Issue 30 - October 2023

Having coached more than six thousand individual authors, I see burnout on a daily basis. The biggest cause of burnout in this industry is not overwork. It’s unrealistic expectations. Let’s look at the mental math involved. One work equals one outcome in our brains—sort of like how if I plant, water, and weed one plot of ground, I expect to get one set of plants. So when we put in two levels of work—twice as much planting, watering, and weeding—we expect two levels of outcome. And when we put in four units of work, we expect four units of outcome. It’s natural for us, as humans, to have these kinds of expectations. The problem is, in this industry, the math doesn’t work predictably, or when the math appears to work for other people, we assume it should work for us. And when it doesn’t, we go looking for more work to do. When we do “two” work and get “one” outcome, we start putting in three and four units of work. And if we continue to get the same outcome, we put in five or ten units of work, even if the outcome doesn’t go up in response. This is burnout territory. How can you prevent this? Watch your expectations, and if you feel the need to do “all the things” because “nothing is working,” pause and re-frame. The more anxious you feel about needing to see results right now, the more you’re in danger of a shorter career. You can’t maintain an imbalance of expectation of outcome vs. hard work forever, no matter what other authors can do. There are wildly successful authors who aren’t doing whatever it is you think you have to do, and they are still just as successful. Lifelong careers will include times when books don’t sell well. And those downs are not a sign that your career is going away. The more you can keep in touch with your fear of missing out, the more likely you are to withstand the downturns—because, remember, there will also always be upturns. Every new book is a new opportunity for better sales. A lifelong author career means there is always going to be open ocean in front of us, so we have to do everything we can to make our long-term process sustainable. Becca Syme

At the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), the global association for professional self-publishers, one of our ongoing campaigns is what we call Self-Publishing 3.0, or SelfPub3 for short. The seismic shifts that the self-publishing sector has seen over the past two decades have all been driven by technology. SelfPub1 was the era of desktop and internet publishing. SelfPub2 saw the widespread adoption of digital e-books, audiobooks, print-on-demand, and e-commerce through digital publishing. Now we are in the era of SelfPub3. Built on Web3—the “semantic web” of machine-driven intelligence, able to collate and interpret big data into digestible knowledge and usable tools—SelfPub3 has given rise to the following concept and campaign for ALLi: the concept that Web3 tools and technology makes it possible for any author with the requisite skills to create a good business from books; and the campaign for encouraging authors to embrace four drivers that make for good author-publishing business: direct sales, non-exclusivity, selective rights licensing, and author collaboration. These four SelfPub3 drivers have already begun to trend in the self-publishing community. Future of Publishing Trends Here is ALLi’s vision of these expected trends and how we’re adapting to the needs of our members in the SelfPub3 era and beyond. 1. Non-exclusivity ALLi has always encouraged authors to adhere to the principle of non-exclusivity, making their books available to as many readers, in as many formats, and across as many territories as possible. This is often referred to as “going wide” in self-publishing, and ALLi expects wide to become the majority experience for indie authors. Opting for exclusivity, whether through traditional publishing contracts or platforms like KDP Select, undeniably limits one’s reach. Although it might be the right path for a time, or for a particular book, it is a risky strategy. Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) has been a boon for many, offering a vast audience and the potential for significant, sometimes life-changing, earnings. However, Amazon’s fluctuating algorithms, changing rules around page reads, category adjustments, and account closures have impacted many other authors’ revenues adversely. ALLi will continue to advocate for non-exclusivity on the basis that spreading distribution across various platforms and channels not only reduces risks but also increases visibility and reaches across reader bases. 2. Direct Sales As SelfPub3 unfolds, more authors are now treating their websites as the hub of their author business, with other retail outlets feeding in. Selling direct is not just about having a transactional, sales-centered author website but also about setting up the marketing and promotion processes to support that. As well as encouraging all members to have a transactional website, ALLi has also been at the forefront of exploring and explaining blockchain as a transparent, decentralized alternative to traditional sales channels. ALLi has a dedicated blockchain advisor and provide a regularly updated guide, titled Authors and The Blockchain, which is available at https://selfpublishingadvice.org/bookshop. 3. Selective Rights Licensing Hybrid authors are those who have traditionally licensed all rights on some titles to third-party publishers while self-publishing others. ALLi encourages indie authors to adopt the principle of selective rights licensing instead. Every book represents several sets of potential rights that can be traded by license: film, TV, international editions, translations, stage adaptations, and merchandising, as well as publishing rights. Selective rights licensing means offering only those rights that a rights buyer has the ability to exploit. It also means limiting the term and the territory of the license. ALLi’s guidebook How Authors License Rights is a comprehensive guide to the rights arena. We also work with a dedicated literary agent, partner with rights service DropCap, and offer contract advice for members. 4. AI in Author Publishing AI is revolutionizing publishing, and AI tools can assist indie authors with a multitude of writing and publishing tasks, from generating text and images to proofreading and copyediting and finding tools for book marketing. Whenever we see technological advancements across history, we see human creativity rising and expanding, unfolding excellence. But AI is a divisive topic in the indie author community. Some authors have leapt in to take full advantage of the tools while others are deeply concerned about ethics and outcomes for authors, narrators, designers, and other creatives. After an open and assessed conversation with our members, advisors and other interested parties, ALLi has developed some practical and ethical guidelines to AI for authors, which can be found at https://selfpublishingadvice.org/ai-for-authors-guidelines. 5. Author Collaboration When indie authors talk about comp authors, we mean comparable and not competitive authors, and we work on the principle of “co-opetition”—cooperating with other authors so that both parties benefit—rather than competition. It’s no surprise that author collaboration is on the rise in the indie community, and we expect that to continue. When authors collaborate, we benefit in many ways. From a writing perspective, having a partner or a team can provide motivation and accountability, keeping us focused and productive, and we can learn new techniques, strategies, and perspectives from one another. Collaborative publishing projects allow for the division of costs, such as the expenses involved in marketing, hiring editors, cover designs, and distribution, which can lead to higher productivity, more published work, and an expanded brand and presence. At ALLi, authors collaborate for advocacy reasons as well. We’re stronger together, whether we’re negotiating with service providers and platforms, pushing back against unfavorable practices, implementing codes of standards, or advocating for fair payment and treatment. As new self-publishing tools emerge, so does the need for new standards and best practices. ALLi is taking a leading role in ensuring that authors’ rights as users, readers, and copyright owners are respected. New technologies must respect the established precedent of no use without payment, and new tech must not erode or undermine authors’ established rights. ALLi’s Copyright Bill of Rights, which can be found in the ALLi bookshop, outlines eight fundamental rights for the global author in a digital world. Growing Author Confidence and Income As the cap-in-hand, publish-me-please mindset fades in the author community, and as more of us take up the challenge of publishing independently and create successful author businesses, author confidence will continue to expand. And author incomes along with it. A recent ALLi survey into indie author income found that self-publishing authors earn more, like for like, than authors with an exclusive trade publisher, and author incomes are on the rise. We expect that to continue. The authors who benefit most from growing opportunities are those with an independent, creative, and empowered mindset. ALLi looks forward to informing, advising, aiding, and championing such authors through the era of SelfPub3 into SelfPub4—and beyond. The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is a global membership association for self-publishing authors. As a non-profit, our mission is to preserve ethics and excellence in self-publishing. We offer advice and advocacy for self-publishing authors within the literary, publishing, and creative industries around the world. Find out more at https://allianceindependentauthors.org.

You’re not doing marketing wrong; you’re doing the wrong marketing. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over our combined twenty-five-plus years of helping authors, it’s that most people don’t hate marketing; they hate the marketing they are forced to do. Whether that means putting your books in Kindle Unlimited, being on every social media platform, launching a Kickstarter campaign, building a huge mailing list, or learning paid ads, almost every author feels forced into doing something that doesn’t feel right for them. Unfortunately, success often feels like balancing on the head of a pin, so even though authors don’t feel compelled to do certain things, they dive in headfirst either to prevent failure or finally find success. This is the surest path to burnout. Luckily, we’ve also met thriving authors who run wildly innovative businesses that fly in the face of orthodoxy. From this, we realized most marketing and sales strategies can’t be generalized. They’re an incredibly personal experience that must resonate with each author’s natural tendencies. That’s the basis for the Author Ecosystem, which you’ll find detailed in these pages: to give you a sense of what matters to you in the core of your being. Once you develop the language to pinpoint what resonates with you, then you’ll be one step closer to growing the business of your dreams—with the experts we’ve highlighted in this issue as leaders helping shape the future of publishing to guide you. We hope somebody featured on these pages holds the message you need to hear to build an author business that resonates with you in 2024 and beyond. After all, that is the future of publishing: a personalized business that works for the author rather than a business the author is working inside of while struggling to stay afloat. Monica Leonelle and Russell NoheltyFounders, Writer MBA

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Elizabeth Ann West: More than ever, the personal relationship with readers will be a bedrock of sustainability for creators. Publishing wide offers an author so many different platforms and opportunities to reach fans. Using AI as a time saver on rote tasks opens up more time to specialize in multiple platforms, not just one. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Elizabeth Ann West: Wide will mean meeting readers and fans of your content where they are. This means beyond the ebook store, and many authors now "Go Wide" with merchandise, special editions and formats, and membership or micro-transaction sites like Patreon, Royal Road, and more. This also shapes the future concept of a mid-lister, where making a wage that provides a living for an author requires multiple income streams. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Elizabeth Ann West: In my experience, my readers who bought directly from me also bought the book on their favorite ebook store. Direct sales is a relationship, and many of those fans can be served with knowledge and love for your book that they carry to those other more traditional platforms. They want their favorite author to succeed, and when they buy an early release copy, they proudly leave a review and boast about being in the fan club that gave them early access. When top tier authors run their direct sales, it's numbers big enough to attract the notice of large store fronts, but for the average author, it's an opportunity to stay in business as the playing fields become more crowded. As more authors adopt direct sales, realizing the investment is worth the reward, it starts moving the needle back to the reader is the author's customer, not the store front's customer. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Elizabeth Ann West: I just want to say because the last part only gave me like sixty four characters to answer. In the last six months, I've watched this move from a single prompt giving a coherent four hundred words to a coherent two thousand to three thousand words. And I'm not talking about a bunch of mess word salad with some coherent paragraphs here and there. I mean, it's already able to keep narrative logic over two thousand to three thousand words, and that just came out literally last week. Before that, other tools such as copyright story engine or looping commands and everything like that was what was required in order to get that that length of words out. So in five years time, it's going to be the full instrument of production where the idea is what gets put in and how you want that ID expressed, and it'll be able to produce for you a bunch of different options, and then you just choose which one is the best one. So I think AI is going to be our loom basically the the industrial revolution and how that hit manual labor And then it's going to be on us to produce quality and luxury or this concept of what we're actually producing and why a consumer should care about that product, which is a book. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Elizabeth Ann West: Again, this question is how important is technology to one's success as an indie author? I think this is what our scalability is. None of us would really be able to publish as NDAs if technology hadn't allowed the distribution to go worldwide and almost instantaneous at a button click. Back in the nineties and early two thousands before that distribution was there, independent authors would literally have to sell books out of the trunk of their car, go to actual trade shows and things like that to fill orders by hand. Now everything is automated. And so we have really succeeded on the back of that massive technology And now that AI is coming down the pipeline, this is yet another opportunity for Indi's to get in touch with their inner tech nerd and realize that The sooner I learned how to use this, the stronger I'm going to be in the industry instead of going, I'm not gonna touch this because of X y z questions or or or issues there. So I think that the technology is absolutely critical to an indie author success. Doesn't mean that you won't still probably have assistance or editors or any of those other people as you get bigger and you you hire people to help you run your empire. Because while the technology specifically about AI can produce a heck of a lot of content, it's absolute rubbish at actually being able to evaluate that content right now. And I think that even when it gets better at that, a human is still going to need to be that final say so or we're just going to have stuff that doesn't really move the needle. It'll be same, same, same, over and over again. The human is what really brings that spirit. Because while an AI can talk about, you know, like, an experience that a human has, say, for example, slamming your hand in a car door for example. We've all done that as kids. The AI can say, explain that. But the AI has never had a hand, actually gets slammed in a car door. So it doesn't really know what that experience is like. And so there are certain things that the human is always going to have to breathe into that writing. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Elizabeth Ann West: So this is an interesting concept because I would even argue that those indie authors who adopted the fast production schedule as a core component of their success was actually an element of Transmedia in the sense that it was a relationship between their readers and them that they could deliver a product on such a short timetable. Like once a month, or once a week for cereals or once every two months or whatever it was. The actual act of fulfilling the promise of the production schedule was part of a and part of an experience for their readers. Transmedia, I think, is going to be even more important for indie authors. Because more and more people are using digital products and also physical products to get into a story world. Even if they themselves may not be necessarily interested in the novelizations or the novels. I know the article you linked to, the butcher was an example, I would also even point out to things like Magic: The Gathering, which does Transmedia with your cards. The core thing is the game. But there's now novelizations, web comics, on on on websites, and also different t shirts and things. And now that indie authors actually has have access to create those products, I've seen fantasy authors and stuff create entire card games for their their story world and everything like that. So anything that gets people interacting with the story world in between book releases I think is a really great way to keep your story world alive. And I also think that indie authors are going to need to do that in order to survive in the industry because As we all know, it's tougher and tougher these days to just write a book, release it, and hope that that's going to make enough money. The algorithms are tougher than ever. And there's just more competition. When I started off in indie writing, we had less than a million books in the store. Now there's many more there's over a million published every single year. And so I think that the Transmedia is it serves your readership by giving them great quality content to interact with your story world. And then that also works as a marketing endeavor because it produces a bunch of different channels for people to come to know you and your product line. So I think that's gonna be very important for especially the top indie authors to to keep moving in the right direction. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Elizabeth Ann West: There have been lots of books out there about, you know, finding your first one thousand fans or finding your first one hundred fans or whatever number it is that that it wants to talk about. I think that making an author website, even though that seems so old fashioned and so funny, Daddy, It is absolutely the core to your community. It is literally your storefront that is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week no matter what. And provides the links and everything like that for your readers to get into other spaces with you. Yes, you can build a Discord community. Yes, you can build a Facebook group. Yes, you could have a patreon. But as many of us who've been in the industry for longer than a decade know, the rules and regulations and terms and conditions of those other platforms and things like that can change on a whim. They can change overnight. The company could get sold to, I don't know, meglamaniac. Who knows? Many of us woke up one day and all of a sudden our Facebook pages only reached the tenth of the audience that we had built up and we suddenly had to pay to reach the other ninety percent that we had already done the blood sweat and tears to build on our own. So some of us old timers are very salty about this. So I absolutely advocate that to build a community with your readers, you need to one hundred percent make sure it's in a space that you can control. And while you may not exactly own your domain name, it is a lease from the iCAN. It's still the best space for you to have control. Same thing with your newsletter. Make sure you download your email lists pretty regularly because, again, if something changes with your email newsletter provider, you wanna have those emails that you can contact your customers that you work so hard to gain. You don't wanna leave your business to be at the whim of the terms and conditions of some other company. Especially a big corporation whose interest at any time may no longer align with yours. So that's why I say to authors, build your community, and the way to do it now is the same way it was back then. And I even recommend blogging your chapters. It's crazy, but it works. Even to this day. What readers wanna do is they wanna read the post about your cat and your writing process and stuff. It's great and it's interesting to your existing readers. But what does a brand new reader to you really need in order to come join your community? They need to see your writing. That's what happens inside of the bookstore. If you're browsing a bookstore, you're picking up books and you're looking at the inside to find authors that are new to you and that you wanna read. So I highly recommend blogging your chapters having them connect to your website, and then having some kind of space that you can interact with your readers. You don't have to do a whole lot of giveaways or anything like that. One of the things that I do is I have my readers pick Easter eggs that go into books that I'm working on. And that makes them excited. And then I put a list at the back of the book of the easter eggs they could find inside of the book. And then say, hey, this is where the group is that you can actually have a say in the easter eggs in the next book. These are things that you can do to build community. Community is a relationship with your readers. It's not necessarily just selling to them. It's involving them in the process. So the more you can brainstorm things that how would you want to be treated as a member of a community Think about that. Think about your favorite authors, your favorite movies. What experiences would you love to have be offered to you as a fan of that world? And then you can figure out how to scale that for your own indie author business and career. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Elizabeth Ann West: Just to expand on this, community matters in the future of indie publishing. Because the amount of content that can be produced, a click of a button is going to get increasingly bigger. I mean, by multitudes, by exponential numbers. So how do you compete if there's now suddenly a thousand books in your genre and before thousand books being released every thirty days when before there was only like sixty two or two hundred. You're going to have to have this relationship with readers. These core people. And this matters because all of these e bookstores are running on algorithms. So if you have five hundred people say on your newsletter and twenty percent of them will buy the book on that day one. So five hundred, twenty percent of that is what, like, a hundred people So a hundred people. Those one hundred people all buying the book on the same day actually moves the needle on the algorithms on those storefronts. So it does become kind of a competition. It's better you're better off in a lot of a lot of experience a lot of situations to have one hundred people buy the book in the same forty eight hours rather than that same one hundred people like buying one book a week over the next one hundred weeks. Because one will the the first one will actually bump you up into the algorithm to increase your visibility. Everybody thinks that the tail wags the dog and not the dog wags the tail when it comes to visibility in store fronts and sales. The first thing you have to do to get visibility in the store is sales. You have to literally get people to buy your book. One way I like to test if my book is in a good space and everything like that is to make sure that Amazon sells a handful of copies before I even share the link. That lets me know that I have put it in the right categories, and I've put it in the right the the covers right and everything like that.

