An indie author FAQ

How indie authors can evolve and improve, with Ben Hughes, IngramSpark

• What tools can enable authors?
• What might would-be self-publishers be surprised about?
• How possible is it to get a self-published book to its readership?
• How do indie authors find readers?
• What are the key things to consider with regards to distribution?
• How does Ingram Spark work for authors?
• What’s the value to authors of community and being part of the independent publishing scene?

Your self-publishing rights, with James Willis, Spiffing Publishing

• How do I make the right publishing decisions?
• What overall approach to publishing should I choose?
• Guide to copyright: it’s your copy, right?
• ISBNs explained: what’s in a number?
• Could I start my own publishing house?
• How do royalties work?
• How does distribution work for indie authors?

Ben Hughes from IngramSpark looks at how self publishing has changed and offers advice on the best way for writers to make sure their books are visible in a competitive modern marketplace.

Self-publishing is a broad topic, and it’s probably true to say that some things have stayed the same over the years, and some things have changed.

For a long time, self-publishing was perceived by many to be a marker of low-demand, low-quality books produced by people who had not been able to successfully find a traditional book publishing deal with a publishing house. This is not a fair or accurate representation of the thousands of authors, worldwide, who have published a high-quality book and found an audience of readers who want to buy their book/s.

What has remained true is that writing a book that people actually want to buy is a pursuit that demands hard work and commitment, alongside the right knowledge about how the publishing industry works and what authors need to do to give themselves, and their books, the best chance of being discovered by readers.

It’s now completely plausible that an amateur author can write a book that will find an audience, and with the right planning and execution, and some good fortune, it’s possible that they can start to think about making a career in writing and publishing books themselves.

 

What tools can enable authors?

Companies like IngramSpark (co-sponsors of this post) enable authors with the right tools, knowledge, and resources to make great quality, affordable books that are connected to a vast, international distribution network.

These tools and services are now more accessible than ever, and self-published authors are moving from the outer margins of the publishing industry into the mainstream and making an impact on the best-seller charts around the world.

It’s common to see stories of books written by unrepresented authors go on to find commercial success and with the help of platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and the vast book communities that find their next reads on such platforms; readers are looking more and more to self-publishing as a source for quality content.

What might would-be self-publishers be surprised about?

It’s important that self-published authors recognise that there is a lot of work involved in publishing a book. From editing a manuscript to cover design, book marketing to building a community of interested readers, it’s work.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard in the self-publishing community is to start treating your writing like a job and not a hobby. Writing a book takes commitment and effort.

Writing and self-publishing a good book takes an extra level of discipline and know-how that means you have to learn about the different parts of the process and have a good level of knowledge about how things fit together, what you can and can’t control, and having the ability to be flexible when it comes to your publishing strategy. It’s likely you’ll need to be patient before your book is picked up by a bookshop or featured in a ‘best of’ category.

Publishing books has an element of time involved, and we all want things to move along quicker. The best self-published authors I know have built solid foundations by being patient, doing the basics well, learning about how the industry works, and staying active and engaged.

How possible is it to get a self-published book to its readership?

It’s now more possible than ever before. The best self-published authors are also masters of their audience and their own personal brand. They know who their readers are and where they go for their book inspiration. They often know what their readers want even before the readers know themselves.

Think about a series author who writes romantic fantasy. They know how to tease the next book in the series, they know how to build worlds around each character, and they can write sub-stories to go alongside the main narrative which they can then use as a giveaway or a prize via a newsletter or social media post.

Also, via IngramSpark’s distribution network, authors are reaching readers in more countries than ever before.

Of course, this all takes work and knowledge, but never before has there been such an instantaneous transaction of ideas and content between writer and reader, and the self-publishing community has been leading the way in this area in recent years.

From an insider perspective, what does good look like in the following areas?

1. Book types: Readers like options, and not everybody likes to take a hardback on a plane. Give your readers a choice and, where possible, have multiple formats available. Not only does this mean your reader can decide which format suits them best, but it’s also more than one revenue stream for the author. At IngramSpark, many authors have paperback, hardback, and eBook formats of their books. We’re working towards partnerships and technology that will allow our authors to produce audiobooks, as well.
    
