4 Ways to Support Indie Authors (like myself)

With over 8 million books listed on Amazon.com, it is pretty clear that the world is full of independent authors.  Independent means that we are not under a big, money up front contract with a big publishing house.  The world is not full of John Grisham's and Stephen King's.  They get millions to keep writing and their publishers spend tens of thousands on publicity.

The literary world is full of independent authors.  We don't get advances.  We don't get much for publicity.  In fact, many are self-published, which means they dished out a few thousand to get the book made.  A lot of doors are shut to self-published books.  Many (like myself) work with small publishing houses that love authors enough to make the book, but require a lot of heavy lifting on the author's part to sell the book.  In the end, indie authors find themselves in a sea of books with very little understanding of how to make that one special book stand out.

If you know and love an indie author (and if you are reading this blog, I suppose you do - thanks!) then take a look at ways you can support their work:

• Buy a copy of their books!  Hey, we only get paid when a book sells.  Whether it's digital, hardcopy, or audio go ahead and buy one
• Write a review!  Rumor has it that Amazon.com will start promoting a book if it gets more than 20 positive reviews.  That is why the authors you know are always begging for reviews.  The more reviews they get, the better.  In fact, there have been times that I have forgone step one and given away a book with the hopes of getting a review.  It is that important.
• Share the news!  Whether it is your review or a post from the author, be sure to spread it around.  Share it on facebook and twitter.  Post it on your blog.  Tell your friends.  We don't have much in the way of advertising budgets, so the more you talk about it, the more helpful you are!
• Invite the author to speak!  Authors are great guests to have at your school, civic club, church, book club, etc.  

Do these four things for your favorite indie author and I promise, they'll love you forever!

Aaron Davis is the author of the novel, "Street Preacher" and the upcoming memoir "Baggage Claim: One Minister's Journey Through Depression to Peace."  You can learn more about inviting him to speak to your organization here.

---