11 Things Nobody Tells You About Being An Indie Author (Until It's Too Late)
Indie authoring is so, so much fun. It's a fight to the death with formatting, pushing for reviews without scaring people, learning how to design book covers, figuring out indie publishing jargon, and suffering through crippling rounds of imposter syndrome.
See? Fun.
But seriously. Being an indie author is incredibly rewarding. It allows us full creative control over all aspects of our writing, gives us the ability to market the way we want to, connect with readers who fully appreciate our stories, and meet other incredible, talented, entrepreneurial people. Totally worth it.
However, it would be nice if we'd been given a heads up on a few things. That's what this post is for. As an indie author, allow me to let you in on some "secrets" about being an indie author. If you've already indie published? That's okay. This post will at least make you laugh. Or maybe even give you a bit of help.
1. Star ratings mean different things to different readers. I've gotten rave 4-star reviews with nothing negative mentioned. Which always makes me wonder if they actually meant to click 5-stars...? But whatever. I've seen mean 3-star reviews and positive 3-star reviews that read like they were 4-stars. All this to say: Don't look at the number of stars. Look at the content of the reviews. Glow over the positive. Learn from the negative....Or completely disregard it because some people are mean or don't know what they're talking about. Just use your judgement.
2. Book covers matter. A lot. People do judge books by their covers. And because indie publishing can still be stigmatized, if your cover isn't professional (or at least cool-looking), then people will spurn your novel. So learn how to design a book cover well or hire somebody to do it for you.
3. Amazon does take down reviews for no reason, so get over it. The rumors are true. Amazon will remove reviews for no definable reason....They say it's to make sure that all reviews are legitimate and not paid or from family/friends. However, their algorithm is messed up and they take down random and legitimate reviews. It's annoying and unfair, but there's nothing you can do about it. Just let it go.
As mucha as I dislike this movie, I couldn't pass up the gif.Note: It's rumored that making sure your author Amazon account email isn't linked to any other accounts can help with this problem. While this doesn't always work, its worth a shot.
4. Formatting only has to be miserable once. Yep. That's right. Once you format a story correctly, you can use that document as a template for all future publications. In Mac's Pages, it looks like this:
Open Correctly Formatted Story, go to "file," then select "duplicate." Next, copy the text of New Story, go to the duplicated file, go to "edit," then "paste and match style." Viola! New Story is now formatted like the the original Correctly Formatted Story. Of course still go through to check for mistakes, but it should be clean.
You're welcome.
Sadly, I do not know how to do this on a PC computer because I believe that non-Apple operating systems are from hell and thus stay far away from them. However, I'm sure there is a similar procedure, so just poke around Word a bit and see what happens.
Also, to be clear: I'm not saying this will make formatting not suck, but it will make it suck less.
5. Indie readers are often weirdly lenient when it comes to typos. Chances are that you'll publish a novel and it'll still have typos. I've seen this happen with 99% of indie books, some which were professionally edited. It's okay. As long as you don't have tons (or ones that inhibit reader understanding), many of your readers will shrug it off. Many, but not all. So if you publish and then see typos afterwards, don't freak out. Just go in, edit, and play it off like a pro.
6. There are a lot of good, free ways to edit. Tip number 5 isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card for poor editing. Take the extra time to comb through your story. It's worth it. Check out a list of free, easy editing tips here.
7. You will almost never meet your release date. Indie publishing takes a long time. You have to write, re-write, edit, get beta readers, edit again, design, format, upload, market, etc. So if you set a release date, you probably won't meet it because at least one of these steps will go awry. I know you're excited and want to set a just-around-the-corner release date, but be careful not to choke on your aspirations. A good rule of thumb is to set your release date at least a month past what you expect you'll need.
8. Your social media presence is everything. Why? Because marketing is all about connections. If people like you on social media, they are far more likely to read your stories. So be nice. And don't spam.
9. It's important to keep the content coming. You want to keep your name out there because, let's face it: People have more important things to do besides sitting around and waiting for your next publication. The more you publish, the better your chances of hooking readers. It's simple math. I'd explain it to you, but I can't because I hate math, so just trust me when I say it has to do with marginal growth and bigger nets and other logic-based things. I know what I'm talking about, I swear.
That being said, if you publish too much, you will burn yourself out, publish sub-par material, or lose reader interest (or all three), so take the time to find a publishing schedule that works for you and your audience.
10. Things will go wrong all. the. time. No, seriously. You will lose files. And then when you find it and begin to upload it, uploading will take FOREVER and then your internet will disconnect and you'll have to start all over. Editing will also take forever and then once you move on to formatting, formatting will (surprise) take forever, but will also be incredibly agonizing and scream-inducing. Understanding Amazon indie publishing rules will make you turn into the human equivalent of Piglet, except one that is full of caffeine and rage.
So take a deep breath. Stay calm. And try not to kill anybody. It'll work itself out.
11. It's okay to ask readers to leave reviews. If you know somebody has read your book, ask them to leave a review. But only ask once (unless you gave them a copy specifically for them to review it, then you can ask twice). If you're nice about it, it's not weird, annoying, or incorrect. Go for it.
There are a few other things that nobody tells you about indie publishing, but I'll stop at these 11. Have any you'd like to add? I'd love to hear about them!
Have writing, reading, or writer's life questions? Use the hashtag #ChatWithHannah below or on social media to have them answered on my Youtube channel!
