two decades. They read aloud to each other their drafts. I am sure they didn’t decline opportunities to provide comments to the press about the group members’ published works if journalists approached them to provide such.
Indie authors didn’t invent socialising with like-minded people. Such relationships have always existed among peers. Only the format has changed. Nowadays, with almost everything having moved into the online dimension, authors have moved there as well.
Without a doubt, it is everyone’s personal choice to either use this opportunity to find a circle of like-minded people who support and understand you or treat the idea with contempt. To me personally, writing communities on social media platforms are a crucial part of my writing life. I don’t come from literary circles and there is virtually no other chance for me to discuss writing and publishing anywhere except on social media. Then again, maybe not everyone needs this kind of interactions.
3. Shattered expectations.
For an indie author, a social media presence isn’t a short-term activity. The ball will never roll by itself. You will always have to be there to push it. So, it won’t do you any good if you spend day and night online only to realise that 1) it won’t bring you hundreds of book sales, 2) most people will not notice it if one day your posts stop appearing on their feeds.
Some authors jump straight onto the rollercoaster of social media with such a zeal that is doomed to lead them to burnout. The simple truth is that people aren’t always supportive. Moreover, they don’t have an obligation to be so. Supporting authors is like volunteering. You do that because you want to, not because you expect something specific in return.
Whenever I see authors with whom I established some relationship disappear from my feed, I feel sad. I’ve noticed that usually, it happens to those who were very active. It’s like they woke up one day and felt that they had enough, having spent too much time pursuing a goal that can’t be achieved this way. The brighter something shines, the sooner its flame extinguishes.
To sum up, I want to say that I, of course, don’t know all the right answers. I can only share the conclusions I have come to, reflecting on my journey as an indie author. I believe that by finding out about the genuine experiences of others, we can decide on that ‘golden middle’ that fits our specific situation.
Supporting other authors remains a highly rewarding part of my writing/publishing life. I know how it feels to see that you aren’t alone in the stormy sea of running after your dream, more often than not feeling like your feeble boat is going to crush and drown. Hope is intangible. It won’t feed your body so it can endure a long journey until you reach the shore. Still, hope is what will fuel your spirit so you don’t drop the oars.
Eve's Book Diary 
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