2. Digital marketing: There are thousands of videos and articles about how to think about digital marketing, and it can sometimes feel overwhelming, but my advice would be to start small and stay active.
   
   Think about who your reader is and where they like to discover their next read. Is it via a community of cosy romance readers on a Facebook group? Is it via TikTok? 
   
   When you know who your readers are and where they go, you can start to develop a strategy to speak to them. Once you have this basic knowledge, it’s worth testing some keyword advertising or buying some Facebook or Google ads. This can be done relatively inexpensively and could be a great way to expand your audience size.
   
   IngramSpark has many tutorials and guides for authors who are thinking about digital marketing. There is some trial and error involved, but by staying active and doing something rather than nothing, over time you can start to see the benefits.
    
3. Social presence and reaching a readership: In recent years, I’ve experienced two predominant camps when it comes to social media presence: people that run a mile from the idea and think it’s not for them, and people who have mastered it and are now setting the standard industry-wide in terms of what good social media presence and engagement looks like.
   
   There is, of course, a perfectly healthy middle-ground which is likely the norm for most people. This goes back to my earlier point about knowing who your audience is, and what they like in terms of engagement. Sci-fi and fantasy are two genres which benefit greatly from online communities and social media engagement. It’s a fast-moving community with thousands of different worlds to immerse a reader in so, of course, it can be competitive, and authors of this kind of content need to be as energetic as their readers in thinking of ways to speak to them and keep things interesting.
   
   Alternatively, if you’re writing books about model railways, it might be that your readers prefer a different kind of interaction that includes a physical element, via a group meeting or an enthusiasts’ event.
   
   There is no definitive rule except that in a modern world, readers have expectations and the competition for their attention is fierce, so you need to think about what your strategy is and whether or not that is realistic for you.

My general advice would be that it’s better to be present across a mixture of social media platforms than not at all. Your readers will likely appreciate having a central source of information about your books and will likely use it as a way to send you direct feedback which, whether you like it or not, is valuable.

How do indie authors find readers?

Some of this has been explored in previous sections, but there are marketing and title discovery tools available via IngramSpark that can get your book noticed by potential readers or buyers. We’d always encourage having a conversation with the selling team at IngramSpark to discuss options and think about ways of utilising certain book marketing packages to increase your potential audience.

It’s also important that the author is prepared to put some work into building their own brand. Nobody knows your book like you, so you are the best-placed person to promote your book and explain what makes it different.

With this in mind, think about how you can distinguish yourself from another author who writes in a similar space. With that knowledge, you can start to develop your own personal brand, and when you match that with an online presence and some targeted advertising, you’re on the right track to finding more readers.

What are the key things to consider with regards to distribution?

One of the main things to consider is that Ingram – and IngramSpark – has been at the forefront of global distribution for decades and continues to expand its reach internationally. Authors now have the opportunity to benefit directly from this and sell their books in countries that they would never have thought of when they sat down to start their manuscript.

Ingram supplies books, directly or indirectly, to book-selling channels around the world from bookshops and internet sellers to libraries and other non-traditional book sellers. This is a powerful way for authors to find more readers and start to sell books in international territories.

How does Ingram Spark work for authors?

IngramSpark is built for authors. Ten years ago, Ingram acted predominantly as a business-to-business organisation which specialized in building tools and services for large publishers in the trade and academic space. We realized that there was a thriving community of small publishers and independent self-published authors who wanted to take advantage of Ingram’s authority in the industry, but felt like it didn’t speak to them as a smaller entity.

IngramSpark was developed to serve that exact purpose. Everything about it is designed and developed with authors in mind, from ease of use of platform and functions to low or no cost barriers to entry; from resources designed to help authors navigate some of the topics discussed in this article to helping them produce high-quality, professional-standard books that are available via a wide range of retail sources globally. IngramSpark continues to answer the key questions that authors are asking around the world.

What’s the value to authors of community and being part of the independent publishing scene?

Book publishing can feel like a big and unruly environment, but it’s an inherently social industry that trades on the exchange of ideas, stories, and community. This is even more prevalent in self-publishing. Authors tend to stick together and support each other in the face of challenges that are unique to self-publishing.

