{"id":28954,"date":"2024-11-15T03:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=28954"},"modified":"2024-11-07T07:18:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T15:18:33","slug":"if-youre-an-indie-author-how-do-you-establish-legitimacy-by-laurel-osterkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/15\/if-youre-an-indie-author-how-do-you-establish-legitimacy-by-laurel-osterkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"If You\u2019re an Indie Author, How do you Establish Legitimacy? by Laurel Osterkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"If<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back Laurel Osterkamp<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cIf You\u2019re an Indie Author, How do you Establish Legitimacy?\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

This summer I went to an author event at a local bookstore<\/strong>. While I was happy to be there, I\u2019ll admit I was also jealous and frustrated.<\/p>\n

Because I knew there was little chance I\u2019d be invited to have an event at this store.<\/p>\n

I tried. Their website has an online form you can fill out. You need to have a good cover (check), be distributed by Ingram (check), a book that\u2019s a romance (check), and preferably local (check). That\u2019s just to be included on their shelves. In the message section, I explained that my novel, The Side Project<\/i><\/a>, will be released in November, and I\u2019d love to do an event.<\/p>\n

Yeah, they never got back to me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another bookstore did; this one is in Bemidji, where my novel is set. And while I\u2019m thrilled to do an event there, I was miffed when the owner assumed that I\u2019m self-published, even after sending her my sell-sheet.<\/p>\n

Many of my books are self-published, but The Side Project<\/i> is published by The Wild Rose Press, who puts out thousands of books and has a great reputation.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve realized that unless<\/strong> people recognize your publisher\u2019s name as Harper Collins, Penguin, or one of the other big 5, then they’ll still figure you\u2019re self-published. And, I still find myself trying to prove that my books are just as worthy as the ones that have a big-name publisher behind them.<\/p>\n

Elevate Yourself as an Indie Author<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s the truth: There is no magic-legitimacy pill you can take, but you can take steps to elevate yourself as an indie author. It\u2019s no coincidence that the more effective the step, the more work is required.<\/p>\n

Paid Reviews
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

I fell into the trap, thinking, If I get a Kirkus starred review, then the booksellers and readers will take notice! <\/i>And I paid an embarrassingly hefty sum only for the reviewer to miscategorize my novel\u2019s genre, just give examples from the first 50 or so pages, and ultimately pan my novel, not giving me a single line worth using as a blurb.<\/p>\n

This was for my self-published book<\/strong>, The Next Breath<\/i><\/a>, and I\u2019m planning a future, detailed post about my experience.<\/p>\n

Anyway, paid reviews can be handy, but I\u2019ve come to believe that the priciest ones are exploiting indie authors and their desire to be seen.<\/p>\n

Paid review services I recommend are Book Commentary, Indies Today, and LoveReading.<\/p>\n