In the hushed solitude of the writer's room, the clatter of keys is the only sound. The author weaves worlds from nothing but creativity and caffeinated determination, crafting tales that possess the power to transport readers to distant realms. Yet a specter lurks, threatening to shatter this tranquil image. Its name? Marketing.  Often a daunting task for the lone writer, marketing has, until recently, demanded a vast allotment of time and energy, precious resources better spent on the art of storytelling. Fortunately, technology and automation tools have made it easier than ever for authors to streamline and automate repetitive marketing tasks. The right automation tools can free up hours normally spent on marketing, allowing authors to focus on what matters most: writing amazing books. When used strategically, marketing automation allows self-published authors to compete with traditional publishers with large marketing teams. By using automation, indie authors can successfully balance both the creative and the promotional sides of their career. Tip #1: Choose (and Use) the Right Marketing Automation Systems To effectively handle marketing emails, a basic email service provider just won't cut it. The right marketing automation systems don’t just send emails; they can also monitor activity on your website, track clicked links in emails, segment your audience, and automate personalized follow-up emails. Say you’re gearing up for a book launch. You could create an email offering a sneak peek at the first chapter of your upcoming book. Once a subscriber clicks on this link, your marketing automation system tracks this activity, then automatically sends a follow-up email to these engaged readers with an exclusive preorder link. Those who didn't click the link receive a different email, perhaps a heartfelt note from you sharing the inspiration behind your book, encouraging them to learn more. By selecting a suitable marketing automation system, you can nurture leads from your website, tailor your reader interactions, and maintain an engaged and responsive audience. There are several powerful marketing automation systems available. Here are a few to consider: MailerLite (https://mailerlite.com): With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, MailerLite allows you to design custom newsletters, set up automated email sequences, and review reports about your audience and click-through rates. ActiveCampaign (https://activecampaign.com): ActiveCampaign, with its advanced automation features, lets users create highly segmented audiences and sophisticated automation workflows. Plus, it includes customer relationship management (CRM) features to help manage customer relationships. MailPoet (https://mailpoet.com): MailPoet integrates directly with WordPress and includes a feature that automatically emails your latest blog posts to your subscribers. Brevo (https://brevo.com): Known for its comprehensive feature set, Brevo—formerly Sendinblue—offers not only email marketing tools but also SMS (text) marketing and live chat options, acting as a comprehensive solution for various communication needs. Tip #2: Schedule Social Media Posts with Buffer, Hootsuite, or Zapier Social media tools like Buffer or Hootsuite can help you manage your social media posts across multiple platforms. You can prepare a batch of posts in advance and schedule them to be published at the most engaging times.  For a more comprehensive automation, Zapier allows you to create complex workflows across apps. For instance, when you publish a blog post, it could automatically create a social media post across all your platforms, or when you upload a YouTube video, it can email your subscribers. This eliminates repetitive tasks and keeps your audience informed about your latest content. Tip #3: Leverage Website Automation Tools Consider integrating your website with search engine optimization (SEO) tools like Yoast or RankMath. When you publish a blog post, Yoast can automatically check for SEO friendliness and suggest improvements to boost your website’s visibility on search engines. For your online store, platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce can automate direct sales and integrate with BookFunnel to handle e-book delivery, as well as provide support for your readers to “side-load” your book onto their e-reader.  Tip #4: Automate Virtual Author Events Consider hosting virtual author events through platforms like Eventbrite. Once you set up your event, you can automate the registration process, reminders, and follow-up emails. You could even link Eventbrite with your email marketing platform using Zapier to add event attendees to your email list and send them personalized emails automatically. Tip #5: Use Project Management Tools like Notion or Airtable Managing your marketing activities can be a complex task, with different campaigns running simultaneously and many tasks to monitor. Project management tools like Notion (https://notion.so) or Airtable (https://airtable.com) can come to your aid. You can use Notion to create a list of repeated tasks, as well as a comprehensive content calendar, outlining when and where you're posting on social media, sending newsletters, or updating your blog. Once you’ve completed all the tasks for one project, you can duplicate it as a template and use it again so you don’t miss steps in the future.  Airtable can help with more data-driven tasks. You can set up a base to track book sales, see which marketing efforts are driving the most traffic, or manage your mailing list. From there, you can see patterns in your sales or traffic and adjust your efforts accordingly. Automation doesn't stop at these tools themselves; you can also use Zapier, Make, or IFTTT to create workflows between these platforms and others. When you update a task in Notion, it could automatically send a message in your Slack channel, or when a new row is added in Airtable, such as a new book sale, it could trigger an email to that customer, asking for a review.  Tip #6: Automate Tasks on Non-Traditional Publishing Platforms On platforms like Patreon or Kickstarter, automation can help manage tasks like posting updates or sending digital rewards to backers. Set up automatic posts that go live once you reach certain milestones, or automatically send new patrons on Patreon a welcome email via your email platform using Zapier. Tip #7: Harness AI Tools for Crafting Effective Marketing Copy AI tools such as ChatGPT (https://openai.com/research/chatgpt), Bard (https://bard.ai), and Claude (https://claude.ai) can transform the way you create promotional content. They can automate the generation of blurbs, social media posts, and ad copy, and they can even draft blog posts, saving you time and mental energy. Pro Tip: When using AI for marketing copy, remember the output is only as good as the input. Framing your prompt correctly is crucial for getting high-quality results. Start by prompting the AI with “ask me any questions you need to write the best blurb possible.” This encourages the AI to gather all the necessary information before it writes.  Elizabeth Ann West, from Future Fiction Academy (https://futurefictionacademy.com), suggests that you consider providing a “pitch and hook” for your book. A “pitch” summarizes what your book is about, while a “hook” is a statement designed to grab attention. Language like this is familiar to AI models trained on large text datasets and can help generate more engaging and relevant copy. Another trick to improve your prompts is to ask the AI to act like a specific persona, such as “the best book copywriter in the world.” Specify your desired tone and audience to guide the AI toward producing the copy that best suits your needs. The more explicit your instructions, the more aligned the AI’s output will be with your marketing objectives.  Tip #8: Streamline Graphics and Video Creation and Posting Automation tools like Canva (https://canva.com), VistaCreate (https://vistacreate.com), and Adobe Express (https://adobe.com/express) are revolutionizing how indie authors manage graphic and video design, as well as social media posting. They not only speed up the design process and ensure consistent branding but also offer options for direct posting and scheduling to various social media platforms. Each of these services can save your brand colors, fonts, and logos, enabling you to maintain a consistent aesthetic. Their video creation features can also help you tap into the trend of short video content like that of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. VistaCreate and Adobe Express offer similar features, including AI-powered text-to-image functionality that generates visually compelling social media posts that can then be scheduled or posted directly to your social media accounts. Their video editing capabilities make it easy to create engaging video content with no prior video editing experience. Pro Tip: To make your visuals and videos truly unique, consider purchasing templates from sites like Creative Market (https://creativemarket.com) or Envato Elements (https://elements.envato.com). You can upload these templates into your design tool and customize them for each piece of content. Tip #9: Automate Podcast Guest Searches Podcasts are a burgeoning medium for author promotion. However, finding suitable podcasts that can reach your readers, reaching out to hosts, and keeping track of scheduled appearances can be a hefty task.  Tools like PodMatch (https://podmatch.com) and PodcastGuests (https://podcastguests.com) are available to automate this process, functioning as matchmakers for podcast hosts and potential guests. Create a profile outlining your areas of expertise and the topics you can discuss as an author. The algorithm then matches you with suitable podcasts in your genre or industry.  Once you've matched with a podcast and set up a date for the appearance, these platforms can sync with your calendar and send automated reminders for your recording dates. They also keep a history of your past appearances, which can be useful for tracking your marketing efforts. This automation can save you time and effort and help you reach new audiences in a personal, engaging medium.  Pro Tip: Make the most of your podcast appearances by turning your transcripts into blog posts, using quotes for social media posts, and highlighting key moments in promotional videos. This way, each podcast appearance generates a range of content to further support your marketing efforts. Tip #10: Personalize Reader Engagement with Your Own Chatbot Chatbots can be a powerful tool for automating reader engagement, and platforms like Chatbase (https://www.chatbase.co) can create a chatbot trained only on your own content. Chatbase allows you to create a chatbot that doesn't contribute to any large language model (LLM) in existence, providing you with full control over the interactions. By uploading copies of your books, website pages, and blog posts, you can train your chatbot to answer potential reader questions accurately. This personalized engagement can help confirm that your work matches their interests and encourage them to make a purchase. For instance, if a visitor on your website or social media account asks about your upcoming book, your chatbot, well-versed in your literary universe, can provide detailed information about the book's plot, characters, and themes based on the content you've uploaded. The benefit extends to handling common queries too. Program your chatbots to handle questions like when your next book is releasing, or where to buy your books, to ensure readers receive immediate, accurate responses. *** The key to creating effective automations is determining which solutions best fit your unique needs and constraints. Start small by automating one or two key tasks, like email or social media. As you build out your marketing framework over time, you’ll gain more bandwidth to devote to writing compelling stories. Ultimately, leveraging marketing automation thoughtfully allows self-published authors to focus on your craft while engaging more with your readers. Chelle Honiker

**Indie Author Magazine:** How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? **Kevin McLaughlin:** Non-Amazon ebook retailers have been losing market share slowly for the past decade; I don’t see that reversing. However, other forms of selling books are beginning to boom. I’m talking about subscriptions, Kickstarter, and direct sales, of course. I see these sorts of things as “the new wide!” **Indie Author Magazine:** Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? **Kevin McLaughlin:** I sorta answered this in the last question! I think that wide is going to grow to be much more than ‘non-Amazon retailers.’ In fact, I am myself working to become a wide author who’s still in KU - but my ‘wide’ is subscriptions and Kickstarters, instead of Apple and Kobo. **Indie Author Magazine:** On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? **Kevin McLaughlin:** Most sales are still going to be made on the big sites, which means that’s where *most* book revenue will continue to be generated. But there’s room for even a casual author to set up a fairly self-sustaining website with sales hookups. It might start off very slowly, but there’s room for this to grow. I don’t think it will impact the industry as a whole all that much - in that most sales will continue to be on major retailers. But it’s a good additional market. **Indie Author Magazine:** With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? **Kevin McLaughlin:** In five years, virtually all the covers will use at least some elements of generative art with Photoshop, you know, having that baked in, I think more and more artists are gonna begin using it. In terms of other uses, honestly, I'm not sure. I think we're going to see a divergence here. Two sets of authors. One group focusing very, very hard on producing a whole bunch of content that's just good enough. And on the other end of the spectrum, another group of authors who is working to produce the best, most flawlessly targeted best written to market, best focused on what exactly what the audience wants, literature that they can produce. And I don't think that there's room for those two streams to cross all that well. I think that those are going to be very divergent to point of view and types of writing businesses. All that said, there's no reason why we can't use AI in both of them. It's just a matter of how it's being used. **Indie Author Magazine:** How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? **Kevin McLaughlin:** Interestingly, because I love technology, I'm gonna have to say that it's not especially crucial to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole. I mean, to some degree, the industry as a whole has been massively impacted by it. So every wave of new technology crashes into publishing and we see these massive changes. We thought when pulp hit. We saw it, you know, when I don't know. The distribution chains collapse. We saw it with the ebooks. You know, we're seeing it with AI, etcetera. But these things all change the business. They don't matter. They're not important to not vital or central to the business. We'd go back one hundred years and people were still selling books. Two hundred years ago, people were still selling books. Three hundred years ago people were still selling books. The newer technologies change how we do it but they don't change what we do. I would say at the core, what's most important is the creative spark that's inside of the individual. The thing that makes them want to write and want to tell stories. Technology is a tool we use or don't use some people write with a pen and pencil, a pen and pencil on paper. And honestly, none of those methods are wrong. Just use what works for you. **Indie Author Magazine:** What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? **Kevin McLaughlin:** As new tools make it easier for us to do Transmedia, it's going to become increasingly important for us to look into that sort of thing. It's not like it's gonna be essential don't think there's really very much that's essential for a writer to do except write stories. But I think it'll certainly there will certainly be a lot of opportunities for doing things like making our own movies, making our own soundtracks, Mallory Cooper has a soundtrack for her universe. That's that's amazing. That's really cool. It's up on Apple Music. You can actually listen to it. It's pretty neat. You know, like things like that, boy, there are so many different opportunities out there for us to explore. And as the technology makes this stuff more and more accessible, it's it's just going to it's just gonna explode, I think. **Indie Author Magazine:** What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? **Kevin McLaughlin:** Stop digital sharecropping. We I threads came out this past week and I watched A zillion authors go gaga over basically Twitter Lite without most of the features that make Twitter interested, which with admittedly, much less annoying people than Twitter, but it's just another social media place. It's just somebody else's land that you're attending. And while it's a tactic that might work, it's not a strategy to base a career on. Like we've seen. I mean, the people who built careers around Twitter are are, like, in trouble right now because Twitter's collapsing. So they need to switch, and they need to move everything over, and they need to change everything around. Community is best when it's something that you control as directly as possible. That means you need the email addresses of the community and you need the payment information of the community. And if you don't have those two things, then you don't actually own your community. Somebody else does. **Indie Author Magazine:** Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? **Kevin McLaughlin:** So like I said earlier under the AI section, I see a splitting trail in the woods, essentially. One path is going to be producing lots of just good enough content. And, I mean, you know, like Michael Bay movies. You know, like, everybody loves them. Everybody goes to see them. They almost always make money, but they're not great art. So they're good enough that they really work and they sell, but they're not they're not they're not award-winning, generally speaking. You're not something that people remember and then go watch over and over and over again. The other path is to aim for the other thing instead, to aim to be the sort of person that people look at look at Brandon Sanderson standards. He wrote four books. He didn't tell anybody what they were. He put them up on a Kickstarter without telling anybody what the books were about or anything. And he got tens of millions of dollars worth of pledges for that Kickstarter. That's amazing. And those fans trusted him so much. They just knew that his stories were always great. We're always something that they loved. And so they were just willing to put down their money financing. Yep. Four bucks. I'm sold, it doesn't matter what they're about. And that kind of writer has a definite place in this world too. And that kind of writer is gonna be the one I think who focuses more around community. Because the community building aspect of having people to really love something. It has it makes a big difference. And the other path is totally viable too. The people who just like your stuff and buy it and go see a movie or whatever, you know, the people who you just like your stuff maybe don't love it enough to build a community around it. Both methods are viable. And it's up to us to decide what kind of career we want.

