Nothing Prepares You . . .

I don’t think anyone understands how hard it is or how much goes into being an indie author—unless, of course, you are an indie author. ;)

I mean, talk about a one woman show! You are forced to wear so many hats and be a jack-of-all-trades—many of which don’t necessarily come naturally. 

Trust me when I say that, for me, the writing and research is the easy part. It’s the publishing, marketing, self-promotion, and social media that is the challenging part. 

Authors are, essentially, running a small business and nothing really prepares one for that. Authors are expected to become savvy in so many skill sets or risk falling behind. The one good thing is, the more you publish the easier things should become. ;) That is, unless processes change.

One of the areas I recently tried to get a leg up was in trying my hand at using Canva’s AI generator to make social media content in mere seconds what would have taken me 2-3 hours to design and painstakingly populate with all the info I wanted to share. One such post was for my Fall Book Tour (see below images) that was shared in a community page. On that post, a commenter challenged me by asking me: "Why are YOU an author using AI when AI is decimating your industry?"

And I have this to say on why authors may use AI in social media content: Authors have a lot on their plates, and are often learning new skills and how to use all sorts of new tools, which can be quite daunting and overwhelming. A self-published author is responsible for performing and doing EVERYTHING themself. There are all kinds of various demands: You are writer, researcher, designer, IT, content creator, secretary, event planner, business owner, book seller, etc. So if any of those aspects can be outsourced to something that doesn't cost a thing, it is very tempting.

So, essentially, there are two schools of thought on authors using AI. One is to avoid at all cost so no one can accuse you of using in your work OR risk falling behind on a tool that could help save you hours of time to then work on more writing and research. 

However, at this time, I decided that I don't want to risk anyone assuming that I use AI in helping me write my books, so therefore I just spent more than two hours creating this graphic for my upcoming book tour, which you can compare to the Canva one that took 30 seconds using AI just below it.

As far as book promotion goes, after publishing, sure I could just do what many do . . . and that is to slap a book on Amazon and hope it gets found. But that won't ever happen. For me, I’ve really been striving to take all the right steps and follow the so-called experts on how to get yourself out there through social media, book tours, author newsletters, blogging, etc. Daunting stuff for a self-professed introvert, let me tell you. Whew!

I’m honestly not sure if anything I’m doing is truly moving the needle, or perhaps it takes time for that to become evident.

One thing I have not experimented with is Amazon and Facebook ads. I just don’t have the bandwidth to endlessly learn new things at the moment.

However, I am very pleased that for this second book, All Manner of Evil: The Unmasking of H. H. Holmes, I am moving forward with releasing it on audio mere months after its release, coming this November, rather than the nearly three years for my first book, Malice Aforethought. It was also MUCH easier this go around, since I had to go through all the rigmarole of getting set up on ACX and learning how to navigate a new site just a few months ago. Now, it was a piece of cake.

Obviously, the challenge and the risk is . . . Is paying thousands of dollars to convert your books to audio as an indie going to be something you’ll ever earn back? I am of the mindset that having your book available in audio, regardless if people choose or prefer that medium, will help to legitimize your place in the author space, signaling that you can keep up with the big dogs over at traditional publishers. It’s a gamble, but I know that I mostly listen to audiobooks for my fiction, since all my spare reading time is often used in research reading. ;) Another point of note is that a book is more likely to be suspected of being AI if there is NO audiobook version. Which sounds crazy to me since a lot of books have AI narrators. But what do I know? ;)

I'd also like to take this opportunity to rave about my HUMAN narrator, Jocelyn Duford! She's a local voice actress in New Hampshire, and I'm so glad our paths crossed. She honestly brought Malice Aforethought to life as though she authored the words. With such emotional depth and clarity. Dare I say, she made my book better. ;) It was wonderful hearing her bring my story to life, and I can't wait to hear her do the same for All Manner of Evil by THIS November!!

So, even though I'm glad if I can make all of what I'm doing look easy . . . I can more aptly describe myself as a duck: Calm and peaceful on the surface, but rapidly paddling away just beneath.

Just know what sacrifices it takes for an author to bring you a story. They are laying themselves vulnerable to all sorts of criticism. They are oftentimes coming out of their comfort zone to meet people in person. After all, the best authors are introverts who can withstand being holed up for a lengthy period of time. ;)

A funny (well, embarrassing) story I like to tell—as a functioning introvert—is during one of my first presentations at a library. I had been seated through an entire 30-minute presentation and an hour-long audience Q&A. Just before the book sale was about to begin, I excused myself to use the restroom after drinking a medium DD refresher. Image my surprise when I realized my denim jeans were soaked with perspiration from the sheer stress I was under—even though I presented coolly and with confidence. I backed myself up to the air dryer, hoping to lessen the dampness. By the time I got out, the line had worked its way into the hallway and some people that needed to leave ASAP were lingering just outside the door to speak a word with me, and one even asked me if I'd "fallen in" since I'd been gone so long. I could only laugh it off. Sometime later, I shared that detail with an attendee and they marveled that that was going on because they said I didn't seem nervous at all. Phew. ;)

What is the best way to help an indie author?

If you've read and have enjoyed any of their books, considering leaving a rating and/or a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews help build credibility for new, emerging authors. Ratings and reviews reflect real readers, allowing a complete stranger who stumbles upon a book in the wild to see that the book is being read and enjoyed by others. Honest feedback from readers helps both potential readers and authors alike. Reviews do not need to be lengthy or polished, just an honest assessment of what one got out of the book or felt while reading the story. Even one sentence to sum up your experience is helpful. 

Until next time . . .