5 Top Publishing Considerations for Independent Authors

By Astra Crompton, FriesenPress

Independent authors have more avenues for manufacturing, formats, distribution, and promotion than ever before. With all the BookTokers and Bookstagrammers out there promoting their favourite reads, the options can seem overwhelming. How can you get your book noticed?

The truth is, there are choices an author makes all along their publishing journey — from drafting to distribution — that close off some opportunities or open up others. It helps to have a clear goal of what you want to achieve with your book and who your readers are. Then you can make targeted decisions that will support your goals and produce a book better suited to your audience. 

If there were only 5 decisions that we’d like independent authors to consider when self-publishing their book, here are our picks (and why they’re so important):

AI & Copyright

The artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is quickly evolving at present, and that means a lot of guidelines around copyright legislation, distribution guidelines, and reader sentiment are shifting, too. As of this writing, AI-generated works cannot be copyrighted with the US Copyright office, big distributors like Amazon require AI-generated works to be labelled accordingly (including for AI-generated covers), and hardcore readers want their money going to human authors.

While AI-supportive tools like Grammarly or other spellcheck tools aren’t an issue, think twice about pumping your idea into learning language models like ChatGPT. Any content you enter into this software in order to “train” it on your writing style gets added to its database… which means your words may be used for other users without your permission or compensation. However, if that usage doesn’t bother you, it’s important to revise any content the AI software generates with your own creativity and critical judgement. 

At present, AI-generative software has several issues with misattribution, presenting false information in an authoritative way, and trouble with internal consistency in longer formats. We recommend only using any content you produce with these tools as a starting point; then you can research, revise, and expand on its suggestions in your own words. After all, if you want to take pride in putting your name on the book, it should be a product of your own creativity.

Beta Readers & Sensitivity Readers

The interaction between readers and authors has become more intertwined in recent years. On social media and in reader reviews, readers share the books they loved and decry the ones they didn’t — and often outline in detail why they didn’t connect, citing lack of representation, triggering content, inaccurate portrayals, sloppy research, or cultural appropriation among top reasons for poor reviews. 

To improve the chances of your book landing well with its target audience, getting early feedback before publication is crucial. This is where beta readers and sensitivity readers come into play. Building the time into your production process to garner these readers’ valuable feedback will give you the opportunity to identify weaknesses in your manuscript and brainstorm ways to resolve them before your work is thrown to the ravenous public. 

Every author has unconscious biases. They creep in where writers least expect it, and it’s practically impossible to see on your own. Having a diverse group of beta and sensitivity readers can really help. They bring all their lived experience to your book, filling in those blind spots and ensuring your work is as solid and accurate as possible. As a result, your work can appeal to a wider audience, and you can ensure your meaning comes across as you intended.

Social Media Presence

If all those readers are taking to social media to talk about books, it’s important for writers to have a presence online, too. How you engage (and on which platforms) will depend on the kind of book you’ve written and where your readers are most likely to spend time online. Business book authors are still more likely to be present on LinkedIn and Facebook, while romantasy or YA books are more likely to be found on TikTok or Instagram. 

Do a bit of research to find out which avenues are best for your audience, and learn how other authors engage on those platforms. Do they post attractive graphics, make short video reels, or engage in community discussion? You don’t want to spread yourself too thin by taking on too much all at once, so start with the top two or three approaches you think you can consistently keep up with. You can always expand your efforts as you get more comfortable.

Carve out time every day to post, comment, or engage with other users on your chosen platform(s). You can use social media management tools to help you plan, produce, and schedule your posts. Create a calendar for how frequently you’ll post, what kind of content, and build yourself a bit of a backlog to make your engagement easier.

Book Returnability

Independent authors are responsible for making choices for how their book is distributed. This may mean choosing which book retailers you’d like to approach about carrying your book. If you aren’t planning on managing consignment orders, that means you’ll most likely be looking into a distribution company, like Ingram: the largest worldwide book distribution company that serves over 50,000 retailers. 

Distribution companies manage the stock of a book, accepting orders from retailers — both brick-and-mortar stores and online sellers — and packaging and shipping those books to the recipient. With physical book stores, they’ll receive cases of books and manage stock on their shelves, usually for a certain length of time. For online retailers, they might only order a book once a reader has purchased a copy. In both cases, those retailers need to manage returns, whether due to damages, misprintings, overstocked quantities, or unsatisfied customers. Book returnability means they can return unsold copies to the distributor for a refund.

Independent authors can opt into this return program by setting up a Returnable status. Many retailers won’t consider carrying a book without this status, as it presents too much risk from a business perspective. By removing that risk, retailers may take a chance on ordering copies — and that gets your books in front of a much wider audience.

Book Awards

As indie books have gained more legitimacy in the last two decades, book awards have begun to allow independent books to enter for consideration and new awards have been created that specifically focus on independent productions. Having award recognition can open doors that might otherwise be closed, including in libraries, school curriculums, retailer shelf space, or media attention. 

Be sure to read through award guidelines to confirm that your independent book is eligible. When they ask for the publisher, as a self-published author, that’s you. Keep an eye on publication dates, as well, as many awards only accept new books within a certain window. Others require the author (and/or illustrator) to be located in certain states, provinces, or countries, or to belong to certain associations in order to apply.

Take care, though. There are a number of pay-to-play organizations out there who don’t judge a book on its quality, and instead award their seal to the authors who pay certain fees for the dubious privilege. These labels largely hold no weight with retailers and media outlets and so likely won’t assist in your marketing endeavours. FriesenPress has put together a list of reputable book awards that are open to independent authors to get you started. You may also find additional local awards or genre-specific awards you may wish to pursue as well. 

Even if you don’t win, being long-listed or short-listed is still something to note on your book’s website or sell sheet materials.

With these considerations built into your book production and promotions plans, you can set yourself up for success with readers and retailers alike. Taking the time to support your book in drafting, early reader feedback, social media presence, returnable distribution status, and applying for book awards can set you apart from the competition and make your book stand out in a crowded market.

Astra Crompton is a writer and illustrator with twenty years’ experience in self-publishing. Astra’s short stories have been published in magazines, fundraising anthologies, and used in school curriculums. She has taught courses and written articles on creative writing for over five years. As Editing & Illustrations Coordinator, Astra also manages, coordinates, and vets FriesenPress’s industry-leading editing and illustrations teams.