**Indie Author Magazine:** How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? **Storm:** As KU rates continue to plummet, more and more authors are scrambling to gain a “wide” footing. For me “wide” has always meant “world-wide.” And for the past couple of years, I’ve been focused on building my audiences in both translations and in non-US English speaking markets more than focusing on—say—Kobo or Apple Books, specifically. I tend to favor Kindle Unlimited as I learn a new market or genre, but then move away from the program once I have a solid handle and am ready to learn more and expand to broader audiences. KU keeps me lean and flexible when I may be testing covers, blurbs, and other aspects of branding. I also use their price promotion tools heavily to attract readers when I find myself in a brand new genre or market. It’s always a short game for me though. The long game greatly favors diversification—whether by country, retailer, or even pen name. The more levers I have in my author business, the more I can control where I want/ need it to take me. **Indie Author Magazine:** On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? **Storm:** Direct sales definitely favor authors with large, cohesive backlists. It takes quite a bit of work to learn and address the tech and taxes that come with selling through Shopify, Woocommerce, or the like—and for many authors it simply won’t be worth the time and monetary investment. I have resisted direct sales for a good long while, even as I saw the market trending that way, but I am currently in the process of launching direct stores for each of my three active pen names and am excited (and also terrified, but mostly excited!) to take the plunge. I’m using a multi-tiered launch approach, starting with English language eBooks only, testing and making sure I get that part right before I move on to the next phase. Eventually I hope to integrate signed book sales, merchandise, and also direct sales for my translations and audio as well… So I guess, ask me this question again in a year, and I’ll have a lot more to say! **Indie Author Magazine:** With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? **Storm:** Clearly, Isaac Asimov is to blame for how terrified normally very rational and professional people have become in the face of AI! Like it or not, the tech is here and developing rapidly. With time (and added legal and industry regulations), I suspect it will become much like any tool in the author arsenal. Some authors will master its use for writing full-form fiction, some will use it primarily as a marketing tool, and others won't use it at all. For me personally, I like using Sudowrite to summarize or “shrinkray” my past manuscripts by ordering it to write up synopses and outlines that represent the work I’ve already done myself. This helps me review past manuscripts either for research on future books in the series/world or for reviewing pertinent details so that I can update my online product descriptions. Saves me from having to reread the entire book! ChatGPT or Sudowrite also help me to clean up transcription when I choose to dictate instead of type my words; and is useful when I’m working on more than one project per day and invariably find myself with tense or POV confusion as I switch from first person present to third person past between projects. I, personally, cannot use AI to write a book or even to cobble together a cohesive scene. I have tried, but the output is worse and takes three times longer to generate than if I’d simply written the words myself in the first place. And because I see AI’s value in its ability to save me time with specific tasks, I do not plan to invest time in learning beyond my own needs. Each individual author will have to figure out their own comfort level and learn accordingly. For those that are afraid of AI, I strongly recommend trying it out so you can laugh and cringe and maybe put some of that fear aside by looking at the current reality of the situation rather than worrying about the many possible futures—only one of which will actually come to be. **Indie Author Magazine:** What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? **Storm:** Do what you do, and do it well. End of story. All the extras can be fun and attention-grabbing, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is to write the books you love. Readers will see that passion and join in. If you want to add in merch and audio and stageplays and interpretive dances (I kid!), do it whole-heartedly and the most enthusiastic readers will follow you there. If you’d rather just focus on the books, then do that. There are literally no musts or shoulds in the business, but there’s an awful lot of flexibility for those who like doing backflips and cartwheels all the way to the bank. **Indie Author Magazine:** What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? **Storm:** Subscription services like Ream and Patreon are definitely growing in popularity as readers become accustomed to seeing content offered in this way (I even have one of my own for my cozy pen name, Molly Fitz). Some genres even continue to see amazing results by networking via Facebook groups. But just because these tools or communities are out there, doesn’t mean you need to be a part of them. Whatever you do in your author business, do it authentically. If you hate Facebook groups, don’t start one. If you hate running a newsletter, don’t force it. Put your energy where it shines to light your way ahead. Our industry is one that changes quickly due to its creative nature. Educating yourself is crucial, but choosing whether to adapt your business or career to new tech, trends, or the like is entirely optional. If running a membership site takes away from writing… or stresses you out so much that you end up with hives, just don’t do it. I think as authors we’re always looking up at the forest canopy to the detriment of tending our own roots.

Dear Indie Annie, It seems like as soon as I have a handle on my career, something about the industry changes drastically—the rise of AI, changes in marketing strategies, a new program everyone’s suddenly using. How do I keep up with it all … and keep from drowning? Trying to Tread Water Dear Trying to Tread Water, Oh, honey, I feel you. This industry is a fickle mistress, that’s for sure. One day you’re using TikTok to promote your book, and the next everyone’s moved on to Triller or whatever app the youth are gabbing on these days. But here’s the tea: you can’t control the waves of change. You can only learn to ride them. The secret, my dear, is being adaptable while staying true to yourself. Don’t just jump on every hot new marketing trend because all the other authors are doing it. Remember your mother’s taunts when you were young about jumping off a cliff if all your friends were doing the same? Mama always knows best. Take the time to educate yourself, and choose only the strategies that truly align with your goals and strengths. Stay open and keep learning, but don’t spread yourself too thin chasing the next shiny object. Focus on building meaningful connections with your readers. Change is as constant as the tides. As Heraclitus said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” (I know, my darling one, a classical reference! I sometimes even surprise myself.) But just as the shore remains while the water flows, you must remain grounded in your core values while being adaptable to new ways of doing things. Change is a necessary part of life. Think of Darwin’s finches, adapting their beaks generation by generation to best suit their environment and food sources. These changes took place over hundreds, even thousands, of years. Human adaptations tend to be quicker. Consider how novelists like Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Alice Walker reinvented their writing while staying true to their visions. Jane Austen wrote during a major transition in the publishing world, as novels were gaining popularity and prestige. Although she experimented with different literary styles, Austen ultimately crafted stories with her signature wit and insight that resonated with audiences. Despite the limitations for female authors of her time, she published innovative novels like Pride and Prejudice that are still beloved today. Louisa May Alcott rose to fame during the American Civil War, when people viewed literature as a political and social tool. Though publishers and readers had particular expectations, Alcott drew on her own experiences to write Little Women, which broke conventions. She played with sentimental and subversive themes in children’s fiction to create a new American classic. Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple amid the racism, sexism, and violence faced by Black women in the early twentieth century. Though these issues were not considered mainstream literary material, Walker unflinchingly portrayed them through her powerful protagonist, Celie. She gave voice to marginalized groups and birthed a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. These women pushed creative boundaries and reinvented themselves as times changed. But their commitment to storytelling paved the way for countless future writers. They adapted and took advantage of changing times, and so can you. Keep observing which tools and platforms your readers are flocking to, and be willing to tweak your approach accordingly, but never lose your unique authorial voice. Choose change when it suits you, and ignore the rest. Lay aside strategies that no longer bear fruit, but don’t abandon the roots of your success. And don’t forget to come up for air once in a while! Take time to rest, recharge, and reconnect with the passion that drew you to writing in the first place. This work can be draining, but it’s also deeply rewarding if you let it feed your spirit. You’ve got this, sweetie. Just keep paddling, stay flexible, and keep your eye on the horizon. The tides will change again, but you’ll have the resilience to ride out whatever comes next. Now go grab that life jacket and write! The world needs your stories. Happy writing, Indie Annie X

Indie Author Magazine: Hey, Jonathan Yanez, could you tell us how you started your career and what you're up to now? Jonathan Yanez: Sure thing! After college, where I studied English without a clear career path, I worked in sales for five years but wasn't satisfied. I took a leap of faith, quitting my job to pursue writing. My wife supported my decision, and I became a full-time author while doing part-time personal training for income. After numerous query letters, I landed a small publishing deal but later ventured into self-publishing, which was quite a learning curve. Fast forward 11 years, and we're into films and more. My wife manages the business, and I focus on writing. Most of my success has come in the last six years. Indie Author Magazine: Your dedication is impressive, Jonathan. It's a testament to your disciplined and determined approach. Jonathan Yanez: Thank you. Indie Author Magazine: You mentioned "building the plane while learning to fly it." As they say, you can't learn to drive a car while it's parked. Jonathan Yanez: That's true. Progress comes when you're in motion, constantly improving with each turn or adjustment. Indie Author Magazine: What genres do you write in? Have you stuck to one or explored different ones over time? Jonathan Yanez: I've ventured into various genres, from supernatural to science fiction and paranormal. Initially, I received advice to stick to one genre, but I've been all over the map from the start. Starting with one genre to establish an audience is often a smart move, but I love telling different stories. Indie Author Magazine: It's important to follow your creative passion. Yet, success often comes from nurturing an audience in a single genre for a while. Jonathan Yanez: That's right. It's about balance. Indie Author Magazine: Where can readers find your books? Do you sell directly from your website, or are they available through retailers? Jonathan Yanez: Readers can find my books on Amazon under my name or directly on our website, jonathan-yanes.com. Selling directly from our website has been a game-changer since last year. Our paperbacks have gained traction, too. Indie Author Magazine: How do you handle book distribution through your website? Jonathan Yanez: Our website is connected to Shopify, so it takes care of everything. When an order is placed, Shopify handles printing shipping labels, calculating shipping costs, and more. We maintain an inventory and package the books ourselves. Indie Author Magazine: So, it's an in-house operation. Jonathan Yanez: Yes, everything is managed from our home office. It's a family endeavor, and even my kids assist with packaging. Indie Author Magazine: That's unique and family-oriented. I've done something similar with my kids, and they run their businesses now. Jonathan Yanez: It's a great way to teach them about entrepreneurship and teamwork. Indie Author Magazine: Have you explored non-traditional distribution methods like Patreon or Kickstarter? Jonathan Yanez: Absolutely! We used Kickstarter to fund our film project, and it worked wonderfully. Now we're using Kickstarter to fund our new project, Forsaken Mercenary. Indie Author Magazine: Are you planning to take your projects to streaming services or traditional television? Jonathan Yanez: We've considered pitching to streaming platforms like Netflix or Peacock. The plan was always to make a TV show from the start. We're producing short episodes to prove the concept and build interest. We're also making a 15-minute short for Forsaken Mercenary, which is a proof of concept for a full-length film. Indie Author Magazine: It's a fascinating approach. How did you assemble your film team? Jonathan Yanez: We posted casting calls on Backstage, allowing actors to submit reels based on scripts we provided. It was quite a process with around 1,400 actors for some roles. Indie Author Magazine: That's an impressive response. How was it working with the actors on set? Jonathan Yanez: It was an incredible team effort. I had to let go of my own expectations and allow the actors to bring their interpretations to life. They did a fantastic job. Indie Author Magazine: It's common for creators to be self-critical, but that's what drives improvement. Jonathan Yanez: You're right, it's the passion and commitment to constant improvement that drives us to create better content. Indie Author Magazine: Balancing art and commerce, you've really mastered it. Jonathan Yanez: Thanks, it's been a journey. I always seek ways to improve, whether it's refining my writing skills or enhancing our films. Indie Author Magazine: Your humility shines through. You're relentless about self-improvement. Jonathan Yanez: I don't chase humility; I chase getting better. Always striving for improvement, no matter where you are. Indie Author Magazine: Tell us about your merchandise. It's more than just the films, right? Jonathan Yanez: Absolutely, we've got an array of merchandise featuring our logo – hats, mugs, stickers, and more. It's part of our brand. Indie Author Magazine: Any plans to expand the merchandise line? Jonathan Yanez: Definitely. We're looking to diversify our product range and offer more to our fans. We'll keep growing. Indie Author Magazine: I hear your kids are on summer break. How about getting them involved in designing merch? Jonathan Yanez: That's a fun idea. Joe and Manny's Merchandise Services might become a reality! Indie Author Magazine: What's your take on AI in the industry's future? Jonathan Yanez: Adaptation is key. I use AI for keywords and email subject lines, but I won't let it replace the human touch in my storytelling. Quality still matters. Indie Author Magazine: Readers are discerning. They'll spot AI-generated content. Jonathan Yanez: Exactly, readers are the best judges. AI might have its place, but it won't replace genuine creativity. Indie Author Magazine: Where do you see yourself in five years? Jonathan Yanez: Dreaming bigger. I want to dominate not just books but TV and movies too. It's the Indie version of an EGOT. Indie Author Magazine: It's a fantastic goal, always striving for more. Jonathan Yanez: Absolutely, I believe in making the most of this life and giving it your all. Indie Author Magazine: How do you prevent burnout? Jonathan Yanez: It's different for everyone. I find balance in family time and working out. Burnout isn't in the picture for me. Indie Author Magazine: You're passionate about your work and make it a part of your life. Jonathan Yanez: My work is my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's about merging both aspects. Indie Author Magazine: It's incredible how you manage that balance. Jonathan Yanez: We've got a saying, every day feels like Saturday, except Sunday when we take a break. Family is essential. Indie Author Magazine: It sounds like you're both excited and content with where you are. Jonathan Yanez: Absolutely, I love what I do, and I'm excited about the journey ahead. Indie Author Magazine: It's been great talking with you, Jonathan. Thank you! Responses have been edited for space and clarity

Indie Author Magazine: Why is community important in the future of indie publishing? Evans: Community is essential in the future of indie publishing. Mark Schaefer's book, "Belonging to the Brand," outlines why community is the last great marketing strategy. It all boils down to trust. Readers seek trust in the stories they read. They want to know they'll consistently get a great story from an author they can rely on. Trust is the linchpin of business success, and the traditional methods of building trust, such as social proof and advertising, are becoming less effective. Building trust through genuine relationships and word of mouth has taken the forefront. It might be challenging to measure, but it's irreplaceable once established. Community is a key asset for authors in this context. I've discussed this concept in a three-part series on the Descriptions for Authors website, starting with "The Community Economy." In an era dominated by AI, intellectual property's value is evolving and uncertain. What do valuable IPs have in common? They all have strong, genuine communities built around them. Take Disney, for instance, a company that excels in connecting families through shared memories. It's challenging to find stronger relationships than those within families, and Disney capitalizes on that, making them one of the largest community-focused companies globally. However, competition with other stories has diluted their influence. Platforms like YouTube have surged, where kid-friendly channels are among the most prominent. For authors, this underscores the importance of community. The relationships readers have with your work determine the value of your intellectual property and the success of your business. In our digital age, where traditional social institutions have faltered, readers crave belonging and shared passions. They want to be treated as individuals, not mere statistics or algorithm inputs. Building this type of connection differentiates you and elevates the fan experience. It's vital for staying in the minds of readers with busy lives. A strong community offers a consistent touchpoint, sparing you from the pressure of churning out book after book. In the words of Becca Sine, community helps you create a vertical platform where readers are drawn by deeper experiences, rather than just content. It may not suit every author, but community is undeniably valuable for specific sets of authors. Readers and the communities around them will wield increasing power in the industry. Digital communities are becoming the bedrock of online book sales, shaped by reading creators, TikTokers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, and book bloggers with dedicated followings. Understanding these communities and their role in the genre is crucial for authors' success. In essence, community is becoming a significant factor in selling and building trust in the near future. Indie Author Magazine: How crucial is technology to an indie author's success and the industry as a whole? What strategies can authors use to avoid burnout? Evans: A long-term mindset is crucial for success. Rather than obsessing over algorithms and shortcuts, focus on connecting with real people. As the internet becomes more saturated, breaking through the noise requires genuine human connection. View social media platforms, software, and devices as tools to build a community, not as distractions. Community isn't about follower counts or Facebook groups; it's about fostering real relationships. Readers want to incorporate your story into their lives and share it with others. This sense of belonging is at the core of community, and it's been around for ages. Now that it's online, nurturing and building community has become more apparent. Authors should think about two types of community: acquisition-focused and engagement/retention-focused. To create an acquisition-focused community, consider building something that appeals to a broader audience within your genre, separate from your personal author brand. It should be about delivering an exceptional experience to readers, not just promoting your books. For engagement and retention, the community should work for you. Respond to fan emails and messages, maintain a clear brand promise, and understand why people connect with your stories. The best way to understand your readers is by talking to them, forming deeper relationships, and learning what role your work plays in their lives. In essence, use technology as a tool, create meaningful experiences, and focus on building authentic connections with your readers. This approach, combined with a long-term mindset, will help authors avoid burnout and find lasting success in the indie publishing industry. Indie Author Magazine: What role do you see AI playing in indie publishing over the next five years? Evans: AI holds enormous potential for indie creators. I believe indie authors can remain primarily writers, and this is our superpower. Generative AI technology is advancing rapidly, and we're on the cusp of innovations like "text to worlds," where you can describe a virtual world and build its game mechanics. As Roblox's CEO suggests, most of the code and visuals will be generated. This evolution emphasizes the pivotal role of the stories we create as transmedia experiences become the future. Authors can focus on crafting compelling narratives, and these stories can seamlessly transition into various media formats. Collaboration with other creatives is key. While some jobs in indie publishing may evolve, there will likely be more opportunities for talented cover designers, editors, and other professionals. Authors can engage in exciting projects, such as comic books and video games. Video games, in particular, offer a significant avenue for authors to explore. Managing rights becomes crucial. Authors need to be vigilant about who holds the rights to their work, especially for creating transmedia properties. Collaboration with fellow authors and maintaining a growth mindset is essential because building a media empire is challenging alone. Working with other creative talents can lead to remarkable outcomes. The future is promising. We're already witnessing innovations like the "imagination machine," which transforms text into immersive visual and auditory experiences. It's challenging to describe the sheer mesmerism it offers. This technology opens doors for unique storytelling experiences. While we can go deeper with superfans, the love for reading and traditional storytelling remains. Not everything needs to become a movie or a blockbuster. Transmedia allows authors to create complementary content, like comic books or YouTube videos, which can attract more fans and enrich the world of their stories. Combine this with other elements like direct selling and merchandise, and authors are not just writing books but building future businesses. In essence, authors should continue focusing on their core strength—writing exceptional books. The unique neurological journey of reading and the experience it offers won't be replaced by transmedia. Authors shouldn't view transmedia as a competitor but as an avenue to enhance the reading experience and serve a different purpose in their readers' lives. This shift to transmedia provides more control and power to indie creators, which is something to look forward to.

