Tag: author events

What Can You Do for Indie Author Day?

Indie Author Day Logo

You ever notice how there’s a Dill Pickle Day and a Take Your Dog to Work Day? Well, guess what? Finally a day for us, for indie authors. October 8th is the inaugural Indie Author Day across the US and Canada. Yippee! So what does that mean? No, we don’t get a discount on our lunch at Denny’s that day. What we do get is the opportunity to partner with our local libraries to celebrate, educate and promote indie authors and readers. How cool is that? Continue reading “What Can You Do for Indie Author Day?”

Maximum Effort, Minimum Profits for an Author Event

Louisville Comic ConSometimes, despite the best planning and execution, stuff doesn’t go right. As an indie author, you should always keep this in mind. It’s especially true when doing book events. In March, I attended a large local comic con. Deciding that wasn’t enough punishment (we minions are hard-headed!), I signed up for one in Louisville, the Derby City Comic Con, which is three hours from my home.

Comic Cons are a longshot for authors because most folks are there to see celebrities and get comics. Not many are looking for their next great novel. But it’s a good venue to meet and greet thousands of people and hopefully get your name out there. Despite the March con being financially painful, I thought I’d take lessons learned and see if I could shave $$s off this one. The price for the booth was $100 less than Lexington, which made me happy. I already had bookmarks, business cards, a banner, and a good stock of books. My illustrator invited me to crash on his sofa (he lives in Lexington and Louisville is roughly 1hr 20min away), so I’d be driving more, but not having to pay for a pricey hotel. And I’d stocked up on munchies so I didn’t have to buy expensive concession foods. I thought all was going to be good. Continue reading “Maximum Effort, Minimum Profits for an Author Event”

Yes, Virginia, There Really Is an Indie Author Day

Indie Author Day LogoStarting out as an indie author, you might feel like there is a monumental task ahead of you and you are facing it alone. As an indie author with some miles beneath your fingers, you now know there is a whole community of other authors willing to support you in your quest. That’s a nice feeling.

Then why does it seem we are the minority? With thousands and thousands of indie authors out there – what is missing? There is power in numbers – and we have the numbers. And now, the good folks at Indie Author Day are helping us to mobilize our numbers and make them count for something. So why aren’t you signed up??

It’s easy to get involved with Indie Author Day – and it’s all FREE for authors. If you’ve read Melissa Bowersock’s introductory Indie Author Day article that ran this morning, she gives us the basics. After going through the author inquiry process myself, I thought maybe those of you who have yet to sign up might like to know some of the perks of using the form on the IAD site. Here they are:

  1. IAD will send you the email address for the contact at your library. You don’t even have to look anything up!
  2. IAD will also supply you with a template email which you may use to contact your library, making it pretty easy.
  3. When you contact your library, you CC the library coordinator at IAD, and he or she will also contact the library so you will have an “official” advocate.
  4. If your library doesn’t end up participating, IAD will contact you and let you know about other libraries in your area where you can participate.
  5. Even if things don’t work out for this year, using the form will get you and your library in the queue for next year!

So, be sure to check and see if your library is already participating, and if it’s not, make sure to use the Indie Author Day signup form to get involved. It could be the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship between you and your library.

Again, there is power in numbers. Let’s flex our muscles and make Indie Author Day a huge success.

Indie Author Day

Indie Author Day LogoNote: This article was supplied by the good folks at Indie Author Day and was posted by IU Staffer Melissa Bowersock.

Considering the ground that indie authors have been gaining over the past decade, it is astonishing to see that, according to a recent report by Library Journal, even though self-published eBooks account for 80 percent of Amazon’s bestseller lists, only 20 percent of libraries carry them. So, how can you be proactive and help to bridge the gap between libraries and the indie writing community? Continue reading “Indie Author Day”