Marketing Issue 3: Chapter Two: Are you really an Indie Author?

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One of my ‘could have been Indian publisher’ told me to change my genre since romance was something they were not proud to sell. At least the romance I write. But I am a proud romance writer. How can I not believe in my own words? How could I change them?

I am not saying that you have to be stubborn and not listen to your editors. Always weigh the pros and cons. Think how much shifting of a scene will change a story. And only you can be the decision maker.

I am not here to give you a very colorful picture of the Indie publishing world. In this world, we have success stories, and we have failures too. Many of the authors have become dim memories. As a marketer and an author, I started noting down all their successes and their struggles. What fascinated me the most was that luck, timing and a lot of hard work, all had equal roles to play in the Indie journey of an author.

Don’t treat this booklet as a Bible –yet. Indie publishing is a dynamic process. It’s changing every day. We will keep on bringing out updates as we learn and hear from you.

For those who are wondering if you should write or not, hear me out. If words have formed in your mind, there is a paper out there for those words. When the words meet that paper, a reader is born for you. Just for you.

Don’t think this is a lonely journey. If you are an author and a reviewer who wants to promote their work, join our The Book Club Reviewing Group. And if you are an author, especially an Indie author, send us a request to join TBC Indie Author Group. We guide authors on how to promote and we love to show off our knowledge.

If you have doubts and questions, there will be a form at the end of the book for you to fill up. Just ask us anything related to writing and marketing and we will have someone who has experienced a similar situation answer it for you.

Now let’s take the plunge.

 Whenever someone approaches me I ask them one question. Why do you want to become an Indie author? The answers I get are:

Ø  Shalini told me that you can make a lot of money

Ø  Shalini told me that she is a success. So if she can write so can I.

Ø  Shalini told me I will get a lot of fan following.

Ø  Shalini told me that it’s a very easy job to do. I will write and Amazon will promote me.

Ø  Shalini told me… Shalini told me… Shalini told me….

Shalini told you. But you have not experienced it yet. But you want to be an Indie author because someone else told you about it or worse, you think you’re a better writer than Shalini.

First of all, understand the very definition of the word ‘Indie’. It’s derived from the word independent. It’s not only about making your book independent but also your thoughts and thinking process. Ask yourself - do you have it in you to be an independent author?

Let me first break down your innocence. Forgive me in advance.

1)     Making money: When you go to a publisher you might get an advance of 1,40,000 INR per book and a contract of three books. I would suggest you take it if you get that offer. Now if you are thinking I didn’t make that kind of money in my first romance, Finding the Angel, then think again. What you made it with a signing of a contract, I took around 6 months to make. And this book was published in the year 2016. Since then every year I am making that amount on that one book.

My book Destined came next. I was not prepared for the amount I made that month. I made around 76,000 INR on the release month and because of the Pen-to-Publish contest by Amazon, the sales skyrocketed. After that, it trickled down to a steady income of 20k per month. It’s not a very good amount according to those above me in the bestselling list. So you see, I still have a long way to go.

But money is not the same each month. It's erratic and you are slogging over your laptop over promotion and relationship building.

2) Writing because you think you are better than another author:.... To be continued 11th of October


Other Booklets in this ToolKit series
Check out Devika Fernando's Booklet Why go Indie?
Check out D R Downer's Booklet A to Z of Ghostwriting