For a career that is often portrayed as a lonely endeavor—one in which the author sits at their desk late into the night, a cup of coffee (or something stronger) beside them as they feverishly tap away at a keyboard or scratch pen against paper—writing rarely seems to be a solo act. Author coaches, editors, cover designers, and beta readers work alongside authors to turn a rough-around-the-edges manuscript into a true book. Virtual assistants and accountants keep businesses running behind the scenes when writing takes priority. ARC teams and distributors help share the finished story with others. Other authors offer encouragement and advice for navigating the publishing industry, and readers sit at the helm of it all. These connections have been building blocks for many self-published authors’ careers, so it’s no surprise many feel that community will remain important to the future of independent publishing for the same reasons. “Community matters because we are all that we have,” says author Ines Johnson. “Traditional publishing, they have their empire in New York, where they have their floors and their buildings and their people. But we have each other.” Community doesn’t just inspire individual writers, however; it also incites growth in the industry. In the past several years, self-published authors have banded together to influence changes in distributor policies, leveraged social media to foster online connections with readers through BookTok and Bookstagram, and grown in number and influence within the larger publishing world. Still, it’s their relationships with readers, writes author Anthea Sharp, that ultimately remind many authors why they pursued this career. “Pretty much every author I know writes to tell a story. Without someone on the other end, to tell the story to, this path gets cold and lonesome and can lead to burnout,” Sharp writes. Author Jonathan Yanez agrees. “The art drives us to do it, but the commerce drives us to do it better too, right? So we're always striving to make it a little bit better. But I think ultimately you wanna make it better for the people that are reading or consuming it or watching it,” he says. “I think that's the difference—those that are successful, they have the right ‘why.’ They do it for the right reasons, and they're passionate and they love it.” Some genres even continue to see amazing results by networking via Facebook Groups. But just because these tools or communities are out there doesn’t mean you need to be a part of them. Whatever you do in your author business, do it authentically. If you hate Facebook Groups, don’t start one. If you hate running a newsletter, don’t force it. Put your energy where it shines to light your way ahead. Our industry is one that changes quickly due to its creative nature. Educating yourself is crucial, but choosing whether to adapt your business or career to new tech, trends, or the like is entirely optional. If running a membership site takes away from writing … or stresses you out so much that you end up with hives, just don’t do it. I think as authors we’re always looking up at the forest canopy to the detriment of tending our own roots. Melissa Storm The long-term mindset is so important. For so long, we've been focused on gaming the algorithm and trying to get to the next level. And I think we've moved into an age now where everyone [thinks] the internet's saturated, and how you break through and cut through the noise is by connecting with real people—by just leaning into being a great human, a great storyteller. And leaning into what makes you unique and separates you apart is huge in building community. Ultimately, it has to be about giving an awesome experience to readers—giving them something to care about, making the community an experience in and of itself, making your marketing a product, making your Facebook post a product, whatever tool you're using to facilitate that experience. You need to actually make an experience rather than just pumping your books constantly. Michael Evans I think the easiest places to build communities are in prebuilt locations where you don't have to make the whole system. Social media has, for a very long time, been the primary place to do that, with Facebook Groups being the main one. Some authors also leverage writer groups and whatnot. But I also feel less group community and more author-to-reader is also viable, such as using ... [social media]. I think that building your own community, your own site, is pretty tricky and requires a lot of time and investment so that you're really prepared to do it. It's likely not going to work. But I think ... one thing might be to focus more on one-on-one community building with your readers, more just straight relationship building and doing that via social media posts, by being active in places where your readers might be, and also obviously through the good old standby, the newsletter. It gives a lot of feeling of community that way. And it creates a one-to-one feeling or a one-to-many touch, which can be better uses of an author's time. Malorie Cooper Without community, you will have a hard time swimming in a market that is oversaturated. Pierre Jeanty Community is ultimately what gets us from blank slate to story. S. J. Pajonas Learn how to reach your readers directly. Own that relationship. Damon Courtney We are helping each other. We have risen so high because of that, because of that community, and because of that collective. If traditional publishing had done this instead of being elitist, and holding all the information to themselves, they would be in a better position than they are right now. The reason that indie is booming is because of the community aspect. Ines Johnson I do understand that some people feel that building community with their readers [is the most important thing]. And usually, these are people who are really good at it. And this is coming from someone whose interpersonal skills aren't that great when it comes to building community with my readers. They are just like, "Well, community for readers, it's the most important thing." And that's often because they have great interpersonal skills and because they are comfortable doing that. But if you are not comfortable doing that, figure out how to make those really, really good books visible. That's all the community you need with your readers, and trust me, look at all the authors who don't have reader communities who are doing just fine. Theodora Taylor Making an author website, even though that seems so old-fashioned and so fuddy-duddy, is absolutely the core to your community. It is literally your storefront that is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no matter what. And [it] provides the links and everything like that for your readers to get into other spaces with you. Yes, you can build a Discord community. Yes, you can build a Facebook Group. Yes, you could have a Patreon. But as many of us who've been in the industry for longer than a decade know, the rules and regulations and terms and conditions of those other platforms and things like that can change on a whim. I even recommend blogging your chapters. It's crazy, but it works. Elizabeth Ann West Community is best when it's something that you control as directly as possible. That means you need the email addresses of the community and you need the payment information of the community. And if you don't have those two things, then you don't actually own your community. Somebody else does. Kevin McLaughlin Create a group (preferably not on social media) and show up daily to interact. Steve Pieper We need each other to navigate all the changes in our industry. Dan Wood In terms of building community, authors have some amazing tools at their disposal. One of the most powerful tools within that realm is an author newsletter. Email is still one of the most powerful ways that you can connect with your community, that you can reach the people who want to hear from you and find out about your next book. I don't see email going away anytime soon. It's been around for a long time. It's probably going to be around for a longer time. Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Tips for Staying Healthy This—and Every—Conference Season Coined “con crud,” the influx of colds, flu, COVID, and other illnesses that happen this time of year is often on the minds of conference attendees and a factor to consider when preparing for a work trip. Conferences can offer authors countless opportunities for career growth and connecting with others in the industry, but they can also bring exhaustion and general tiredness post-show. So ahead of 20Books Vegas and the rest of the conference calendar this winter season, we’re looking at a few tips for staying healthy, energized, and generally well while in attendance. Hydrate You don’t need to be conducting rigorous outdoor activities to become dehydrated. Our bodies consume water just as they consume calories, and dehydration is a sure way to put yourself more at risk. The CDC recommends men drink 125 ounces of water a day, and women 91 ounces—that translates to about fifteen cups and eleven cups, respectively. Be sure to bring a water bottle, and keep it handy throughout the day. Take Adequate Breaks Conferences and events are exciting but can be mentally exhausting. Don’t feel you must fill every hour or session and risk losing your mental energy and focus. Taking a break to eat, drink water, or even catch a power nap can freshen the mind and replenish your energy stores. Wash Your Hands The germs that lead to “con crud” are passed through a variety of mediums, but with all the hand-shaking and door-grabbing you’ll do on the conference floor, your hands are especially likely to be a breeding ground for viruses. Wash your hands frequently, and use hand sanitizer to reduce the risk that you pass something off to your fellow conference-goers. Continue to Exercise As authors, our jobs are filled with countless hours behind a desk, and those hours of sitting are rough on the body. Consider short but purposeful bouts of exercise, whether it be power-walking outside the event center on break or a trip to the gym in the morning, to keep yourself moving while traveling, and try to get up and move regularly at home as well. Exercise is preventative, and taking care of your body gives your brain a nice meat sack to ride around in so it can continue functioning at peak performance. Go Outside The sun provides us with vitamin D, and long hours inside can lead to a deficiency. Taking a walk outside for five to fifteen minutes a day a few times a week—conference or not—can give your body all the exposure it needs to replenish vitamin D levels. Whether you implement all or some of these techniques, take care of you. Conferences are loaded with information geared toward elevating your author career, and though it can be exhausting, you will need your energy stores directed toward learning and networking. Invest in your general well-being at the show, and it will pay dividends in the future.

From writing and editing to marketing and administration, independent authors juggle an array of responsibilities. With so many balls in the air, automating repetitive tasks can be a game changer. This is where a tool like Zapier comes in.  Zapier allows users to connect various web applications and services and set up automatic actions and triggers between them. With the right Zaps in place, authors can streamline routine processes, free up creative bandwidth, and work more efficiently. Multi-step apps require a subscription, but basic tasks can be accomplished with a free plan. Here's an in-depth look at how Zapier works and its potential applications for indie authors. Understanding Zapier: The Core Concepts At its foundation, Zapier is integration software, acting as a bridge between the applications and platforms you already use regularly. Zapier establishes connections between these tools, enabling automations.  The automations center on two key concepts: triggers, or actions that kick off a Zap—for instance, a new email subscriber being added to your list; and actions, or tasks that Zapier automatically performs once triggered. Following the example above, the action might involve adding the new subscriber to a separate list in another provider.  By connecting triggers and actions across multiple applications, Zapier stitches together workflows tailored to your needs. The result? Processes that once demanded manual upkeep can now run on autopilot. Zapier for Indie Authors Although Zapier connects with thousands of apps, it can be especially useful for indie authors who rely on a core set of tools. Zapier’s automations can work in several categories of applications, each with multiple programs popular among indie authors, including: email marketing software, such as MailerLite, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Mailpoet, or SendFox; e-commerce platforms, such as Gumroad, PayHip, Shopify, or WooCommerce; social media management, such as Buffer, Hootsuite, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok; blogging and CMS platforms, such as WordPress, Patreon, or Medium; productivity software, such as Google Drive, Trello, or Asana; transcription services, such as Temi, Rev, or Otter.ai; and delivery services, such as BookFunnel. Bridging these platforms is where Zapier's value lies. Here are just some ways authors can benefit. Automated Content Sharing  One of the most universal applications is repurposing content across social channels. For instance, when you publish a blog post, a Zap can automatically share the headline, excerpt, images, and links on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. This saves you the tedious work of manual sharing. Streamlined List Growth Building your email list is critical, but keeping subscribers segmented and organized takes time. With Zapier, new sign-ups on your website can trigger workflows to add those contacts to targeted lists in your email service provider while also backing up data to a Google Sheet. Simplified Transcription Zapier integrates with speech-to-text services like Otter.ai, Temi, and Rev to make transcribing notes and voice recordings faster and easier. You can create a Zap so that uploading an audio file to Dropbox or Google Drive automatically generates a transcript, saved directly in Google Docs. You can also extend that to include a first-pass proofread edit from ChatGPT.  Enhanced Productivity Zaps can be used to assign due dates in Asana when an event is added to your Google Calendar in order to help yourself remember administrative tasks or track deadlines for your projects. You can also set up an automation to receive a daily email reminder of tasks due that day.  Expanded Marketing Leverage Zaps to breathe new life into old content. When a blog post is six months old, have Zapier ping ChatGPT for ideas on repurposing it into a refreshed social post with a new angle. Use Zaps to maximize content across marketing channels. Automated Document Preparation Manuscript formatting can be tedious. Zapier can automate this process for an indie author. Authors can dictate first drafts, which Zapier will send to TranscribeMe. Zapier saves the transcripts to Google Drive, triggering another Zap. This Zap opens the file in Google Docs, edits it to align with Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, and emails the document to their editor for review.  Ongoing Content Creation Authors can leverage Zapier to aid content goals. Start by using spreadsheets to track blog post ideas. Zapier can ping ChatGPT to draft full posts from these ideas, including images from DALL-E. After someone reviews and finalizes the articles, another Zap schedules social promotion over a six-week period. Automated List Growth and Data Backups Authors can rely on Zapier for key list-growth workflows. When a reader subscribes to an email list via a website, Zapier can add their info to segmented lists in MailerLite, as well as copy the data to Airtable or a Google Sheet as a redundant backup. It can also trigger “welcome” and “milestone” email sequences when subscribers reach certain stages. Repurposed Content Zapier can help refresh evergreen content for an author’s blog or social media sites. It watches for blog posts over a year old with low recent traffic. When one is identified, Zapier passes the content to ChatGPT to create a new blog post, social posts, and graphics with a fresh angle.  Key Considerations for Implementation While Zapier offers game-changing potential, effectively leveraging it involves an investment on the front end. Here are some factors to consider: Evaluate your goals. Have clarity on what outcomes you want to achieve via automation.  Audit your workflow. Break down your regular tasks. Look for repetitive processes ripe for automation based on your goals and the time commitment they require.  Research app capabilities. Ensure the apps you use most integrate with Zapier. If not, research alternatives with Zapier integrations. Enlist ChatGPT. Use conversational AI tools like ChatGPT to aid in setting up complex Zaps. As new Large Language Models (LLMs) are added, Zapier adds support for them.  Start small. Resist over-automating initially to avoid overwhelm. Begin with one to two foundational Zaps, then scale up.  Check security. Review the security protocols of each app you integrate to be sure you understand how your data will be accessed and handled. Some apps ask for the ability to delete data, such as calendar events or docs. Maximizing Zapier for Ongoing Efficiency  Setting up impactful Zaps is an initial hurdle, but the real payoff is long term. Here are some more tips for maximizing Zapier’s value over time: Continue evaluating workflow. Periodically review your process for additional automation opportunities. Your needs will evolve, and new tools will be added to the Zapier universe. Monitor Zap performance. Use Zapier’s dashboard to watch for broken Zaps or bugs. Proactively address issues. Use notifications. Set up your Zaps to notify you of task completions via email or Slack so you stay looped into the process. Refine things over time. Tweak your Zaps every once in a while to better suit your changing needs. As you get more comfortable with the program, try integrating new tools into your process to further extend capabilities or automate other areas of your business. Learn from peers. Follow other authors who are using Zapier innovatively. Draw inspiration from their solutions. Most Zaps can be shared among users.  Leverage Zapier support. Use Zapier’s customer support resources to troubleshoot and grow skills. Zapier as an Indie Author Force Multiplier At its core, Zapier is about multiplying output while minimizing effort. By weaving the tools you already use into automated workflows, Zapier massively expands what you can accomplish and enables indie authors to save hours weekly on repetitive tasks, reinvesting those hours into high-level creative pursuits only humans can handle.  Of course, an automation tool is only as powerful as the strategy behind it. The key is defining your goals, then methodically building Zaps that further them. With a thoughtful approach, Zapier can free you from the grind of routine tasks and allow you to thrive in the work only you can do. Chelle Honiker

**Indie Author Magazine:** How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? **Stephanie**: As authors can establish themselves on stores other than Amazon, they will help the business of writing flourish in areas other than the markets Amazon has a hold on. **Indie Author Magazine:** Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? **Stephanie**: I see authors branching out more into subscriptions in the coming years, spending more time with their readers in smaller, more intimate settings. **Indie Author Magazine:** On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? **Stephanie**: Publishing direct will mean more money in the hands of authors, instead of larger corporations. It'll mean a deeper connection with readers, one where the wants and needs of readers can be better met by an author who is receptive to a changing market. **Indie Author Magazine:** With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? **Stephanie**: AI has the potential to open the market for disabled writers. **Indie Author Magazine:** How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? **Stephanie**: It's the most important part! It helps broadcast our ideas. **Indie Author Magazine:** What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? **Stephanie**: Storytellers, regardless of medium, will rule the world. **Indie Author Magazine:** What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? **Stephanie**: Produce work that's human no matter the tools used to produce it. **Indie Author Magazine:** Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? **Stephanie**: Community is ultimately what gets us from blank slate to story.

