Indie Authors: Feel Great & Learn How To Support Independent Authors

Self-published and independent authors are often seen as ‘lesser writers’. How can you best support indie authors and spread the word of their latest novel?

Indie authors need your help today! It is the day after Halloween and, considering my children are still off school, I am unable to make any video content for the SG Fiction YouTube channel. Apologies to those who may be waiting for my next episode of The Forge which, I know, is overdue. This issue will be rectified when the little ones are out from under my feet.

This week has been busy and I have looked to develop my freelance copywriting business, through the creation of a detailed action plan that many Belfast businesses would be proud of. I have also been very thorough in my creation of a new phase of social media content creation, as well as my creative writing blog here, and the YouTube channel.

When writing a blog post, I love scrolling through other creative writing blogs out there and seeing what inspires them to compile what they do. Many of those fellow bloggers, authors, and writers accept submissions from guest bloggers. I thought about this and came to the conclusion that I would consider that for my SG Fiction creative writing blog.

If this is something you would like to consider, please email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk with your idea for a blog and we can start a conversation. Obviously, my book audience includes people under the age of sixteen, so you would need to consider that when developing your titles. Ultimately, I am a freelance blogger in Belfast and I would like to give other independent authors the chance to write a blog if they don’t have a platform of their own.

Independent and self-published writers are who I would like to target with this blog. Many of the mainstream media articles are written by traditionally published writers or more well-known authors. I want these guest blogs to be written by those less well-known writers who follow me on social media to help support indie authors.

If you would like to appear as a guest blogger to share your thoughts on a particular topic that you are passionate about, email me today!

The title I am choosing for this series of blogs is ‘Indie Showcase‘ to make it clear of my intention to support indie authors. For me, I want it to be about the guest author sharing their thoughts on a chosen topic, as previously agreed by me. As it is my site, I am ultimately responsible for what goes on it, and I will have to vet the content ahead of publication. I would also go through the document and highlight certain words for Google Search and add an intro and conclusion about who you are as an author.

If this sounds appealing to you, and you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram, please email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk with your ideas for possible blog titles and subjects. I’d love to hear them.

Throughout my author and creative writing blogs, I want to help share my views and experience of writing, whether you are writing as a beginner or are an experienced novelist. It doesn’t matter, I feel we can all learn from one another.

Email Scott to enquire about appearing on his Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog.

By sharing our craft, our process, and how we work as creatives, we can:

• Help to hone our process further;
• Get inspiration from fellow writers;
• Feel part of a wider community;
• Feel less alone in a very lonely profession, hobby or past time.

This blog is created with my own suggestions that you may disagree with, and that’s fine. The method of exploring others’ views is where we can learn as authors and see what helps or hinders us. We need to remember that the process is for us to write fiction better or write the best stories we can.

Read this author blog article to see what you can learn and please email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk with your ideas, processes and craft as a writer. I am eager to hear from my contemporaries and fellow authors, writers, poets, playwrights and screenwriters!

Click on the image to watch Scott’s ‘Inside Iris Chapter One Reading’ video on the SG Fiction YouTube Channel.

I’m An Indie Author And I’m Proud!

Being an author from Belfast, Northern Ireland, I know that the opportunities for traditional publication can be more limited than in larger cities, like Dublin or London. When I started writing, I started out as a playwright trying desperately to get his plays put on by local drama companies.

I know that this stage of my life was incredibly frustrating and, when opportunities didn’t arise, I hung up my pen and decided to work as a primary school teacher full-time. It was this constant feeling of rejection and being told that my work needed to suit a certain ‘paying customer’ that ultimately drove me to make a decision to publish independently.

I’m the type of person who throws himself 100% into everything he does and I get frustrated at others around me if I feel they are not as driven as I am. Being in charge of my own writing, publication, marketing, bookings and training events means that I am the one person who is responsible for it all. This means that no one else can be to blame, but it also means that no one else has a say over what I write, when I write, and when I publish.

I am my own boss! I am my own publisher! I am independent of all external voices, and I am proud!

When I researched this blog, I saw some incredibly disparaging comments about those who decide to publish independently or self-publish as writers. The feeling that indie and self-published authors are in any way less talented is one that I have seen quite regularly. Claiming that those who are not traditionally published write as nothing more than a hobby or for self-gratification can be seen as insulting to someone who has put their heart and soul into a novel.

Through the remainder of this blog, I want to share ways that we can support indie authors. I want to help spread the writing of those who are out there doing it on their own. Yes, the process can be hard. Yes, the process can be frustrating! However, I would like to connect with writers out there to share what we do with as many people as possible.

Click on the image to see the fiction books I have released so far. Both Inside Iris and Anna’s Awakening are available for purchase on Kindle and paperback from Amazon.

What can we do to support indie or self-published authors?

1. Buy, Read, and Review – There is a world of content out there on multiple platforms for online digital-publication. Between Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo, LuLu, and others, there is plenty for the bookworm to choose from. What we really need to do is ensure that we purchase the books we like the sound of, read them and, finally, write a review of the book for others to follow in your footsteps.
2. Go to indie author events – One concrete way to show your support to a local author or an independently published writer is to go to their author appearances and readings. Going along to see and hear them share their work or their ideas in person is a sure-fire way to let them see the support in the flesh. I have a section on my website of appearances and events that include digital training, as I am a teacher by profession. However, there are other writers out there who have similar evenings and events. Your appearance can help boost the writer’s profile as well as their confidence in what can be a very lonely position.
3. Give their books as gifts to friends with similar tastes – I love buying books for friends. The process of handing a present to someone is made that much more personal when you buy a book for someone. When I buy a book, I also like to write a message to the person. It may come across as ‘sad’ to some people, but I like the person to know that I was thinking of them when I bought it. When I published Inside Iris, one particular lady bought eight books as gifts for her daughter’s friends. Her daughter loved the book and wanted to share it with her friends. This made me feel so happy and helped to spread my name around the local community. Other parents bought extra books and donated them to their children’s schools! Thank you again to these kind ladies for sharing my work! It still means a lot!
4. Social media is a window to the world – I know I can go overboard with my social media at times, but I love interacting with people! When I interact with fellow author and writers, I love to hear what they do and how they do it! If you come across an awesome indie or self-published book, shout about it and include a link to the author’s book sales page or their author website. Word of mouth spreads like influenza! You have no idea how much weight your words can have to other bookworms and lovers of fiction or poetry around the world. Share your words of praise loud and proud!

Click on the image to view Scott’s Meet The Author video on his SG Fiction YouTube channel.

Check out this blog from The Creative Penn for further pros and cons of independent V traditional publication. This creative writing blog is a very valuable resource for those looking for advice on whether to choose one path over the other.

As a writer, I love spreading the word of other writers’ work. I have already started with my Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog and I want to continue to go further, as I shared in the introduction to this blog. I want to have an ‘Indie Showcase‘ blog for those who are willing to network and connect to help share each other’s work.

I also have a growing SG Fiction YouTube channel and would love to connect, subscribe, and share other indie / self-published authors’ YouTube channels to help spread what we do with the world. If you are interested in spreading what we do, email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk. We can connect, network, and shout about what we do from every rooftop, pulpit, and social media channel possible!

Let’s help each other grow as authors, poets, writers, bloggers, playwrights, and people!