Hello Everyone! Happy to Connect with Fellow Indie Authors

[Luke]

Hi everyone! My name is Luke Franklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently completed my debut dark fantasy novel, and it’s been an incredible journey to get to this point. I love stories that dive deep into complex characters, ancient mysteries, and unexpected heroes.

I’m looking forward to connecting with all of you and learning more from your experiences. I’d love to hear about the different journeys you all have taken—whether you’re just starting out or have several books published.

What’s been the most surprising or rewarding part of your journey as an indie author so far?

Thanks for having me here

[Kayla]

hi! I'm an indie author.

I've been writing since 2014, and am a multi genre author.

so far it's been having my audience stay with me and for having so many opportunities to arise such as school appearances and I'm now in a brick and mortar and have shelf space there.

how about you?

[Luke]

Hi Thanks for reaching out, and congratulations on your success that’s fantastic, especially with the school appearances and getting shelf space in a store!

I’m also an indie author, just getting started, and I’m working on my next project right now. My first book had some exposure on a local radio station, which was an incredible experience got a lot of people interested, even if I’m still building my audience from there.

[Kayla]

Wow!

How did you manage to get a radio station? Was it hard to do?

That is amazing!

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

No links, please.

[Luke]

sorry about that.

Thanks, Kayla! It all came about through a work adviser I had a few years ago. I was in a group that helped people find the right jobs, and during one of our conversations, I mentioned my interest in media and writing. She told me she had a friend who used to work at BBC 3 and now runs a radio station. She emailed him on my behalf, and he agreed to chat with me.

At the time, my book was still very new only about three chapters done. When we spoke, we discussed writing, and I shared my idea with him. He really liked it, so I started sending him new chapters every few weeks, and they featured it as an ongoing series on the station website.

[Kate]

Hi guys!
I’m an indie author who’s published two children’s novels and I’m finishing my third. I love magic realism and write in a version of that I guess. Looking forward to being a part of this group x

[Luke]

Hello Kate.

Super nice to meet you.

it must have been fun publishing two children novels.

[Kayla]

Kate wrote: "Hi guys!
I’m an indie author who’s published two children’s novels and I’m finishing my third. I love magic realism and write in a version of that I guess. Looking forward to being a part of this g..."

Hi there! That's amazing! I have three children's books published. What are the titles of yours?

[Wanjiru]

Luke wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Lukesincenceraklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently completed my debut dark fantasyhistoryand itpromotedn incredible jurney to ge..."

Hi Luke F.
I'm also an indie author. I've been writing since 2013 and published my first book four years later at the end of 2016.

I exclusively write nonfiction - autobiography/historic. I promoted and attended multiple book signings for my first book, but other than that, I've done little marketing. Because I "accidentally" bumped into writing late in life, my main focus has been to write the books I intend to write. I'm about to release my 7th book.
Happy writing.

[Luke]

Wanjiru wrote: "Luke wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Lukesincenceraklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently completed my debut dark fantasyhistoryand itpromotedn incredib..."

Hello, very nice to meet you, it must have been rly fun, after 4 years of work to get your 1st book out.

[Wanjiru]

Luke wrote: "Wanjiru wrote: "Luke wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Lukesincenceraklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently compinitialy debut dark fantasyhistoryand itpr..."

Yes, very much so. When I received the proof copy from Kdp, I couldn't get to my car fast enough to open the package. When I saw the book, it felt like what addicts call to-die-for initial high. Never felt like that with any other book.
I marketed it more than I have done any other book.

[Luke]

Wanjiru wrote: "Luke wrote: "Wanjiru wrote: "Luke wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Lukesincenceraklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently compinitialy debut dark fantasyhi..."

I know that feeling, I keep looking at my own author copy of my book and smiling.

[Luke]

I have a quick question for others here.

As a writer with dyslexia, I’ve been using AI tools to help with spelling and grammar corrections. The story and ideas are all mine, but I’ve encountered mixed reactions about using. one even saying I should never use it, but yet I don't think people understand how hard it is to write with Dyslexia.

I have all these crazy ideas but getting them down on paper is hard for me, and when I do, the spelling and grammar is not good, so using it helps me. it is a tool for me like spell check for others. I’d love to hear other writers’ and readers’ thoughts on using AI for technical assistance in writing. How do you feel about it?

[Kayla]

Personally, I think using AI for that is perfectly fine.

I do understand writers' hesistation because I had it too. I do use AI, but I usually use it when writing to give me tips on how to describe something better or how to make a scene more impactful.

Just to give me insight.

[Gary]

Completely agree with using AI tools for that. We've all been using spell checkers rather than dictionaries for years. This just seems like a natural extention of that. As long as the writer is making the final decision on the writing, not just accepting what the AI says.

Frankly, I find a lot of the suggestions terrible anyway. One of the main things I use it for is to help me spot too much passive voice. As a scientist by profession, I write like that all the time in my day job and it can be hard to switch when I writing fiction.

I write mainly fantasy with a dash of sci-fi and a bit of real science blended for flavour.

Started writing at university in the mid 90's, when I accidentally talked myself into creating an RPG from scratch. Many years later, the plot for that became the basis of a high fantasy trilogy which I finally published in 2017.

A couple of years later, I started work on a new project, again based on ideas I'd had knocking around for 25 years, and like a lot of people, 2020 lockdown left me with a lot of time to pursue it. At 8 books down and 2 more to go, I never imagined it being such an epic when I started, but I guess it escalated.