Since Amazon launched the earliest version of Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in 2007, the business giant—which controls an estimated 50 percent or more of the online retail market in the US already—has maintained an unwavering influence over the self-publishing industry. Sixteen years later, Amazon boasts 85 percent of the book market share, with Apple Books in a distant second place with only 10 percent, according to Kindlepreneur. Amazon’s royalty split with authors has also remained relatively unchanged—in 2010, the original offer of 35 percent royalties to authors for any book published with the program increased to 70 percent given an author met specific conditions, but since then has stayed the same. Amazon’s control over the market, with its international reach and household name, is a boon to many in indie publishing, particularly in certain genres. But others feel the company has too much power over the industry, with little to no safeguards in place for authors when policies change or problems arise. Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, in a July 2023 interview with YouTuber SAVY WRITES BOOKS, said Amazon’s lack of competition and the company’s overall size make it difficult for those using its platform to influence any change when it’s needed. “If you compare one of the bestselling authors in the world to Amazon, I’m just such a small fry, I’m barely even worth noticing,” he said. And if Amazon were to suffer financially in the future, many worry authors whose careers are built exclusively on the platform may suffer with it. For authors like Sanderson, however, wide publishing—publishing across multiple retailers, including through direct outlets—offers a potential path forward, with more freedom and business security if one retailer starts to suffer. “We've been in a time of great upheaval in the book market with so many opportunities for indie authors over the past decade,” writes author Dan Wood. As time goes on and distribution strategies shift, it’s possible the definition of “wide publishing” will shift with it to include new formats or distribution models, he writes. Other authors agree, and still others say those who distribute exclusively through one platform will likely continue to see success through their own strategies as well. Even as time goes on, the debate is unlikely to resolve entirely. But even without a definitive “winner” and “loser,” as wide publishing continues to expand in definition and grow in popularity, the competition it sparks among retailers may broaden horizons for indie authors everywhere. As KU rates continue to plummet, more and more authors are scrambling to gain a “wide” footing. For me, “wide” has always meant “worldwide.” I tend to favor Kindle Unlimited as I learn a new market or genre, but then move away from the program once I have a solid handle and am ready to learn more and expand to broader audiences. KU keeps me lean and flexible when I may be testing covers, blurbs, and other aspects of branding. I also use their price promotion tools heavily to attract readers when I find myself in a brand new genre or market. It’s always a short game for me though. The long game greatly favors diversification—whether by country, retailer, or even pen name. The more levers I have in my author business, the more I can control where I want/need it to take me. Melissa Storm I think the biggest change is that wide will be the default, and we're not going to think about it as if it's wide vs. KU but this is publishing. This is actually what we are supposed to be. We're supposed to think of ourselves as wide authors first by default. Michael Evans Wide still means "not in KU," but it has shifted from opening up sales on the other retailers to enabling authors to direct sell via systems like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, their own sites, and via co-ops. Malorie Cooper [Wide is] necessary. Putting all your eggs in one basket in the current state of publishing is scary. People are more loyal to brands and even authors currently, hence why so many social media platforms are incentivizing influencers. This is making them more loyal as well to where they shop. Authors not having their books available everywhere, especially on their own website, are losing those who are more loyal to convenience than themselves. Some people buy books anywhere; some buy in particular places. You need to be available to all. Diversification is often more helpful than detrimental. Pierre Jeanty As authors can establish themselves on stores other than Amazon, they will help the business of writing flourish in areas other than the markets Amazon has a hold on. S. J. Pajonas While Amazon's exclusive Kindle Unlimited platform has been great for a lot of authors, it's also a magnet for scammers and people who just want to make a quick buck. That is only going to accelerate as the AI tools that are coming online start to really ramp up. I don't know how much the other platforms like Apple, Google, and Kobo will play into the mix, but being able to reach your audience directly will only grow in importance. Having your own reader list and learning how to reach those readers directly will be the key to long-term author success. Damon Courtney I like to try new things. I don't like to be pigeonholed in anything. So I like publishing non-exclusively. And "non-exclusively" means not with one platform, not with one publisher. I don't want traditional publishing. If I did that, it wouldn't be the only thing that I did. The world is changing so fast that if you hold yourself narrowly, you're gonna miss so many opportunities and readers and ways to get your stories out there. Ines Johnson As someone who went wide at the turn of the decade, during the pandemic, I can't tell you what an anxiety balm it's been to have a diversified portfolio in these ever-changing times. But I was a huge fan of KU when I could only write and didn't have much time to attend to admin. It was and continues to be an individual decision best made by the author, themself, with a clear sense of their long-term goals and where they are in their career. Theodora Taylor Publishing wide can mean so many things—different retailers, different distribution channels, different formats, different languages. For a long time, authors have been tied to one exclusivity program with one retailer and all the knowledge and training have been about that one publishing avenue. As authors go wide, they'll see that there are many places and opportunities to be successful. The industry as a whole will grow, and more authors will find ways to make a living doing what they love. Wide is only going to grow until "publishing wide" just becomes "publishing." Authors are gaining greater control over their businesses and forging their own path through both wide and direct sales, based on their strengths. Wide for the Win Non-Amazon e-book retailers have been losing market share slowly for the past decade; I don’t see that reversing. However, other forms of selling books are beginning to boom. I’m talking about subscriptions, Kickstarter, and direct sales, of course. I see these sorts of things as “the new wide!” Kevin McLaughlin "Wide" distribution is really a misnomer meant to convey non-exclusivity to the dominant retailer. In reality, "wide" authors sell to just three to five relevant customers, or retailers, rather than just one. Both situations are quite risky and leave authors with relatively little control over their career growth. Authors also have very little knowledge of who their customers actually are because that information isn't shared by retailers. As more authors learn how to sell directly to their readers, bypassing the retailers altogether, Amazon exclusivity may become less popular. ... "Wide" just means wholesaling to more than one distributor. I think many authors have experienced the serious drawbacks associated with purely wholesale channels. Steve Pieper We've been in a time of great upheaval in the book market with so many opportunities for indie authors over the past decade. As authors begin to take a longer view of their careers, I am confident they will recognize the long-term value of library discoverability in building lifelong fans and reject options that prohibit that. Beyond that, wide publishing will continue to grow as more retailers and subscription services enter the market and as new tools enable authors to sell directly to their most dedicated fans. Dan Wood The definition of wide to me has always meant way more than the simple debate of Kindle Unlimited vs. the other four or five major retailers. Publishing wide to me has always included numerous opportunities available to writers beyond just the indie author sphere. That includes traditional publishing, but it also includes opportunities for writers that come up via various social and digital media. Mark Leslie Lefebvre For more than a decade now, I have fought with writers old and new about relying solely upon Amazon. I’ve written blog after blog recommending that writers go wide, and yet many writers never listen. Most of them give me the same song and dance: Amazon is the biggest retailer in the world. It’ll never go away. I have not gone back in my blogs to see when I started writing about going wide. I do know that I actually used the picture of eggs in a basket several years ago to encourage writers to go wide. And if you look at any of those old blogs, particularly from 2011 or 2012, you’ll see the kinds of statements I mentioned above littering my comment field. I kept saying that someday Amazon will change, and that change will hurt writers, particularly those who tie their entire writing career to Amazon. The writers who have gone exclusive through Amazon via Select are really going to be in trouble. And the trouble has already started. Kristine Kathryn Rusch from a May 2023 blog post on her craft blog, kriswrites.com [Wide] is everything. Going with only one store with exclusive rights is just bad business. Go with as many stores around the world as you can get into. Dean Wesley Smith [We were] in Amazon up until the end of last year when we decided to go wide from our website. Sometimes I think the market isn't ready for what we're doing. There's sometimes changes in the marketplace that make it a little bit more hospitable for when the time is right. Jonathan Yanez I don't subscribe to the idea of exclusive versus wide. It focuses too much on such a narrow sliver of your intellectual property's potential. The question should be: How do I make my IP work the hardest and smartest for me and my family? Sure, exclusive vs. wide is an important question for many and going wide can be a great tactic. But don't mistake tactics for strategy. Exclusive vs. wide is such a small part of the bigger picture that if you put it on a pie chart of potential, you wouldn't even see it. Written by Nicole Schroeder

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Anthea Sharp: As the retailers make "pay to play" an increasing part of discoverability on their platforms (whether through direct ad programs or the assumption that writers will pay to send readers to them via outside advertising), I think it's wise for authors to diversify. I also think that direct sales are a great way to go for many authors. Platforms rise and fall (and, sure, even the framework you build your direct store on will eventually crumble) but having the ability to control your work and use your advertising dollars to send readers directly to YOU, without fear of getting your account terminated or running into other snafus, is invaluable. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Anthea Sharp: I think the definition of WIDE is all-encompassing, honestly—but that it's also easy to miss the breadth of possibilities out there. A lot of authors take wide to mean "on all the retailer platforms." I'm seeing an increasing move in the publishing world toward cracking open the next level, which includes direct sales and storefronts, using platforms like Kickstarter, and also starting to think about your IP as more than just eBooks or plain print editions. Serialization, gamification, audio, fancy illustrated special editions, StoryBundles, subscriber book boxes, multimedia, graphic novels, screenplays: the possibilities are out there and expanding as new technologies hit the publishing world. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Anthea Sharp: I think there’s no escape from generative AI. I do know, however, that there are ethical ways to use it to assist in the creative process. There’s no question in my mind that in five years, AI-assisted creation will be the norm, just like Photoshop was originally decried, and now is an invaluable part of almost every artist’s toolkit. Right now, obviously, there’s a lot of fear and misinformation surrounding AI. I’d encourage authors and artists to start exploring the tools that are out there—honestly, once you do, you start to understand what the programs can and, even more importantly, CANNOT do at this juncture. Find out where you, personally, draw the line. I don’t currently generate fiction with it, but ChatGPT has been a fabulous brainstorming partner for book and series titles, great for cleaning up dictation, good at writing blurbs and synopses (with editing, of course), and helpful at structuring story beats into a rough plot outline that I can then stray away from. Just like artists who refuse to use digital tools are now at a disadvantage (with a few exceptions), authors who are unwilling to harness the power of generative AI will be making their lives harder. Technology transforms the world—but by taking the opportunity to start exploring the tools now, I hope that we can all have a voice in how they are developed going forward. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Anthea Sharp: I love seeing more authors move to direct sales! Whether it's putting up a Google Form and taking Paypal payments, setting up a Shopify-type store, or planning to launch a new title on Kickstarter (or all of the above), I think the move away from relying solely on the retailer platforms is a good one. And it will definitely have a ripple effect on the larger publishing ecosystem. While the well-beaten path (put your eBook on Amazon, you're done) is still viable for many authors, I think the opportunity to niche down, connect with YOUR readers, and really get a solid ecosystem growing in a space you control is going to be amazing for authors. We're moving back to the "smaller number of true fans" model as a successful path to a viable career for folks who struggle for visibility in the retailer spaces. I do think that there are people this will work brilliantly for, but I also think that plenty of authors see good success with the retailer-platform model and will continue to stay there without branching out. Still, direct publishing will start to erode the power of the platforms, bit by bit. I also think that new ways of connecting with readers (like Ream), will open up new paths to success that aren't necessarily retailer-driven. And that's super exciting and empowering. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry?Anthea Sharp: I think most indie authors are already far more than just “writers.” So many of us are deeply involved in all the publishing aspects of our business. Even though we might hire editors and cover artists, we still make the ultimate judgement calls, so need to have a firm grasp of the market, the elements of good graphic design, ad copy, what editorial suggestions to take and which to leave, running contests and games, making live appearances, engaging our communities, wrangling audiobooks… the list goes on and on! I’d argue that a number of the serialization platforms where readers can comment on a work-in-progress as chapters are posted have a transmedia element. I’m seeing an increasing number of illustrated novels out there, and of course the gamification of books by companies like Chapters pull those multimedia elements in as well. That said—readers love to read. They don’t necessarily want audio or video popping up and breaking their reading flow. I’d argue that a well-written book IS a transmedia experience. It’s a movie/soundtrack/world, evoked and played out inside the reader’s head. No technology currently in existence can compare with the magic of that.Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry?Anthea Sharp: Building connections with YOUR readers is important. I highly recommend that authors learn to set up and manage their mailing lists well. Check out resources by Tammi Labrecque and David Gaughran to get started or leveled up. Kickstarter is an incredible platform for building community, in my experience. If reader groups and events (online or in person) resonate, I encourage authors to lean into those. Stay active in both the reader spaces and the author spaces to the best of your ability. Attending a conference like 20Books or NINC (if you qualify) are great ways to network and open up new opportunities with other authors, as well as leaders in the publishing industry.Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing?Anthea Sharp: Because none of us are in this alone. 😊 I’ve long been an advocate of multi-author projects as a way to reach new readers, and a cheerleader for boosting others up (other authors are not our competition, truly). Connection with our author friends and our readers can help us stay sane, grounded, and remind us why we’re doing this in the first place. Pretty much every author I know writes to tell a story. Without someone on the other end, to tell the story TO, this path gets cold and lonesome and can lead to burnout. Stay warm. Tend your communities. Keep the monsters of the dark at bay with the torch of connection and shared experience, whether it’s through the pages of your books, or in that author support group you keep meaning to join. Shine on.

When Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson smashed Kickstarter records in March 2022—earning more than $41 million over the course of his campaign, almost half of that in the first seventy-two hours—he sparked a shift in the indie author world. Sanderson was not the first to discover the potential for crowdfunding as part of an author’s launch strategy. But beyond opening the wider public’s eyes to the support that exists behind independent publishing endeavors, his campaign also shined a spotlight for indie authors on the possible benefits of selling directly to readers. “Direct publishing gets back to the core of indie publishing: taking the fate of you and your story babies into your own hands,” writes author Paddy Finn. Selling directly to readers requires authors maintain their own sales channels, on their websites, through crowdfunding campaigns, or at events. Often, those who host their own sales channels also have books available through distributors like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the like. But these direct outlets offer authors a faster, more intimate way to approach readers and connect with those buying their books. Because they control the sales, authors also have access to more detailed sales data. And direct sales typically result in greater profits—in a March 2023 example from Written Word Media, a direct sale of a three hundred-page, 5 × 8 inch paperback would earn the author 49 percent more than a sale on Amazon of the same title for the same price. Selling direct isn’t without its challenges—as Finn writes, “It requires an investment of time and/or money” on the part of the author. But the freedom and flexibility it can offer individual creators, writes author Oriana Leckert, is one many will likely consider worth the cost in years to come. “I think we’re in a thrilling moment of creative autonomy, where authors and content creators of all kinds are seizing control of every aspect of their work, from writing what they want, to building the audience they want, to producing, marketing, and distributing books in precisely the ways they want to do so,” she writes. “Authors have more avenues than ever to bring their books into the world, which I believe can only enhance the quality, quantity, and variety of creative work all across the industry.” Finn agrees. “Direct sales is a natural evolution in the industry lifecycle,” he writes, “especially an industry built on a foundation of people who stuck it to the man. For many, direct sales is still an unknown, but that's what makes it so beautiful! It's like tapping into another gold vein very few have discovered … [and] those who brave the risks and stick with the process will reap the rewards of another indie publishing gold rush.” Direct sales definitely favor authors with large, cohesive backlists. It takes quite a bit of work to learn and address the tech and taxes that come with selling through Shopify, WooCommerce, or the like—and for many authors it simply won’t be worth the time and monetary investment. Melissa Storm I do think we're going to see maybe the decline of the one mega bookstore and the rise of tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of many bookstores, for lack of better words, aka own author platforms. I think that … the interesting part of that equation is not just a higher percentage of revenue, but oftentimes you're able to monetize in different ways that leads to a literal increase in the customer lifetime value. Michael Evans I believe we are on the cusp of a sea change surrounding how digital assets are distributed and sold to customers. I don't have a (functional, yet) crystal ball, but I would wager that in five years, the traditional retailers will be far less important to book sales. In ten years, they may be largely irrelevant as direct sales systems mature and book advertising improves. Malorie Cooper Direct or direct-to-consumer [sales] is here to stay and will become a preferred choice more and more in the industry. It will also help a lot of authors mature in the realm of business or strengthen their perspective on business. Having more control, more return while also performing well in all the previous retailers is ideal. I believe it’s here to stay and many who commit to figuring it out will see the benefits of it more and more. Pierre Jeanty Publishing direct will mean more money in the hands of authors, instead of larger corporations. It'll mean a deeper connection with readers, one where the wants and needs of readers can be better met by an author who is receptive to a changing market. S. J. Pajonas Speaking as BookFunnel, direct sales for authors is growing like crazy. What we've seen is that most readers love their favorite authors a lot more than they love their publisher or platform. Whether it's via Kickstarter, Patreon, or their own store, more authors are trying out selling direct to readers. And, with every reader who buys direct from an author, the whole pie grows for all indie authors. It may take time to change reader behaviors, but it's already accelerating because of how many authors are jumping into the direct sales waters. Damon Courtney [Consider] patronage. Artists used to get patronaged by the people who wanted their art. And with writers, there was always someone in the middle. There was always a publisher in the middle. And now there doesn't have to be. So I think, when these artists and creatives realize they can have a direct impact on their reader and they don't necessarily need the middleman, they will embrace direct. I don't think that they're going to want to do it themselves. So I think that there's going to be a community in the industry for folks who can help be that agent, if it were, but not necessarily a publisher. Ines Johnson Authors will become even more used to being in complete control of their product, and their marketing savvy will increase. They'll plan to write books that are super easy to market as opposed to writing books, then figuring out how to market the books they've written. They'll care less about metrics like Amazon sales rank and more about the overall health of their catalog. I think indie publishing companies will start to look a lot different too. The ones that nail direct sales will be a lot more attractive to authors still wanting publishing contracts. So I predict several more indie publishing companies will be started by authors who have cracked the code of direct sales. Theodora Taylor "Wide" distribution is really a misnomer meant to convey non-exclusivity to the dominant retailer. In reality, "wide" authors sell to just three to five relevant customers, or retailers, rather than just one. Both situations are quite risky and leave authors with relatively little control over their career growth. Authors also have very little knowledge of who their customers actually are because that information isn't shared by retailers. As more authors learn how to sell directly to their readers, bypassing the retailers altogether, Amazon exclusivity may become less popular. ... "Wide" just means wholesaling to more than one distributor. I think many authors have experienced the serious drawbacks associated with purely wholesale channels. Steve Pieper Direct sales will be an extra incentive to be non-exclusive, but I am skeptical it will change the industry a great deal. The majority of readers will continue to want to purchase and discover books on their preferred platforms that they are comfortable with. The real opportunity for authors is that ability to have a closer relationship with their most loyal fans. What we've seen play out in other creator communities, such as video streaming and music, will continue to grow in the book world. Savvy authors and publishers will offer special editions of their books, merchandise, and more, and their fans will love it. Dan Wood Everything is "with" rather than "instead of." So new technologies and new opportunities open up, it doesn't necessarily remove the other opportunities. It just adds to them. So selling direct is going to add to it. Mark Leslie Lefebvre Direct publishing will be critical to the future of any writer going forward. Dean Wesley Smith We started selling direct from our site, and paperbacks, but with the emphasis on paperbacks. And now from our website alone on paperbacks, we sell hundreds of books a month. Jonathan Yanez Direct publishing gets back to the core of indie publishing: taking the fate of you and your story babies into your own hands. Indie publishing began with a handful of authors who refused to let gatekeepers tell them what they could or couldn't do. In bravely exploring uncharted territory, those early indie authors discovered a horde of insatiable readers salivating for more books. And they delivered what that audience wanted, paving the frontier for those of us who followed. And as any author worth their salt knows, "The End" is just another way of saying "Next." Direct sales is a natural evolution in the industry life cycle. Paddy Finn I believe direct sales will continue to empower authors to think outside the box, build communities of readers, and expand their income streams. In return, I think this will inspire retailers to introduce more tools to help match the right readers with new authors. I also think we'll see a lot more author collaborations and niche communities that will help readers find the books and authors they're looking for, bypassing the retailers completely. It will be fun to see how it plays out. Sarra Cannon People who are very motivated to run their own businesses will especially love the control of direct. But I think a lot of people who are not built to run a big business (with a lot of moving parts) are going to get really overwhelmed and struggle. And I think some people will end up flaming out completely in trying to do all the things ... which direct sales is ripe for. Becca Syme While I haven’t personally delved into direct sales yet, I think this trend could dramatically shift the industry. When we as authors are no longer reliant on any single retailer to make a living, it opens up the door for creativity—both in the stories we tell and the way we run our businesses. We’re no longer at the point where there’s only “one true way” to make a good living in this industry, and direct sales will offer even more opportunities for us. Ember Casey I love seeing more authors move to direct sales! Whether it's putting up a Google Form and taking PayPal payments, setting up a Shopify-type store, or planning to launch a new title on Kickstarter (or all of the above), I think the move away from relying solely on the retailer platforms is a good one. And it will definitely have a ripple effect on the larger publishing ecosystem. While the well-beaten path (put your e-book on Amazon, you're done) is still viable for many authors, I think the opportunity to niche