Related articles:
How to Get Your Book Read and ReviewedA List of Great Self-Published Books You Should Read (Part 1)The 5-Star Rating System: What Book Reviewers Mean VS How Indie Authors Take It
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!
See? Fun.
But seriously. Being an indie author is incredibly rewarding. It allows us full creative control over all aspects of our writing, gives us the ability to market the way we want to, connect with readers who fully appreciate our stories, and meet other incredible, talented, entrepreneurial people. Totally worth it.
However, it would be nice if we'd been given a heads up on a few things. That's what this post is for. As an indie author, allow me to let you in on some "secrets" about being an indie author. If you've already indie published? That's okay. This post will at least make you laugh. Or maybe even give you a bit of help.
1. Star ratings mean different things to different readers. I've gotten rave 4-star reviews with nothing negative mentioned. Which always makes me wonder if they actually meant to click 5-stars...? But whatever. I've seen mean 3-star reviews and positive 3-star reviews that read like they were 4-stars. All this to say: Don't look at the number of stars. Look at the content of the reviews. Glow over the positive. Learn from the negative....Or completely disregard it because some people are mean or don't know what they're talking about. Just use your judgement.
2. Book covers matter. A lot. People do judge books by their covers. And because indie publishing can still be stigmatized, if your cover isn't professional (or at least cool-looking), then people will spurn your novel. So learn how to design a book cover well or hire somebody to do it for you.
3. Amazon does take down reviews for no reason, so get over it. The rumors are true. Amazon will remove reviews for no definable reason....They say it's to make sure that all reviews are legitimate and not paid or from family/friends. However, their algorithm is messed up and they take down random and legitimate reviews. It's annoying and unfair, but there's nothing you can do about it. Just let it go.
As mucha as I dislike this movie, I couldn't pass up the gif.Note: It's rumored that making sure your author Amazon account email isn't linked to any other accounts can help with this problem. While this doesn't always work, its worth a shot.4. Formatting only has to be miserable once. Yep. That's right. Once you format a story correctly, you can use that document as a template for all future publications. In Mac's Pages, it looks like this:
Open Correctly Formatted Story, go to "file," then select "duplicate." Next, copy the text of New Story, go to the duplicated file, go to "edit," then "paste and match style." Viola! New Story is now formatted like the the original Correctly Formatted Story. Of course still go through to check for mistakes, but it should be clean.
You're welcome.
Sadly, I do not know how to do this on a PC computer because I believe that non-Apple operating systems are from hell and thus stay far away from them. However, I'm sure there is a similar procedure, so just poke around Word a bit and see what happens.
Also, to be clear: I'm not saying this will make formatting not suck, but it will make it suck less.
5. Indie readers are often weirdly lenient when it comes to typos. Chances are that you'll publish a novel and it'll still have typos. I've seen this happen with 99% of indie books, some which were professionally edited. It's okay. As long as you don't have tons (or ones that inhibit reader understanding), many of your readers will shrug it off. Many, but not all. So if you publish and then see typos afterwards, don't freak out. Just go in, edit, and play it off like a pro.
6. There are a lot of good, free ways to edit. Tip number 5 isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card for poor editing. Take the extra time to comb through your story. It's worth it. Check out a list of free, easy editing tips here.
7. You will almost never meet your release date. Indie publishing takes a long time. You have to write, re-write, edit, get beta readers, edit again, design, format, upload, market, etc. So if you set a release date, you probably won't meet it because at least one of these steps will go awry. I know you're excited and want to set a just-around-the-corner release date, but be careful not to choke on your aspirations. A good rule of thumb is to set your release date at least a month past what you expect you'll need.
8. Your social media presence is everything. Why? Because marketing is all about connections. If people like you on social media, they are far more likely to read your stories. So be nice. And don't spam.
9. It's important to keep the content coming. You want to keep your name out there because, let's face it: People have more important things to do besides sitting around and waiting for your next publication. The more you publish, the better your chances of hooking readers. It's simple math. I'd explain it to you, but I can't because I hate math, so just trust me when I say it has to do with marginal growth and bigger nets and other logic-based things. I know what I'm talking about, I swear.
That being said, if you publish too much, you will burn yourself out, publish sub-par material, or lose reader interest (or all three), so take the time to find a publishing schedule that works for you and your audience.10. Things will go wrong all. the. time. No, seriously. You will lose files. And then when you find it and begin to upload it, uploading will take FOREVER and then your internet will disconnect and you'll have to start all over. Editing will also take forever and then once you move on to formatting, formatting will (surprise) take forever, but will also be incredibly agonizing and scream-inducing. Understanding Amazon indie publishing rules will make you turn into the human equivalent of Piglet, except one that is full of caffeine and rage.
So take a deep breath. Stay calm. And try not to kill anybody. It'll work itself out.
11. It's okay to ask readers to leave reviews. If you know somebody has read your book, ask them to leave a review. But only ask once (unless you gave them a copy specifically for them to review it, then you can ask twice). If you're nice about it, it's not weird, annoying, or incorrect. Go for it.
There are a few other things that nobody tells you about indie publishing, but I'll stop at these 11. Have any you'd like to add? I'd love to hear about them!
Have writing, reading, or writer's life questions? Use the hashtag #ChatWithHannah below or on social media to have them answered on my Youtube channel!
Related articles:
How to Get Your Book Read and ReviewedA List of Great Self-Published Books You Should Read (Part 1)The 5-Star Rating System: What Book Reviewers Mean VS How Indie Authors Take It
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!
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