We want to help indie authors sell more books. It doesn’t matter whether people purchase the books from us, from the author directly, or from Amazon. What matters is that the books get sold, so that the authors can eventually bring their stories to life full-time. That’s one of the ideas behind our store and workspace, but why is it important to help indie authors sell more books?

More Books = More Stories

Indie authors are generally in charge of doing everything from writing and editing their books to marketing and traveling for them. It’s a tougher life than those authors who are published by large publishing houses. Those authors may not have it much easier, but they do have an advantage in that their books are more likely to be picked up by the big bookstores. They also have more money behind them for advertising. The lucky ones even get an advance to write the book, which will then be taken out of their royalties. Indie authors deserve the same advantages, so they can get closer to the ideal of writing most of the time and doing the other stuff less of the time.

Greater Creativity and Diversity

Big publishers typically pick up books they think will sell well, which makes financial sense. The average book will sell about 3,000 copies in its lifetime and 250 copies in its first year, so large companies will publish established authors before they take a chance on a new author. This doesn’t mean they don’t take chances; it just means there are fewer chances available.

It also means that publishers are likely to choose stories that will sell. It’s hard to know if an original story will take off and become a hit. Indie authors are under no constraint to publish a story because of its commercial appeal. Their books are less likely to come in at the average sales rate, but they can publish the story that’s in their hearts, which can mean more creativity for everyone. If you’re tired of all the movies looking the same, check out an indie author and see if they have a new story for you.

What We’ll Do

We will create author pages that will allow readers to purchase from a variety of sources. This gives the consumer the opportunity to choose the method that best suits them. If we know that an author is available at another retail place, like the Candy Cane Inn where I have some of my books, we’ll include that information as well. We will do our best to read the books we sell and provide reviews and summaries of the books from our point of view. You can see a sample page for Darren Lamb here.

What the Authors’ll Do

While the authors who are a part of our store are under no obligation, we hope that they will be willing to engage with us on social media for retweets, comments, likes, and other interactions that improve the likelihood of the algorithms picking up the posts and disseminating the information. We also hope they will be available for video interviews, author talks, and other media used to promote their work. Lastly, we hope they will link to our website and blog and that they will write blog posts to be featured on our blog. The details have yet to be worked out, but the idea is for us, as authors, to band together to sell more books for each other.

How Can You Help

The best way you can help us help indie authors sell more books is by joining our Patreon. At the $25 level and above, you get your name on our Wall of Fame. At the $50 level, you get a book a month from our catalog. We will use part of the money to help buy book inventory. You can also buy books from indie authors, including myself, Darren Lamb, and Drue M. Scott. Some indie authors, like Russell Nohelty, will be running Kickstarters. (Nohelty has one scheduled for June 9, 2020.) Support them. If you know an indie author, recommend them to me. Be sure to like, comment, share, retweet, and social media our posts so that we can get maximum exposure. Indie authors can apply for our store with this application.