Indie Author Magazine: Engaging with Design and Diversity Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Theodora: As someone who went wide at the turn of the decade—during the pandemic, I can't tell you what an anxiety balm it's been to have a diversified portfolio in these ever-changing times. But I was a huge fan of KU when I could only write and didn't have much time to attend to admin.It was and continues to be an individual decision best made by the author themself with a clear sense of their long-term goals and where they are in their career. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Theodora: It's ever-evolving, for sure. When I first attempted and failed to go wide before the pandemic, I considered "going wide," posting to Draft2Digital.Now, I consider it posting to all major retailers individually; uploading my books to Radish and a few other reputable chapter-by-chapter sites; putting my audiobooks on Findaway; and commissioning a main website set up to make direct sales—oh, and maybe, I'll do a Kickstarter for an illustrated boxset.I can only imagine what going wide will look like 10 years from now. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Theodora: Authors will become even more used to being in complete control of their product, and their marketing savvy will increase. They'll plan to write books that are super easy to market as opposed to writing books, then figuring out how to market the books they've written. They'll care less about metrics like Amazon sales rank and more about the overall health of their catalog.I think indie publishing companies will start to look a lot different too. The ones that nail direct sales will be a lot more attractive to authors still wanting publishing contracts. So I predict several more indie publishing companies will be started by authors who have cracked the code of direct sales.Mostly, I'm excited about what this means for products beyond books. I'm predicting more crowdfunding for books to be turned into things like graphic novels and micro-budget movies that can then be sold directly to savvy audiences. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Theodora: Intended to only give us a spot like sixty four characters for the AI being such a hot button divisive topic role, but I am just in case it wasn't, I'm going to leave my rambling response as would have been much better if I could have typed it. So sorry ahead of time. I think AI is a hot button divisive topic right now. People fall and I don't think there's two sides of the line. I think it's really, really nuanced as to where people fall. I think some people just kind of wanna use it as an aid kind of like we would grammarly, like, oh, let me use this to help spit out ideas about outlines and stuff like that. Some people would really love to use it as a writing tool like, hey, produce a book about this. And some people would love it to go away altogether, for it to just die. At the end of the day, I think this is a very, very, very nuanced issue It's not black and white. And in five years, I think we'll have the same stuff that we have with Photoshop where Everyone can kind of tell it's been used. But and that when it's not used, it's kind of obvious, but also maybe people will just enjoy filters to the point that most things are filtered, like, the same way. Most things are spelled checked today. And it will have a place in our community, but it will hopefully be a more comfortable place where some people are just kind of like, I don't use any AI other than spell check. They might even name themselves kind of like when I was after I got my laptop in college, and and for quite a while, like, at least ten, twenty years, I would say the last person heard about doing this. Was in maybe the early two thousands. There would be certain literary writers who would use typewriters. And they would say it's sounds better. I feel more connected and stuff like that. So there might be people who really issue AI altogether. And say, hey, I'm a purist. I only use spell check, like, you know. It's just kind of like they only use typewriters but, you know, typewriters that erase or typewriters with the with the special ribbon that erase, not, like, really, really old school typewriters. Although some people might say, I don't even use spell check. I use a laptop and I send it to my editor exactly as I've always done. I see no reason to change. So AI, I'd certainly don't I'm certainly not in the camp that this will destroy us. As an industry, I am in the camp that it will look different in five years just kind of like our laptops look different. I didn't have Grammarly five years ago. I think maybe I just adopted Grammarly five years ago. And now I have all sorts of editing things I do within Grammarly. It my editing process looks a lot different. And so AI hopefully, will work as seamlessly with my process or my process will it will be a help to me, not a hindrance. I'm not a purist. I'm certainly open to whatever AI can do to make to enhance my natural talents just like I'd use a filter and tip top or, you know, a photo or use photoshop. For a cover. I'm fully you willing to adopt AI in that sense. I don't see any reason to have AI write a book for me because then what would be the point of being a writer as I intend to be a writer I am excited if someone is interested in having AI write a book and can manipulate it in that way and can like, kind of think of ways to use chat GPT in or any of these any of these products in ways that create works that are actually worth reading or are really, really good or really, really awesome to read. A, I don't think that will be an easy feat. So, like, you know, the idea of someone just being a lazy person who barely speaks whatever language that they're hoping to create a book in and just saying create a book and lazily make put in it to market and making tons of money and taking away all of our money. I don't think that's going to be the case. I think if someone does create this kind of AI book that people are kind of very so many people are kind of concerned about, I think it will require lots and lots of effort. In some ways, it will take longer than just writing a book with for most of us. And so I'm interested to see the results so far I've not read that I know are really, really completely written by prompt book, and I'd be interested to see a really, really good book where to buy prompts. I think if something like that is capable of going to market and becoming a huge, huge, huge best seller and the author admits to having done it, like, it will hopefully be a really, really, really, really, quote unquote, good. That means that It appeals to a wide audience. It is highly marketable. It is effective emotionally. It does what it's supposed to do. I think we're a while from that. I don't even know if someone maybe in five years, I would really love see it. I cannot predict that one way or the other. But if that does happen, I think it will be a huge amount of work on that person's part. Not the easy thing that people are suggesting it might be. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Theodora: To leave these in well written answer in written form because I do tend to ramble, but there's nothing that is allowing me to do that. So here's another long answer. How important is technology to once success as an in the author into the industry as a whole. I think technology is as important as it needs to be for the individual author. You know, obviously, there are authors who literally have so much organizational, brain organizational talent and that they could write a novel by hand, have someone else type it up and upload it, and be okay. And still make a living. And then there are authors who are really technologically savvy can say, hey, you know, I'm going to absolutely rapid release, and I'm going to do use technology to make myself more efficient, and I'm going to release at a pace that makes me as successful as the person with a huge amount of, I guess, you call it native talent. And we're going to have make equal amounts of money. Everybody kinda gets there in their own way. I say technology is as important as it needs to be to you as an individual you know, obviously, there are people who make a lot. The TikTok writers do really well. They kill it. There are tons of people on in making a lot of money just as much and more than some TikTok writers without being on TikTok. Or just because it matches because Jess is a de minimis of work that makes it sound like it was easy or because they're they've really done a work to make themselves familiar to audiences, or because they wrote up their amount Titok personally, but it was really appealing to people who were on Titok. So I don't think it has to be the be all and all, but I do love things like grammarly. I do love things like editing suites, Hemingway, all the new stuff that helps prowriting aid, all that awesome add those editing tools have been awesome. And like I said in further questions, I'm not great with check with AI. I don't mind AI. I think it will hopefully help anyone who I hope it will be of help to authors to assist to assist in their native talent just like, you know, I like that if you're not a film student who spent a quintillion dollars to go to New York University or one of or USC or one of the equivalent film schools that and but you have a lot of talent. Like, maybe you could be a director. You can't put together videos stuff like that that you can now make a career out of YouTube or TikTok and stuff like that. So I think it is as important as you wanted to be, if technologies have helped to you, yay, if if you don't like technology, I think you can still be very, very successful in this industry.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Steve: "Wide" distribution is really a misnomer meant to convey non-exclusivity to the dominant retailer. In reality, "wide" authors sell to just 3-5 relevant customers (retailers) rather than just one. Both situations are quite risky and leave authors with relatively little control over their career growth. Authors also have very little knowledge of who their customers actually are, because that information isn't shared by retailers. As more authors learn how to sell directly to their readers, bypassing the retailers altogether, Amazon exclusivity may become less popular. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Steve: "Wide" just means wholesaling to more than one distributor. I think many authors have experienced the serious drawbacks associated with purely wholesale channels. Many are switching to a retail model, where they sell directly to customers. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Steve: We've found in the AMMO community that selling directly to readers is ironically the most reliable way to increase wholesale revenue from the retailers as well (this is due to cross-channel marketing effects), and selling directly to readers also gives authors significantly more control and flexibility. As algorithmic policy enforcement at Amazon continues to produce baffling account terminations and the per-author share of the KU pie continues to dwindle for most authors, direct sales will likely be an increasingly attractive option. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Steve: The world's great novels will be written by AI. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Steve: It's indispensable. Web tech is how we sell books at scale. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Steve: Indie authors already have to be more than just writers. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Steve: Create a group (pref. NOT on SM) and show up daily to interact. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Steve: Community and connection are the indie author's 'secret weapon'

Authors understand the power of a strong launch, but describing OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT simply as “strong” feels like an understatement. In the first five days after an early demo of the generative AI chatbot released in late November 2022, the site had already amassed more than one million users, according to Forbes. That surge of popularity was just the start for the program and the age of generative AI technology it’s come to represent. In a little under a year, newer iterations of its large language model, GPT, and increased use of the tools overall have improved the quality of AI programs’ outputs, and the use of artificial intelligence has become even more widespread, filtering into nearly every industry—including publishing. “In the last six months, I've watched this move from a single prompt giving a coherent four hundred words to a coherent two thousand to three thousand words,” says Elizabeth Ann West, author and CEO of Future Fiction Academy. “And I'm not talking about a bunch of messy word salad with some coherent paragraphs here and there.” As with many creative industries, the explosion of AI has sparked mixed reactions among authors, with some embracing the programs and others sharing concerns about the ethics and legality of using their generated creations. “Storytellers will always find a way to tell their stories. But there are shortcuts that can speed the process,” writes author Tanya Hales. “To some people, that’s important. To others, the more natural, handmade process is more important.” The tools themselves have quickly become more advanced and capable as well, with authors who’ve incorporated them into their workflow using them for artwork, audiobooks, marketing materials, help with story generation, and more. And as many current legal debates have yet to come to definitive conclusions—policy debates have struggled to keep up with advancements in the programs and have often raised more questions than they’ve answered—many authors agree AI is here to stay. “We are only at the beginning of the opportunities of AI for wider society as well as for creativity and art, and it’s important that authors, writers, and other creatives be involved in order to shape the future as we want it to be,” said Joanna Penn, author and host of The Creative Penn, in a May 2023 episode of the podcast. “There are so many tools. And some will resonate with different people, especially those who value speed or who, due to disabilities or personal circumstances, benefit from extra writing aids,” Hales writes. “But there will always be those who want nothing more than a computer and a word processor. And neither choice is wrong.” Personally, I cannot use AI to write a book or even to cobble together a cohesive scene. I have tried, but the output is worse and takes three times longer to generate than if I’d simply written the words myself in the first place. And because I see AI’s value in its ability to save me time with specific tasks, I do not plan to invest time in learning beyond my own needs. Each individual author will have to figure out their own comfort level and learn accordingly. For those that are afraid of AI, I strongly recommend trying it out so you can laugh and cringe and maybe put some of that fear aside by looking at the current reality of the situation rather than worrying about the many possible futures—only one of which will actually come to be. Melissa Storm AI, used as a tool for empowerment, is going to increase access and equity in this industry. I think it also has the dual effect of being able to increase inequality and increase a lot of negative things in publishing. AI is going to decrease the cost of creation, which ultimately will open up the number of stories that could be told and the different backgrounds and voices that could be heard. I think that's really, really beautiful. And it'll also be able to start taking on a lot of the mundane things of being an author and a creative that we might not like as much. ... In reality, technology is social. Technology is a byproduct of human activity, human values, and human emotions. Michael Evans I draw a lot of parallels between AI and the automotive industry. Most people that wanted to move any distance where there wasn't a train took a horse, and even when you got there, you were likely to rely on horses for transportation. When cars first came out, a lot of people on horses would yell at people driving by cars saying, "Get a horse!" and [would] make all sorts of arguments as to why horses were better. Horse riding still exists, wagon making still exists, but they are niche industries that target much smaller needs and not general transportation. And I honestly feel like the same is going to be true for producing writing without AI. I think you can still do it. I just think that you'll either have to do it out of love and not expecting to make money or be targeting a super niche area, where people can charge a price that makes it worthwhile, worth the time it takes to make the product. Malorie Cooper When it comes to AI and how it will affect the publishing industry, I believe I have to preface this by saying, first, I am a marketer and an author, so therefore, I always look at things a bit differently. … Despite a lot of authors feeling that it may take their job or may dilute publishing in general, I think one of the things that they have to look at is how it can strengthen the author's journey, the author's creation process, the author’s publishing career in general. I think there has to be a balance where it's not being misused. And there are also going to be negatives, where it does impact authors negatively. But I think they also have to look at the positives, which is where they can put it to use, because it’s here to stay. Pierre Jeanty AI has the potential to open the market for disabled writers. S. J. Pajonas Everyone needs to learn how AI can help them in their business. ... Technology will never be as important as telling great stories. Damon Courtney AI doesn't scare me. It is a tool. I use so many tools to help my writing be better. And that's what I think of when I think of AI, is “How will it make me better?” … If you can take a tool and you can use that tool to make your art better, like if you use a better paintbrush, if you use a better hammer or a better drill, or if you have an instrument at its finest, a really fine instrument, that's what AI is. That's how I'm looking at it. This is an instrument that can make my art better, but I am the artist. I am wielding this thing. Ines Johnson I am in the camp that it will look different in five years, just kind of like our laptops look different. ... I just adopted Grammarly five years ago. And now I have all sorts of editing things I do within Grammarly. My editing process looks a lot different. And so AI, hopefully, will work as seamlessly with my process, or it will be a help to me, not a hindrance. I'm not a purist. I'm certainly open to whatever AI can do to enhance my natural talents, just like I'd use a filter on TikTok or use Photoshop. Theodora Taylor In five years’ time, [AI is] going to be the full instrument of production, where the idea is what gets put in and how you want that IP expressed, and it'll be able to produce for you a bunch of different options, and then you just choose which one is the best one. So I think AI is going to be our boom—basically the Industrial Revolution and how that hit manual labor. And then it's going to be on us to produce quality and luxury or this concept of what we're actually producing and why a consumer should care about that product, which is a book. … Because while the technology specifically about AI can produce a heck of a lot of content, it's absolute rubbish at actually being able to evaluate that content right now. And I think that even when it gets better at that, a human is still going to need to be that final say so, or we're just going to have stuff that doesn't really move the needle. Elizabeth Ann West In five years, virtually all covers will use at least some elements of generative art—with Photoshop having that baked in, I think more and more artists are going to begin using it. In terms of other uses, honestly, I'm not sure. I think we're going to see a divergence here, two sets of authors: one group focusing very, very hard on producing a whole bunch of content that's just good enough, and on the other end of the spectrum, another group of authors who is working to produce the best, most flawlessly targeted, best written-to-market, best “focused on exactly what the audience wants” literature that they can produce. And I don't think that there's room for those two streams to cross all that well. I think that those are going to be very divergent points of view and types of writing businesses. All that said, there's no reason why we can't use AI in both of them. It's just a matter of how it's being used. Kevin McLaughlin As generative AI development continues apace and new possibilities emerge every week, the focus of AI discussions in the author community has been centered around productivity gains and high-volume output; copyright, plagiarism and piracy; and the fear of losing the artistic human aspect of being an author. But there is much to be excited about if we can move past fear and doubt, and approach these tools with curiosity and a sense of wonder. We are only at the beginning of the opportunities of AI for wider society as well as for creativity and art, and it’s important that authors, writers, and other creatives be involved in order to shape the future as we want it to be. Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn podcast, "The AI Assisted Artisan Author" Some readers will be satisfied with books/art/media that are good enough, an enjoyable escape. They won't mind if their books are largely a product of AI. But others will crave a more human touch. They will long for human connections and will gravitate toward creators who develop those direct relationships with their readers. Tanya Hales In five years' time, we're going to normalize the use of AI tools just like we've normalized the use of speaking to devices in our home today, just like we've normalized the use of GPS when you're looking for people, just like we've normalized the adaptation of checking grammar in a Word document. It's going to be part and parcel of the way that we continue to work and grow and write and be inspired. We're going to be able to leverage these tools that are going to do a few simple things in ways we can't even imagine possible, which is what technology often does. Mark Leslie Lefebvre I use AI right now to help me with keywords, if I'm trying to find keywords for my books. I use it to help me with email subject lines. So if I'm going to send an email, [I'll ask] "What would be the best email to reach people about a new audiobook coming out?" And it will give me a bunch of different options. Written by Nicole Schroeder