It’s also a place to get constructive feedback, to find ways of developing your ideas and to build a support network of people who’ll say kind things about your books and tell people about them. We’ve seen many authors team up with other authors from the same genre and form writing partnerships, attend events together, and share readers through recommendations. This is something we are proud to support and continue to think of ways to develop.

IngramSpark is designed to make book publishing accessible to authors around the world. We have removed the cost of opening an IngramSpark account and uploading a book with us which means it’s now quicker, easier, and cheaper to start your own publishing journey.

We have also undertaken major overhauls of our account creation experience to make things more intuitive for authors who are just getting started and experienced professionals alike. There are new paper types that have been introduced to give authors more choice and control over their books and we have continued to develop our Book Building tool which allows authors to make changes to their print files within their account dashboard or even design their book completely from the point of uploading their text files.

These practical developments make an author’s day-to-day life easier and we believe in removing barriers to creativity to ensure that author’s can focus on the most important thing – writing books.

For more information visit www.ingramspark.com

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Your self-publishing rights

As a self publishing writer, you have crucial choices to make. James Willis, Creative Director at Spiffing Publishing offers an insider perspective on author rights and the decisions you need to make to ensure your long-term success.

Making the right publishing decisions 

The preliminary structure and style of publishing which you either choose, based on knowledge and evidence, or are perhaps sold without necessarily critiquing, has a permanent effect on how your writing career will unfold and all future opportunities related to it. So it’s crucial to make the right decisions early on and avoid future problems.

We’re going to zoom out of the jargon, marketing speak, conventions, assumptions, and general rhetoric which have built up over the recent years of indie publishing.

We’ll take a look at an overview of each element of the preliminary publishing setup, examine the potential pitfalls, and then focus on the approaches typically recommended by those who know best: professional, studious, entrepreneurial indie authors with talent, high expectations, and an eye on the future.

Without a doubt, the most useful thing for any independent author/publisher to have early on is a crystal-clear idea of what to do, how to do it, in what order, and, crucially, where exactly to begin.

That might sound incredibly obvious, but confusion around conflicting publishing options is commonly an independent author/publisher’s most pressing problem, especially when starting out – and even later on as new options and approaches appear. This article will help you to understand how to start with strong foundations to build on, and future-proof your books and author/publisher brand.

What overall approach to publishing should I choose?

In the tentative and often stressful time after writing a manuscript, and prior to engaging service companies, authors are initially asking:

• Who can I trust?
• In what order do I do things?
• Who will design my cover?
• Who owns my book after it’s published?
• What about marketing?
• What should I do for myself, and what should specialists do? 

But the first question (since publishing often has a large contractual element) perhaps ought to be:

‘What overall approach to publishing should I choose?’

Indie publishing is moving quickly and there are many different approaches espoused by many different companies, and, according to experienced indies, not all are created equal.

An aspiring indie might start with a simple Google search. That search will give you marketing angles from many companies and very few straight or transparent answers without a huge amount of digging. Worse, there is misinformation, disinformation, and, unfortunately, scamming. 

There are, for instance, companies who look to all intents and purposes like traditional publishers, and they will approach indie authors with that style of communication. Their websites are often unclear but nicely made, and an author might send their manuscript via a ‘submissions’ portal. The company will wait a few days and then respond saying things like ‘Congratulations, we’ve selected your book for publication.’

At this point, the author receives an understandable rush of dopamine, celebrates, agrees to move forward, and then is hit with a very non-traditional publishing contract and request for payment to begin the process. Six months later, the author has lost control of their book, royalties are low, the publishing house gets paid first, etc.

While we’re not here to dwell on horror stories, they are far too numerous to ignore entirely and they are still told often, even in this research-centric age of information.

What we want is for the pride, excitement, and prospects of any indie publisher to extend far beyond the initial rush of engaging a company, and well into the future with more books of high quality. Unfortunately, many authors’ future intentions are undermined as uninformed choices made in the early stages gradually come to light

Details, details

So, what about the positives? What do seasoned indies who know the process inside and out typically advise to avoid fundamental, technical problems, which can of course quickly turn into very difficult and even career-stopping disasters down the line?

It’s your copy, right?

Understand your rights before you choose any company to help you publish your book, and check contracts are in line with what you want.

