Understanding Technology as an Indie Author

I’ve never considered myself particularly technology capable.

Sure, having grown up awash in new devices and an expanding internet, I’m probably more adept than I give myself credit for. But you can also guarantee I’ll need to ask for help from my more computer-savvy friends to set up a website. Over the years, Scrivener and Adobe InDesign have cost me several hours in the form of YouTube tutorials and hopeless clicking. And don’t even get me started on social media platforms—in my freshman year of college, my roommate had to give me a crash course on Twitter so I could use it in my reporting class. True story.

All that to say, if you find technology confusing or complicated, you’re not alone. The countless tools and applications available to indie authors make our work possible, but even for the strongest tech wizards among us, there are some days when using them can feel downright impossible.

That’s why this past month, Indie Author Magazine hosted the inaugural Author Tech Summit. Beyond the advice we’re able to share in these pages each month, we wanted the chance to dive even deeper into the tools you use daily. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, our four-day online event gave more than seven hundred attendees an in-depth look into some of the tools and programs available for every stage of self-publishing. We spoke directly to creators in order to help demystify their platforms, so you could feel more confident clicking through their features and using them to grow your business.

Technology can be tricky, but we also know how important it is for every indie author. So whether it’s a 1,200-word article on the most useful features in Draft2Digital, like you’ll see in this issue, or a weeklong series of videos exploring platforms from every corner of the writing world, we hope we're able to make those impossible days a little less frequent.

Although I can’t speak for anyone else, I know this software amateur appreciates the help.