April is for Indie Authors
During April, readers can support Indie Authors by sharing their posts, reading their work, telling other readers about them, and reviewing
The term Indie April had only recently come to my awareness when I spotted it on X (Twitter).
Now as much as I want to point out that Indie Authors need more support throughout the year than just the month of April, I’m still glad it’s there. So, because of hearing this, I thought it may be a good refresher on how to support Indie Authors.
Library Requests
As an Indie Author, it is tremendously difficult to get books into local libraries. This is mainly because libraries order books under the catalog of the Library of Congress.
In addition to this, each library has a coordinator who takes inquiries about new additions to the library’s inventory. If authors want to submit their books to the library, they must contact the coordinator to see if their book fits the library’s collection. Typically, the library coordinator will message back letting them know they can submit their book but it’s up to the discretion of the coordinator to see if it is accepted.
But, another way that Indie Authors can get their books into the library is if their books are requested there by readers.
All readers have to do is provide the title, author, and ISBN to the library and ask if they are willing to stock it at the library. The chances might be lower if one person asks, but could be higher if multiple people request the same book.
Suggest to a Book Club
There are lots of books that suit a book club, but since there are thousands of books published each day they can’t know about them all.
Some great places to find book clubs are:
Local Bookstores
Local Library
Facebook
Some meet at coffee shops
Or start your own
If starting your own, you’ll want to disclose right off the bat what genres the members will be interested in reading and what books you had in mind to start with.
Use Their Merchandise
You would be surprised by how many Indie Authors create their merchandise.
You can typically find these on their websites, a third-party site like Redbubble, or they have some created and ready for their in-person author events. Or maybe you won some merchandise in a giveaway. Wearing it or displaying it can make more impact on them than you think.
Go to their Events
Attending their events is a great way to show support.
For example, I have a children’s picture book called Dandelion and I managed to become a vendor at a Lancaster Native Plant & Wildlife Festival. When I posted about it online, I knew that being a multi-genre author, it wouldn’t intrigue all of my audience. So, I added to the event that if any readers wanted me to sign copies of my other books at the event I’d be happy to do so.
Indie Authors may do events at places like:
Fairs
Festivals
Book stores
Libraries
Conferences
And you may see them at unexpected places that relate to their book.
(Bonus points if you post about it on social media.)
Sharing on Social Media
Did you know that there is a higher chance of purchasing a book if you referred them?
When a friend refers to a book, there is a higher likelihood they will purchase it because they trust you and value your opinion. And I’m aware that it may feel silly to post on Facebook or something that you just read this book and this is what you thought, but it’s way more common than you think.
Take the website Goodreads for instance.
Along with the actual platform the book is bought from (Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and so on), Goodreads is the other most known platform where readers take the reviews and use them to consider their next purchase. Because reviews are a powerful influence on shoppers’ decisions.
Even if the reviews aren’t great, a three-star review is better than no review.
Give the Book as a Gift
Thankfully, we all know a reader. So why not share in Indie Author with them?
Giving the book as a gift is a great way for them to try the book without worrying about the cost or if they won’t like it. And you could even tell them that you loved the book so much, you thought they would too. (Too on the nose? Oh well.)
Even if they are a digital reader, places like Amazon have the ability for you to gift a digital copy to the reader! Takes out the hoops to jump through.
See Where You Can Read the Book
Knowing where you can read the book is a great piece of information, especially when you tell other people about Indie Books.
For example, Amazon released a service called Kindle Unlimited where users pay a yearly fee and they can read as many books that are on the platform as they’d like.
Crazy enough, there are a ton of Indie Authors who have their books on Kindle Unlimited. But what does that mean? Readers who already invested money into Kindle Unlimited can read books by Indies without feeling they are at risk of losing money.
And when it comes to other formats of the book, where else does the author have their books available?
Do they sell exclusively through Amazon?
Do they upload to all platforms?
Do they sell books through their website?
Do they give away free copies of their book in their newsletter? (Many authors do this to pull in subscribers.)
Are their books included in a book box bundle?
Are they available at the library?
Knowing this information will help you find their books in the future.
Supporting Indie Authors is a great way to keep the book world varied.
Self-publishing is on the rise and the quality of the books is outstanding as more Indie Authors have truly invested time and money into creating quality products.
Please support an Indie Author.