**Indie Author Magazine**: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? **Sarra Cannon**: Having our books available in as many formats and as many places as possible will continue to be a successful strategy for a lot of authors. I believe more authors will begin to explore wide as the visibility and cost of advertising on Amazon becomes more of a challenge. I've always been wide, and I think there are so many paths to success that we'll continue to see it as a major strategy for decades to come. **Indie Author Magazine**: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? **Sarra Cannon**: I think it's already evolving! For a long time, most of us have seen wide simply as having our books available at all of the major retailers. Now, it's branching out into Kickstarter, direct sales, games, libraries, apps, and more. I think we'll see more multimedia collaborations, more merch and specialty items, and entire worlds of products and experiences branching out from popular series. I think we'll also see more niche platforms pop up for ebooks and serials. **Indie Author Magazine**: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? **Sarra Cannon**: I believe direct sales will continue to empower authors to think outside the box, build communities of readers, and expand their income streams. In return, I think this will inspire retailers to introduce more tools to help match the right readers with new authors. I also think we'll see a lot more author collaborations and niche communities that will help readers find the books and authors they're looking for, bypassing the retailers completely. It will be fun to see how it plays out. **Indie Author Magazine**: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? **Sarra Cannon**: In five years, I'd like to see AI being used as a powerful support system for authors, lifting all of us up and making our lives easier. I could see it being helpful for organizing series data, writing blurbs and taglines, and making our marketing easier. My biggest fear, though, is that it will be abused and as AI-created works flood the market, it will make visibility and discoverability more difficult, particularly for new authors. I think the use of AI will make connection and community in the bookish community more important than ever, and I have hope that by the time five years have passed, we'll have found a good balance there. **Indie Author Magazine**: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? **Sarra Cannon**: Technology is the key to our existence as indie authors, and the more tools that emerge to help us do our jobs, the more opportunities there will be. I believe new technologies will make it more and more possible to write in extremely niche subgenres and still find our exact ideal readers. While there's always a learning curve to adopting new technologies, I have faith that more and more tools for authors and readers will emerge over the next decade, making it possible for us to keep writing what we love and making good money doing it. **Indie Author Magazine**: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? **Sarra Cannon**: Transmedia excites me so much, because the possibilities are truly endless! Authors who are passionate about it and learn to do it well will thrive in their own way but there will always be a place for indie authors who are simply writing great stories. The bigger danger isn't that readers will demand it, but rather that a lot of authors will be distracted by the limitless possibilities of it and not be able to execute it in a successful way. **Indie Author Magazine**: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? **Sarra Cannon**: Community is one of my core values, and the best way I've found to do that is to share my passion for the story, connect with my readers as often as possible, and give them safe, friendly spaces where they can have fun and talk about books. I would tell any author looking to start building a powerful community to first think about how and where they show up best. Is it video? Livestreams? Newsletters? Blogs? Forum chats? How do you like to interact with friends? Where do you feel like you shine outside of your books? Lean in on those strengths and don't try to build on every single platform at the same time. **Indie Author Magazine**: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? **Sarra Cannon**: Gone are the days when most authors can simply hand off a manuscript to a publisher and go back into the writing cave. Indie authors in particular will almost always benefit from real connections with readers. As AI takes on a prominent role in the industry and picture-perfect influencers make us feel like outsiders on social media, I believe authenticity and community will become the most powerful tools we have outside of our stories. The more a reader sees that we're human and in many ways, just like them, the more they will feel like they're truly a part of something. In a world where so many people feel disconnected, I believe these types of reader communities, linked to the worlds we create, will change lives and make a major difference in our world. This is what I've most wanted to do with my fiction, and I'm excited for what the future holds.

When the two of us started the Writer MBA, a company built to train authors on the ins and outs of the publishing industry, we knew we wanted to share the news with as many authors as we could. Our launch for the business was big and bold, as we were trying to drum up interest, excitement, and investment in the project all at once. It nearly led Monica to burnout. We’d launched the company using Kickstarter, something that Russell was accustomed to using for other projects. As a natural launcher with strong seasonality, he built his business by ignoring retailers and favoring in-person events or hosting Kickstarter campaigns. Monica worked in the near opposite way—by drip, drip, dripping content and maintaining strong boundaries around time for research and experimentation. Our differences at the time were the start of a larger realization. Now, after helping thousands of authors build more sustainable businesses over a combined twenty-five years, we’ve discovered the key to how we, and other authors we’ve worked with, can find success without burning out. The answer? It depends on the ecosystem you’ve built. Our observations distilled into five unique publishing archetypes that can explain how each of us best writes, markets, and grows our career. In April 2023, we mapped these archetypes onto five ecosystem biomes—desert, grassland, tundra, forest, and aquatic—to provide an easy-to-visualize metaphor for each type. We also identified healthy and unhealthy habits and developed guidance to foster a sustainable author career using strategies that align with your natural strengths. Like any true ecosystem, everything in your author ecosystem must align with the environment you’ve created in order to thrive, and we believe focusing on marketing actions that work with your natural tendencies may be the surest path toward success as an indie author. So what’s your author ecosystem? Read on to learn more about the five ecosystems we’ve identified and decide where you fit, or take the official quiz at https://authorecosystem.com. The author who adapts between oases Superpowers: spotting trends before others, producing books that readers are excited about, making business decisions within writing the book Challenges: writing generic books, building brand loyalty, chasing trends that readers abandon Examples of Deserts: Dan Brown, William Shakespeare, Suzanne Collins, Michael Anderle, James Hunter, Martha Carr Deserts are masterful at market research and trends and often are able to study the market and find pockets of underserved readers. More importantly, they are nimble and can pivot to that underserved market quickly. Deserts tend to create products that are right in the middle of the market. If witches are more popular than angels, then their main character is a witch. If a male captain is more popular than a female captain, then the character is male. In doing this, they create stories that hit the market or trend dead-on. Deserts tend to write and release quickly—usually every few months. This allows them to stay both fluid and flush with resources. Hungry readers demand their stories now, and deserts are usually the type that is willing and able to deliver. Deserts are good at finding groups of people who are already looking for something specific. This type is best suited to join other communities or read other book reviews to see what readers are asking for. They are also more likely than other types to gravitate toward heavy advertising. Because they've made a marketable product, they can usually see quite a bit of success with their targeting, especially when they target specific genres and comparable authors or books. The author who weaves hundreds of blades of grass into a few trees Superpowers: persisting on one area of focus, creating the best of the best in the niche, repositioning themselves in the market again and again Challenges: perfectionism, exploring too widely, getting things done on deadline Examples of Grasslands: Terry Pratchett, Cassandra Clare, George R.R. Martin, M.D. Cooper, Laura Greenwood, Monica Leonelle Grasslands are good at feeling out trends and matching them to their interests, and they often go deep into one thing. Their commitments are often long-term—sometimes even lifelong—and they want to be sure that one thing is worth committing to. Grasslands are vertical business builders, and even when they have multiple interests, they operate these interests in silos, usually starting multiple companies rather than uniting everything under one brand. Because they are willing to go deeper and explore longer in one area than other types, they are often considered to be among the greats in their chosen specialty. Grasslands tend to be content machines, whether that means writing a ton of books in a series, posting regularly to social media, or creating more long-form content like serialization. They are the type of people who can produce endless content on the same story, genre, niche, or topic. Audiences are loyal to grasslands once they understand what they are doing. Grasslands tend to get people invested in their niche over time, by putting pennies in the bank as they release content consistently over several years to build their expertise in a space. The author who works in seasons Superpowers: launching, getting people excited, directing attention to themselves and their work Challenges: getting stuck in a feast-and-famine cycle, predicting the size of launches, building audience Examples of Tundras: Tim Ferriss, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Paulo Coelho, Rick Riordan, Melanie Harlow, Russell Nohelty When tundras create content and products, they think in projects and do everything they can to get the biggest bang for their efforts. They want every project to hit its financial ceiling during the launch, knowing that afterward, they can be pretty much done with marketing it. Tundras are seasonal. At their healthiest, they have a time for creation, a time for audience-building, and a time for launching. Some tundras can get this down to two seasons by doing some automation and systemization around their audience-building. But at the beginning of their careers, they tend to ramp up these three things quickly in order to establish themselves and what they are trying to do. Everything is a project to a tundra, and finding an audience is no different. A tundra is the most likely type to go from zero to five thousand people—subscribers, followers, backers, friends, supporters, patrons, whatever—in a short period. Tundras scale faster when they connect all their disparate projects under one brand—and we often see tundras who reduce down to one pen name after finding something that they can go all in on. This type sees its backlist as either an audience builder or a launch stacker to help make the biggest splash possible when then hit the launch button. The author who steadily waters multiple trees Superpowers: injecting their personalities into their books, high competency and skill stacking, nurturing every project consistently Challenges: watering things long past when they should have quit, getting one series to flower before moving to the next, writing to market, letting go of aspects of their business Examples of Forests: Brandon Sanderson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dean Koontz, Colleen Hoover, Neil Gaiman, RJ Blain, Claire Taylor, Skye MacKinnon Written by Monica Leonelle

A theme park that immerses fans in the world of a favorite movie. A board game or video game adapted from an existing story world. A fictional character’s favorite T-shirt made in real life for fans to purchase. Although the term “transmedia storytelling” may be unfamiliar to some, the concept is nothing new. Transmedia narratives use multiple mediums to tell a more complete story. Unlike adaptations, which retell an existing story in a new medium, transmedia allows for creatives to explore new areas of an existing world, expanding upon the setting or fleshing out characters beyond what’s already on the page. For independent authors, the practice can offer more than just creative storytelling opportunities. “In a world where everyone is hungry for more (and more, and more) content, employing a transmedia strategy allows you to expand your IP into multiple income streams that have the potential to reach different audiences—plus it’s simply fun to take such an expansive approach to your fictional worlds and stories,” writes author Ember Casey. Two different ideas exist for how to approach transmedia, called “East Coast,” which deepens existing stories, and “West Coast,” which broadens the world beyond what readers might encounter in one medium. Both can be effective for connecting a wider array of readers with your projects and turning your current readers into superfans, according to Kristine Kathryn Rusch. “As writers, we create more than products,” Rusch wrote in a July 2023 blog post on kriswrites.com. “We create stories that people get lost in, stories that mean so much more to people than we the authors do. That’s something important to remember.” Of course, transmedia storytelling can benefit authors from a business perspective too. Although many authors, including Casey, agree it likely won’t be required for an author to find success in the future, the concept offers another avenue for marketing your work and fostering brand recognition—both of which can pay dividends. “There are many paths for indie authors these days—which means I don’t believe that any one strategy is required for success—but I do believe that authors who stop defining themselves as ‘writers’ and start seeing themselves as ‘storytellers’ will see their opportunities (and creative projects) expand,” Casey writes. “And those who expand their IP across different forms of media will find their businesses more resilient to industry fluctuations in the long run.” Do what you do, and do it well. End of story. All the extras can be fun and attention-grabbing, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is to write the books you love. Readers will see that passion and join in. If you want to add in merch and audio and stage plays and interpretive dances (I kid!), do it wholeheartedly and the most enthusiastic readers will follow you there. If you’d rather just focus on the books, then do that. There are literally no musts or shoulds in the business, but there’s an awful lot of flexibility for those who like doing backflips and cartwheels all the way to the bank. Melissa Storm Authors can lean into what we do best and create great stories and use our imaginations. But those stories now can be used and converted to these different media formats, in fascinating ways. And I also think there's a huge role now for people to collaborate with other creatives. … In this sort of West Coast vs. East Coast mindset, I think there's one opportunity we talk quite frequently about this industry going deeper with the superfans, providing them more interesting things. But at the same time, readers love to read, and I don't see a world where people stop reading fiction and wanting prose, wanting the audio. Not everything needs to be a movie, which is why I think the transmedia opportunity of anything presents an opportunity where you might not be able to get your book adapted to an official Hollywood movie or this or that, but you can create a version of your intellectual property as sort of offspring of what you're doing in the form of a comic book, in the form of a YouTube video that can attract more fans to your overall brand and stories and characters. Michael Evans I feel like a lot of indie authors are already doing this—obviously expanding in both the East Coast and the West Coast way. I think that the East Coast way is much more common, where you provide additional content for people to dive into … to provide more information. But I really do feel like the best, the really big advantage of the West Coast version of transmedia … is that you get a bigger return because your superfans will go and consume all these mediums. And honestly, most of these additional mediums are not freebies. They have some sort of revenue stream built into them. And on top of that, each of these different transmedia mediums that you go wide with the West Coast versions, you can go deep, so you can have divergent or nested storylines in content across these other mediums that you would normally be able to get in the same volume as you could if you went just deep and not wide first. Malorie Cooper Many authors won't need more to survive, but more will allow them to leverage, to gain new audiences, to pretty much just establish themselves a bit more. Again, it's not having your eggs in one basket. It's just exploring all of the options available to you and whichever one can you can cross over to offer more to your audience because it's all going to be brand loyalty and brand recognition that will allow more growth as all marketing and social media platforms get more competitive. Pierre Jeanty Storytellers, regardless of medium, will rule the world. S. J. Pajonas I feel like, a lot of times, people see books as some mystical thing that's unique and doesn't get produced in the same way other properties do, and it always kind of blows my mind. And I think it's very smart to be looking at other industries and the ways they're evolving and connecting with their audiences. Brandon Sanderson My books are on a serialized website. My books have been turned into webcomics. You know, some people are doing television, some people are doing audio plays and podcasts. So wide to me means, "What new opportunity can I use to get my story out there?" And that's what I think authors need to think about. "How many different ways can I get my story out there?" Ines Johnson I'm excited about transmedia. Will indie authors ever need to be more than just writers to survive in this industry? I don't think so. There are plenty of seven-figure writers who do it with books alone, but transmedia will help you get to seven figures and if you do it right, you can absolutely thrive in ways that might feed you outside of books. If you want to produce other kinds of works and see your books as other kinds of things, that would absolutely help your business, and it will obviously mean that you make more money if you do transmedia in a way that increases your profit margins and gets more people interested in the books. Theodora Taylor I've seen fantasy authors ... create entire card games for their story world and everything like that. So anything that gets people interacting with the story world in between book releases I think is a really great way to keep your story world alive. And I also think that indie authors are going to need to do that in order to survive in the industry because, as we all know, it's tougher and tougher these days to just write a book, release it, and hope that that's going to make enough money. The algorithms are tougher than ever. And there's just more competition. When I started off in indie writing, we had less than a million books in the store. Now there's many more—there's over a million published every single year. And so I think that transmedia serves your readership by giving them great quality content to interact with your story world. And then that also works as a marketing endeavor because it produces a bunch of different channels for people to come to know you and your product line. Elizabeth Ann West As new tools make it easier for us to do transmedia, it's going to become increasingly important for us to look into that sort of thing. It's not like it's going to be essential—I don't think there's really very much that's essential for a writer to do except write stories. But I think there will certainly be a lot of opportunities for doing things like making our own movies, making our own soundtracks. … Boy, there are so many different opportunities out there for us to explore. And as the technology makes this stuff more and more accessible, it's just going to explode, I think. Kevin McLaughlin Indie authors already have to be more than just writers. Steve Pieper I think the definition of wide is all-encompassing, honestly … but that it's also easy to miss the breadth of possibilities out there. A lot of authors take wide to mean “on all the retailer platforms.” I'm seeing an increasing move in the publishing world toward cracking open the next level, which includes direct sales and storefronts, using platforms like Kickstarter, and also starting to think about your IP as more than just e-books or plain print editions. Serialization, gamification, audio, fancy illustrated special editions, StoryBundles, subscriber book boxes, multimedia, graphic novels, screenplays—the possibilities are out there and expanding as new technologies hit the publishing world. Anthea Sharp And if you're an indie author, you are an indie publisher, meaning you've taken all the responsibilities of that publisher on top of the writing itself. So, of course, there's way more already to surviving successfully as a writer. Transmedia is just the opportunity for writers to license their work well beyond the book. The book is yet one aspect of the IP that comes from a writer's imagination. I've already licensed books to publishers, the same content in a different manner outside of the contract with the publisher to other forms of media and apps. I've already leveraged tools like this, and I know I'm going to continue to, and other writers out there are going to continue to find ways to exploit their IP. Mark Leslie Lefebvre Previous Next

