New Podcast Episode: Discussing the Indie Author Landscape with Amy Edelman

What defines an “indie author”?

Well, we say small press, hybrid, and self-published authors are indie authors. Any author who is not traditionally published.

What are some stigmas associated with being an independent author?

I have to say it’s changed a lot in 15 years. Originally, when I started IndieReader, there was a distinct separation between indie and traditional publishing, with a stigma attached to being indie. Hybrid didn’t really exist back then, so I think this was more for small press authors. But I really don’t think there’s much of a stigma anymore. Right now there are best-selling indie books that I pull from USA Today and Amazon. They sell tons of books and a lot of them have their own publishing companies. We found that readers don’t care who publishes their books. I think it was a lost opportunity for traditional publishers to define their space. 

But again, a lot has changed in 15 years. Indie authors realized that they need to have a book with a great cover, that is well edited, and that gives readers the same experience they would get from a traditionally published book. I remember back in the day that the New York Times had a very strict policy of not including self-published books on their bestseller list. But lo and behold they kept surfacing. They didn’t realize it was self-published, so they snuck in through the back door in a way. Now we’re seeing USA Today and their new bestseller list that’s even more in support of indie authors. They opened it up and made it more accessible. They even partnered with an independent bookstore, The Novel Neighbor, to, ideally, make it easier for those independent authors to rank because they’re focused more on those sales numbers as opposed to kind of the editorial side. 

Why would someone consider indie publishing over going the traditional path?

The answer that we get from most authors is: Control. They’re able to control what they want from their book, their vision from start to finish, which is a really great thing. 

I remember when I published my second book, I walked into a meeting thinking they were showing me the proposed book cover, but that wasn’t the case. It was like, “This is the book cover and the buyer at Barnes & Noble loves it.” I didn’t really like the book cover, but it wasn’t my decision. If you’re self-published, you get to make those choices. 

One interesting thing, and one of the things that I’m privy to because I’ve published both traditional and indie, is that in the minds of self-publishers, what you’re getting from a traditional publisher is marketing and PR support. Even with my last traditionally published book, they still said that I needed a platform. They have a certain number of people who are going to help you for a certain amount of time, but you’re still scrambling. The author still needs to scramble. So for all of the viewers and listeners that are thinking, “Oh, I’m going to get so much support from the publisher, and that’s why I want to traditionally publish,” you really don’t. 

In some ways, being able to control it all is a good thing, but you do need a certain amount of money to publish independently and hire the right people to help you. But there are a lot of resources out there now that can help you find people for what you can afford. 

But I have to say, that being traditionally published, just like being indie, is not a guarantee of success. 

What can readers do to support indie authors?

Just be open to new authors who you might not have heard of. Maybe look in places that you normally wouldn’t look in and leave reviews everywhere you review books!

Amy Edelman is a twice traditionally published and twice self-published author whose day job for two decades was working in PR and marketing. She founded IndieReader in 2009 to help give hybrid, small press and self-published authors a more level playing field and was one of the first companies to offer professional book reviews. The IR Discovery Awards were launched a year later. Today IR offers many services designed to help raise the profile and discoverability of non-traditionally published authors.