#IndieBooksBeSeen Archives

#IndieBooksBeSeen!

by anesamiller_wuhi6k | May 20, 2015 | Blog, Series: Drawer no more!

Most self-published, or otherwise independently published, authors are aware of the phenomenon known as #IndieBooksBeSeen. This movement of mutual support originated with one creative and energetic individual—Mark Shaw. A YA and fantasy author, Mark is known in the world of social media as “Keeper of The Wind,” after the title of his book.

Mark is a native of Baltimore MD and now resides in Vancouver BC. I was flattered when he reached out to me in the summer of 2014—as he reached out to many other authors, as well—inviting us to take part in the first Indie Pride Day. He urged us all to take a photo of ourselves with our book covers, then to tweet these and RT others on July 1st. Voilá #IndieBooksBeSeen.

I asked Mark to comment on his experience with independent publishing and the need for mutual support.

Mark says—

Since releasing my first novel, The Keeper of The Wind, one thing I noticed on social media was the frenzied way everyone seemed to be promoting their books. It seemed crazy how indie authors were basically begging for someone to either buy their book or take a look at it for free. Social media is saturated with this. I found it discouraging and wondered how I could compete amid such chaos.

I’m sure many new authors feel the same way. As a creative person, I started thinking of ways to get around the frantic hustle of endless promotions. There must be alternatives for getting my book to the hands of readers.

A few days after putting my book out, I received a note from another indie author asking how my book was selling and what I was doing to promote it. He told me his current book wasn’t selling well at all. Even so, he was in the process of releasing his 4th novel.

I thought this was crazy.

Soon after, I read an article titled “Keep Your Day Job.” It broke down how very few indie authors are making money at their craft. The chances of being able to make a decent living from writing are slim to none. This pissed me off, and I saw it as challenge for change.

Mark Shaw

With this notion, I came up with the #IndieBooksBeSeen movement. The first thing I set out to do was to make July 1st of every year #IndieBooksBeSeen day, a day when indie authors show the world that we’re united and proud to be indie. It started with posting a picture of ourselves holding up our indie titles and then retweeting everyone’s else’s book for the world and all social media to see—one grand gesture to show the world that we’re here and strong together.

It was a bigger success than I thought it would be, and I was very moved by others’ warm sentiments and sense of pride. This gave me hope, and I felt encouraged to forge ahead with a new plan while the momentum was still strong. I decided to try giving struggling authors a boost by challenging others to review their books. I know what it’s like to just start out and struggle for reviews, unless you pay for them.

So I felt this would be an easy challenge, but boy was I wrong! I urged several participants to give it a try on our indie pride day, thinking they were still feeling the love from #indiebooksbeseen a couple of weeks before. Right away one person said she felt like she was getting spammed by me. I thought, wow! But it wasn’t spam when tons of others spent hours retweeting your title. To make things worse, the review challenge never took flight. Out of all the people I reached out to, only a few took part.

What this said to me was that most indie authors will only get involved in projects that are self-serving to their own cause, unless they’re part of a group. I want indie books to be the cool alternative to mainstream books. The only way I can see this happening is if we become one voice for the industry itself. I’m not saying don’t promote your book, I’m just asking you to give some of your energy to boosting our industry. Because when the light shines on our industry, it’ll shine on all of us.

A couple of questions—
Anesa: Will the #IndieBooksBeSeen event happen on Twitter again this year?

MarktheShaw: Yes our Indie Pride Day is coming around again and I’m excited! My hope is that people will see us as an olive branch for hope.

Anesa: The point you raise about reviews is very important. I totally agree that we must support each other with reviews as best we can because the traditional media is obviously not going to do it! But in all honesty, we know there are many unedited books out there, some of which were mainly published for the writer’s family and not so much for the public at large. Wading through many books to find one that we can give a good review can take up a good deal of time…

MarktheShaw: When indie authors decide to put out a book, we want them to know right away that we’re here for them to help on all levels.

Thanks so much Mark for your positive attitude and energy. I hope we can bring a bit more attention to the cause this year. Best wishes to you always–

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Connect with @MarkThe Shaw on Twitter
and on Facebook.

Visit his Amazon author page.

Search the hashtag for an overview of #IndieBooksBeSeen.

Is Self-Promotion at Odds with Depression?

by anesamiller_wuhi6k | Jan 13, 2014 | Blog, Series: Drawer no more!

How did an old-school scribbler—a garret-sitting recluse and hater of newfangled technology—make the leap to electronic publishing, social networking, and that bête-noire of all things authentic, self-promotion?

The leap is not complete. Right now, I’m skidding between safe harbors, grappling my way up the slopes of a “vertical learning curve.” Whether I manage to touch down lightly in the high-tech literary world remains to be seen. You’re invited to watch the virtual Reality Show of my struggle, right here on the Blog at the website I never thought would bear my name!

What forces a formalist poet and literary novelist like yours truly to attempt such a jump in the first place? Short version: I found myself at a crossroads where I had to make a drastic change. I needed to take my artistic future in my own hands, or else do something destructive—reject my identity as a writer: erase files, burn journals, rent out my office to a deserving graduate student.

As writers (or artists of any stripe) our own psychology is no doubt our greatest asset. It can also become a terrific stumbling block. Before I began inching forward with self-publishing plans, I had hit an all-time low. I fell into a depression and suffered from agoraphobia, refusing to leave the house for days on end.

One of my favorite cartoonists, Peter Vey (www.pcvey.com), brilliantly captures aspects of those feelings in an item I ran across in The Funny Times (www.funnytimes.com)—

Writing can be a lonely business. For almost two wasted years, I DID feel that writing had ruined my life: While others engaged with the world, teaching children to read, growing food, or building cars, I sat in my garret pondering a fuzzy navel. I had dedicated my “talents”—paltry as they seemed—to a cruel muse who offered fewer satisfactions with each passing year. Self-expression was my be all and end all, but if no one beyond the self takes the slightest interest, what’s the point in expressing anything?

What do you think: Is writing an isolating occupation, or does the exercise of imagination let you connect with all humanity? Are artists more prone to depression than people in other walks of life? Please feel free to comment on other relevant matters, as well.