Copyright is automatic in the UK and can be obtained easily in other territories. It can also be unwittingly transferred via long-winded contracts, so ensure that any contract you sign or agreement you accept does not transfer your copyright to the publisher unless you expressly want them to own the work. This can include the entire work or the ability to publish it elsewhere or adapt it into other formats.

If, like an increasing number of authors, you are approached by a traditional publisher who has taken notice of your indie work and wants to give you a deal and advance for your next three books, or a production company who wants to make your latest release into a Netflix series (this recently happened to a Spiffing client), then of course you’ll want to have full control over your work to explore those opportunities fully and positively.

What’s in a number?

Take a little time to understand ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers). If the company you are engaging for author services doesn’t mention ISBNs or is (quietly) reselling ISBNs as part of the package, then it is they who will be seen, visibly, as the publisher of your books henceforth. 

In other words, if you don’t get to choose your own publishing house name, then it is likely you’re not ‘self’ publishing at all, and certainly not independently. Simply put, you will likely be paying for a company to add your book to their back catalogue and you will be transferring the benefits of that in the process. 

Future problems could be: copyright dispute, the company in question going out of business and taking your books with them, readers not being keen on a book published by a known self-publishing company (the stigma still exists), etc.

So buy your own ISBNs directly from your ISBN agency (Nielsen Book Data in the UK); it’s very simple to do with no special knowledge or legal admin required, and claim your rights as an author and indie publisher, which leads on to...

Your own publishing house

Not as daunting as it might sound, and pretty exciting.

As noted, when you buy ISBNs you are registering as a publisher. This is not just a technicality and handy paper trail leading to you as the owner and originator of your work (which it is) but a branding opportunity not to be overlooked. 

Your publishing offering includes your author persona and your publishing house as two key brand elements which support and surround your books.

Choose a publishing house brand name which will serve you well, inspire you, and will, from a reader perspective, mark you out as a professional indie with an eye for detail. Your new publishing house will be free of bad press (unlike many self-publishing companies who might appear as publisher), and help you create a coherent overall offering to your readers. You are now a true independent publisher with a solid brand. 

Does this mean extra admin? No, on the contrary, there will be no unnecessary third parties to contend with in any dealings with publisher issues. It’s worth noting that even if you’re working with an indie author services company, you should be using your own ISBNs.

Understand royalties

Observing all of the above doesn’t necessarily mean your contract is in your favour. Make sure that, if you’re paying upfront for services, royalties are not being taken at the point of sale as well without your knowledge or understanding. 

Check your contract carefully. You don’t want to be surprised by low royalties and hidden fees. Most authors go into independent publishing to earn a bigger royalty per sale as well as keep copyright, so make sure that any company you engage isn’t charging you upfront and taking a cut into the bargain, unless there is a good reason for it which you’ve understood and agreed to.

Book distribution for indie authors

Book distribution is book distribution, right?

Sort of.

When your book is released, it will typically be via an online retail platform such as IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, or KDP. And this can get very tricky if you are not the owner of the account. New authors may not know that they can have their own accounts with full access and admin rights.

Unless you have agreed otherwise, make sure you have unique accounts created for you as a unique publisher. Some companies may add you to a global KDP account with many other authors. This means you won’t have access to your sales figures, you won’t be paid royalties directly into your bank account from retailers, and you won’t be able to use essential marketing tools like Amazon A+ content, Amazon ads, or data-related tools for optimizing visibility with keyword and category research. 

Ensure the company you engage doesn’t lock you out of these accounts and will actually help you set them up so you have full access. These are your books and your sales, so it’s important you’re not arbitrarily held at arm’s length from this crucial info and marketing environment.

The journey of an indie author is filled with challenges and opportunities, and how you start out can have a huge bearing on whether you find yourself generally stuck with the former or enjoying the freedom of the latter. By understanding the fundamental technical and ethical considerations of what it is to be an author/publisher, indie authors can set themselves up for long-term success.

Authors should be aware of and avoid contractual traps and misleading information and make some simple but very important informed choices early on. This will not only save huge amounts of time and money but also free up headspace away from admin and disappointment and help authors stay inspired, creative, and productive.

Spiffing Publishing is and will continue to be a passionate advocate for author rights and the democratising of transparent and high-value services that support indies to achieve their goals.

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For more information, visit spiffingpublishing.com