Never really done anything in the way of marketing, but I have a few things in the next year or so that I'm hoping will wave my books under the noses of a lot more people than ever before.

[Luke]

both your answers are rly helpful for me, I must admit I was quiet taken aback by how some view it. but writing a story from star to finish takes time, and even after that there are many rewrites changes and so on, and that can be hard, so for me, it helps take a lot of the burden away.

[David]

Kate wrote: "Hi guys!
I’m an indie author who’s published two children’s novels and I’m finishing my third. I love magic realism and write in a version of that I guess. Looking forward to being a part of this g..."

Hey Kate. I am an indie author that does a lot of different genres, many of which are children related. I think my style is a type of bridge between picture books and children's novels. Looking forward to checking out your stuff.

[David]

Kayla wrote: "Kate wrote: "Hi guys!
I’m an indie author who’s published two children’s novels and I’m finishing my third. I love magic realism and write in a version of that I guess. Looking forward to being a p..."

Hey Kayle. Checked out your website. I love the design. Intrigued by the troll story. Seems to be a whimsy that I aspire to in my own writing. Also just downloaded your free short stories book. Cool cover for the Bermuda triangle creature book.

[David]

Luke wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Luke Franklin, and I’m really excited to be part of this supportive community. I’ve recently completed my debut dark fantasy novel, and it’s been an incredible journey to ge..."
hey luke. great thread. Seems like it got some activity amongst this fabulous community. I've been trying for a while to network with other indie authors. I love to write but the marketing stuff is so much less fun. Therefore I just want to get out there and read other people's stuff who have gone through similar journeys as me. I've checked out some of the other authors websites on this thread. Very cool stuff in here. To answer your question, the most rewarding thing about being an indie author to me is that you got to do it your way. I've always been attracted to the self-made things in any type of art. I see beauty in the imperfection. People are so scared of that in writing. Yet it is easy to forget that the big presses have an army working with them, sometimes to the point where it is oversanitized. Personally, when I see an indie book that is good and has a few typos, it is my ideal. It's the difference between listening to a cd or hearing the band live in my opinion. Hope to connect!

[Lee]

I use the name Lee Cushing and have over 70 published books (Of varied range of genres.)

[Tomas, Wandering dreamer]

As for the use of AI in corrections and such, I see no problem with that myself. Spellcheck even in software like MS Word has been improving over the years, no longer only pointing out obvious typos but also things like commas, different tenses in a single sentence, and more. It's still nowhere near perfect, but it's more than I remember in my early years with a computer 20 years ago. Tech will evolve and given how costly editors are (as far as I've heard), this is one task where AI can help - if used responsibly.

Now, I guess to introduce myself - I guess it's fine to call me Tom, though I use a pen name "Tomas K. Grizzly". The story I'm working on is based on a bunch of random ideas I had in my teens (so the 2000s) but I only started trying to weave them into a consistent story in the 2010 - as an attempt to overcome one-sided love when nothing else helped. What I write is sword-and-sorcery fantasy of a bit more adult leaning (nowhere near GoT, but I'm not shying from being a bit more explicit when it comes to intimate thoughts and actions of the characters).
I finished the first book in 2020 and originally hoped to have the full trilogy completed by 2025, but life got in the way and I barely worked on it in the last 2 years so I'm still in process of drafting the second book with no ETA, and have only a very early draft of book three.

I admit that I didn't think I'd ever got involved with writing until I did, as I was always seen as a rational person, nt an ary person. Especially given my interest in watching nature and tech documentaries. But I guess life takes us down some unexpected paths.

I've been more active on Goodreads at some points in time, but that hasn't been the case since facing major writer's block in 2023, but I'm trying to get myself to check back here and there.

[P. Pherson]

<--no AI content. All original content.

[Miles]

P. wrote: "<--no AI content. All original content."

AI gets simple math wrong.

Today I googled, “How is 51481 a pythagorean prime?” AI’s top result said the following: “51481 is a Pythagorean prime because it can be expressed as the sum of two perfect squares: 51481 = 225^2 + 18^2.” But 225^2 + 18^2 = 50949.

AI has much to learn.

[Tomas, Wandering dreamer]

To add context to my reply from yesterday - I see no issue in using AI but I'm not using it myself, in case it wasn't clear. It still has flaws so I'd definitely be cautious if I got to the point I would try it. I see a risk in losing any kind of personal "voice".

[Andrea]

I had my first book published back in 2015, and after a break, am working on something completely different. I'm not a "successful author", but I have had my successes.

If anyone asks you "is your book a success?", don't say yes or no, just tell them of the successes you've had, the problems or failures, and how you are aiming to become a better author. You never know, the person you're talking to may be an established author and master of their craft, and you may even learn something from them!

[P. Pherson]

My issues with AI is not whether it gets it correct or not (I will just assume that at some point, AI will improve to where what it produces will be quality content). Its more about who are and who we want to be. I wish to be author. There is no room for AI in that. When people read my work, I will assert, and it will be true, that there is no AI content. That is all original, and 100% my creation.

If you use AI, I will be dubious of anything you produce as actually being yours.

We all get to decide who we will be and how we represent. I will leave your choices for you.

My current book is not a success as yet, in that, it does not get a lot of reads/comments/makes me money. I will call it a success if I get back to black, and it recoups its cost of production. For me, that is a long way off. But...I look at it as a marathon and not a sprint. At present, its a snowball I am pushing up hill, maybe later it will be a snowball rolling downhill on its own. When I get there, I be happy to share the journey.