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Becca Syme: Like anything, I think there will be people who will be successful wide and there will be people who can't make wide work. Wide is not the "answer" but it's also not wrong. There is no morality attached to being wide or not wide. But I think wide will likely always be a viable option. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Becca Syme: Oh yes, I feel like anything that isn't Amazon will continue to expand. We are nothing if not creative, as a group, and I anticipate that we'll continue to proliferate the definition of "wide" publishing. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Becca Syme: People who are very motivated to run their own businesses will especially love the control of direct. But I think a lot of people who are not built to run a big business (with a lot of moving parts) are going to get really overwhelmed and struggle. And I think some people will end up flaming out completely in trying to do all the things... which direct sales is ripe for. (It's totally subjective, of course, like everything.) Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Becca Syme: Because the industry is too big... we need to belong somewhere.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Malorie Cooper: I believe that publishing wide will become more and more important as indie authors shift from relying on the retailers to sell their books and engage in more direct-sales opportunities. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Malorie: I think this has already occurred. Wide still means "not in KU", but it has shifted from opening up sales on the other retailers to enabling authors to direct sell via systems like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, their own sites, and via co-ops. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Malorie: I believe we are on the cusp of a sea-change surrounding how digital assets are distributed and sold to customers. I don't have a (functional, yet) crystal ball, but I would wager that in 5 years, the traditional retailers will be far less important to book sales. In 10 years, they may be largely irrelevant as direct sales systems mature and book advertising improves. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Malorie: I draw a lot of parallels between AI and the automotive industry. Before the automotive industry came along, most people that wanted to move any distance where there wasn't a train took a horse, and even when you got there, you were likely to rely on horses for transportation. When cars first came out, there was an uproar in industries potentially affected by them. Similarly, I think producing writing without AI will become niche. People might still do it out of love or for targeting niche areas, where the time investment can be justified. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Malorie: Technology is immensely important. Without it, we would need scribes or would be relying on outdated methods for book production. We've democratized access to technology, allowing more people to share their stories. This opens up a world of storytelling capacity that was once restricted to a privileged few. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Malorie: Many indie authors already expand their reach through transmedia. The East Coast model of providing additional content and the West Coast model of reaching audiences across multiple mediums both offer value. Superfans consume across these mediums, creating new streams of revenue and enriching the narrative experience. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Malorie: Prebuilt locations like social media are great for community building, with Facebook groups being popular. Platforms like Discord are growing for community and author-reader interaction. Building one-on-one connections through newsletters and social media posts is also powerful in fostering relationships with readers. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Malorie: Community builds superfans, who are invaluable as advertising tools. They consume all your content and bring others to it, driving organic growth. This type of growth is sustainable and beneficial in the long term.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Damon Courtney: While Amazon's exclusive Kindle Unlimited platform has been great for a lot of authors, it's also a magnet for scammers and people who just want to make a quick buck. That is only going to accelerate as the AI tools that are coming online start to really ramp up.I don't know how much the other platforms like Apple, Google, and Kobo will play into the mix, but being able to reach your audience directly (a la Brandon Sanderson) will only grow in importance. Having your own reader list and learning how to reach those readers directly will be the key to long-term author success. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Damon: Probably not for the authors who've been around a while. For a lot of authors, wide will still mean having your ebooks available on more than one retailer.Even big authors who are exclusive to Amazon right now are starting to experiment more with other ways of reaching readers. Patreon, Kickstarter, Radish, Royal Road, direct sales. But, they wouldn't say they are "wide".Wide might come to mean more to newer authors, but the old guard will still think of it as Amazon Exclusive vs. Other Stores thing. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Damon: Speaking as BookFunnel, direct sales for authors is growing like crazy. What we've seen is that most readers love their favorite authors a lot more than they love their publisher or platform.Whether it's via Kickstarter, Patreon, or their own store, more authors are trying out selling direct to readers. And, with every reader who buys direct from an author, the whole pie grows for all indie authors.It may take time to change reader behaviors, but it's already accelerating because of how many authors are jumping into the direct-sales waters. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Damon: Everyone needs to learn how AI can help them in their business. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Damon: Technology will never be as important as telling great stories. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Damon: Learn how to reach your readers directly. Own that relationship.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Dan Wood: We've been in a time of great upheaval in the book market with so many opportunities for indie authors over the past decade. As authors begin to take a longer view of their careers, I am confident they will recognize the long-term value of library discoverability in building lifelong fans and reject options that prohibit that. Beyond that, wide publishing will continue to grow as more retailers and subscription services enter the market and as new tools enable authors to sell directly to their most dedicated fans. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Dan Wood: As a community, we've failed to fully define what wide fully means now, and technology is rapidly advancing. In the summer of 2023, wide means you can bring a book to market in all current formats, in most of the world's languages, and be available for sale to nearly anyone in the world. That doesn't mean as a business that it makes sense to do so, but having such options is unprecedented at any time since the book industry began. Technology is at the heart of this, and will give more people access to all of these opportunities. Will technology bring us more formats? I'm sure it will. It is hard to predict what nature storytelling might take place in virtual environments or with augmented reality. Technologies like large language models and blockchain might enable the legal reforms and record keeping necessary to easily license IP and ensure the owner of that IP is compensated properly. These innovations will come from the new players and will by necessity be available first to those who are available wide. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Dan Wood: Direct sales will be an extra incentive to be non-exclusive, but I am skeptical it will change the industry a great deal. The majority of readers will continue to want to purchase and discover books on their preferred platforms that they are comfortable with. The real opportunity for authors is that ability to have a closer relationship with their most loyal fans. What we've seen play out in other creator communities such as video streaming and music will continue to grow in the book world. Savvy authors and publishers will offer special editions of their books, merchandise, and more and their fans will love it. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Dan Wood: AI will provide more people opportunities in publishing. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Dan Wood: Technology is what allowed the indie movement to happen. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Dan Wood: No, but some who pursue transmedia will find great success. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Dan Wood: We need each other to navigate all the changes in our industry.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Dean Wesley Smith: It is everything. Going with only one store with exclusive rights is just bad business. Go with as many stores around the world as you can get into. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Dean Wesley Smith: Wide might eventually mean not only selling in every bookstore you can around the world, but selling products in your own store, as well as your own books. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Dean Wesley Smith: Direct publishing will be critical to the future of any writer going forward. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Dean Wesley Smith: I think it is theft and will be pushed into the background.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Ember Casey: I strongly believe the future of publishing is wide – and more specifically, that it stretches beyond the traditional book retailers where most of us initially built our careers. My backlist has found a second life these last few years on serial fiction apps—platforms that weren’t even on my radar (and some of which didn’t even exist) even a few years ago. With the constant changes in our technologies, the way people read is shifting, and the ways readers buy books are constantly evolving, resulting in new and non-traditional ways for authors to share their stories with readers. While I don’t believe that traditional books (or the ways people currently read or buy them) are going to disappear, we’re in a period of publishing where there are more ways than ever to get our work out there, and being wide puts us in a position to experiment with new platforms that could take our careers in directions we never imagined. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Ember Casey: I believe the idea of publishing “wide” is already evolving beyond its initial meaning, which focused primarily on ebooks and traditional ebook retailers. Authors are recognizing that their stories—their IP—can take many forms and reach readers (or listeners, or consumers of any type) in multiple ways, on multiple platforms beyond the big booksellers, continuing to take on new life and reach new audiences. The “book” is not the product—the story is, and there are so, so many ways for us to share stories these days. We’re already seeing shifts in publication strategies—for example, the authors who first publish their stories via a subscription platform (like Patreon or Ream), serial fiction platforms (like Kindle Vella or Radish), or Kickstarter before ever launching their book on the usual retailers. And I think we’re going to continue to see different and bigger shifts as new platforms and technologies emerge, and as we (as a culture) create new ways of sharing and consuming content. When we recognize that the value lies in our stories, not simply our books, so many possibilities open up for us as authors. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Ember Casey:While I haven’t personally delved into direct sales yet, I think this trend could dramatically shift the industry. When we as authors are no longer reliant on any single retailer to make a living, it opens up the door for creativity—both in the stories we tell and the way we run our businesses. We’re no longer at the point where there’s only “one true way” to make a good living in this industry, and direct sales will offer even more opportunities for us.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Pierre: It’s necessary. Putting all your eggs in one basket in the current state of publishing is scary. People are more loyal to brands and even authors currently. Hence why so many social media platforms are incentivizing influencers. This is making them more loyal as well to where they shop. Authors not having their books available everywhere, especially on their own website, are losing those who are more loyal to convenience than themselves. Some people buy books anywhere, some buy it in particular places, you need to be available to all. Besides, diversification is often more helpful than detrimental. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Pierre: I believe so. I believe you will see authors diving more into direct-to-consumer utilizing platforms such as Shopify. E-commerce in itself is growing, and countless businesses are focusing on having their own direct space for their buyers and prioritizing data and community in a competitive and expensive market. In order to get the best return on marketing, I believe authors will need to consider going to e-commerce. I’m a bit biased because I switch to selling to my customer directly myself, but I think it’s where publishing is heading. Every type of artist can definitely have more control of their art and supporters now and going forward. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Pierre: Interesting enough I mentioned it in the previous question. Direct or direct-to-consumer is here to stay and will become a preferred choice more and more in the industry. It will also help a lot of authors mature in the realm of business or strengthen their perspective on business. Having more control, more return while also performing well in all the previous retailers is ideal. I believe it’s here to stay and many who commit to figuring it out will see the benefits of it more and more. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Pierre: When it comes to AI and its effect or how it will affect the publishing industry, I believe I have to preface this by saying, first, I am a marketer and an author. So therefore, I always look at things a bit differently. Always look at how it comes into the landscape, how long it's going to stay, and whether I need to be on board, and to get results, I have to say, AI—despite a lot of authors feeling that it may take their job or may, you know, dilute publishing in general—but I think one of the things that they have to look at is how it can strengthen the author's journey, the author's creation process, the author's, you know, just publishing career in general. I think there has to be a balance where it's not being misused and also don't want to be negative where it does impact authors negatively. But I think they also have to look at the positive and where they can put it to use because it's here to stay. A lot of people have implemented it. So authors can't say, no. I hate to stay away from this more. How can I accept this and implement this with file, you know, using it to harm other authors or harm myself, but staying true to what I do and staying true to my content? Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Pierre: Technology is very important when it comes to the success of an author. You think about just, you know, even just the ebook concept. Just as technology advanced and we're able to create ebooks now allows a lot of authors, I mean, a lot of readers to get access to authors' books and content a bit quicker and read faster and so forth. As technology is advancing, I believe it makes the author's, you know, life easier in terms of the delivery of their product, for instance, going direct. I've been going direct since two thousand fourteen while I was selling to my woocommerce. And I didn't have much option for print on demand or just different things, different parts of automation when it comes to email and everything else versus now—about ten years later—you know, I'm happily going direct because there's an e-commerce platform that has way better technology with, there's a POD system, which is the technology I've improved. The automation from when the customer made the purchase and the emails and the flows and everything else is just a bit easier. So technology helps you become successful because then it's all about how well can I get my end product to the consumer or how well can I market it to the potential reader, and that's where technology plays a big part. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Pierre: Many authors won't need more to survive, but more will allow them to leverage to gain new audiences, to pretty much just establish themselves a bit more. So it's whether, again, it's not having your eggs in one basket. It's just exploring all of the options available to you and whichever one you can pretty much cross over to offer more to your audience because it's all going to be brand loyalty. And actually, brand recognition that will allow more growth as all marketing and social media platforms get more competitive. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Pierre: When it comes to building a community and the industry, I'm going to be biased as a person who sells directly and even helps other authors sell direct. Simply because I see how easier it is. When you sell direct, you get a chance to collect customer data, you get the email, but you're getting information of people who have supported you and are true friends or so that they are true friends. And in that space, once you have an email list of those who really support you, then you get a chance to build however you can. This is where, for instance, you could utilize that to go to build a text community. You could utilize that to build a subscription model. You can utilize that to find different or build a space where you just interact with your readers and provide more for them. So the idea is to go after the true readers, the true supporters, the true fans, and build a community worth that. But authors are going to need more community more than anything because I'll keep referencing that. Social media is getting more when they have engagement becoming tough to do marketing. So authors cannot just rely on organic or just paid marketing is going to be enough. They have to find different ways of leveraging community. It's going to be very important. But who you put in your community is going to be the most important. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Pierre: Because without community, you will have a hard time swimming in a market that is oversaturated. In a market or even just the golden ages are gone. Social media is not just posted online and now all your readers find you; you have to do way more to find them because there's a lot more people competing for those people's attention. And there are a lot more platforms, especially, let's say, in two thousand fourteen, when I started, it was just Instagram and Facebook. And then, you know, Snapchat was coming around, but now you have Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, threads. Obviously, you have Twitter. Twitter was there before. You have TikTok out there so much more that you are competing for people's attention and you have to find a place to isolate them and, you know, they know they could come to this place to really focus on your content and you're really focused on the delivery and that's going to be crucial to a lot of people's success. A lot of indie authors' success.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Ines Johnson: Wow. So I was talking and it wasn't recording. I kinda said some brilliant stuff, so I don't know if I can repeat it. I basically said that I don't like to be pigeonholed. I like to try new things. I don't like to be limited to one platform, one publisher, or even just traditional publishing. If I did that, it wouldn't be the only thing I did. I like to experiment with new formats because the world is changing so fast. Holding yourself too narrowly can lead to missed opportunities and readers. That's not something I'm interested in. But I do only write romance, so I am narrowly focused in that way. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of "wide" will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Ines Johnson: For me, I already define "wide" differently. I think when people say "wide," they just think of platforms outside of Amazon, but I don't see it that way. My books are on a serialized website and have been turned into web comics. Some are doing television, audio plays, and podcasts. So "wide" to me means exploring new opportunities to get my story out there. Authors should think about how many different ways they can reach readers. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Ines Johnson: Direct publishing gives greater control over titles and royalties. But here's the thing: many authors are creators and just want to create art. Direct sales require a business mindset—looking at data, testing, and evolving. Not every artist can or wants to do that. Some artists are brilliant but can't handle the business side. I think those who want the direct impact on readers but don't want to manage it themselves will hire others. Platforms like Patreon show the demand for direct connections without a middleman. I think the industry will offer opportunities for agents or managers to assist these authors. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Ines Johnson: AI is a tool and doesn't scare me. It helps make my writing better. While some think AI weakens them or takes something away, I see it as a way to enhance my craft. How can it improve my writing or ad copy? It's like using a better tool to craft something better. I hope in five years, AI will be commonplace, much like how indie publishing has become standard over the past decade. I focus on using tools to improve my art, so I'm not afraid. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Ines Johnson: Technology is crucial to my success as an indie author. Ten years ago, sending manuscripts by mail wasn't effective. Now, as a one-woman band, I reach people I couldn't before. Technology allows me to produce and distribute content widely. I applaud technology for all it does. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Ines Johnson: I use cost-per-click ads and social media to find new readers. Identifying yourself through technology and social media allows for expansive network-building. I leverage Facebook ads to reach audiences who appreciate my work. For authors, attending writing retreats helps build community. These events foster learning and connection with peers. Sharing knowledge enhances growth for everyone involved. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Ines Johnson: In indie publishing, community is everything. Unlike traditional publishing's New York hub, indie authors support each other. As the saying in the Twenty Books to Fifty K community goes, "A rising tide lifts all boats." We help one another, share information, and work collaboratively. The negativity often highlighted is rare because the community is naturally supportive. Indie publishing thrives due to this collective spirit. If traditional publishing had embraced this approach, they might be in a stronger position today. That's why community is vital in indie publishing.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a future in the publishing industry? Well, publishing wide is what the publishing industry has always been about. It's always been looking forward. It's always been looking for new ways to get writing and books and reading into the hands of more readers. You went from papyrus and scrolls to movable type and Gutenberg by printing books. You moved into larger formats that had better distribution, such as mass market, making books more affordable to the masses. And then, of course, with the launch of the Kindle and ebook readers, ebooks became more affordable than ever before and available to the broadest audience globally ever in the history of publishing. So how could wide not play a huge role in the future of this industry? Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: The definition of wide to me has always meant way more than the simple debate of kind of unlimited versus the other four or five major retailers. Publishing wide to me has always included numerous opportunities available to writers beyond just the in the author sphere. That includes traditional publishing, but it also includes opportunities for writers that come up via various social and digital media. I've already licensed my rights to VoiceMap, which is an app that is a guided walking tour. Story City is another one created by an indie author herself where you can engage in storytelling in exciting new ways based on GPS and geolocation. That's just the beginning of what the possibility is when you think about what truly wide can mean. It can mean way beyond just thinking about ebooks and just thinking about a single giant book seller online. Wide publishing and wide writing and taking advantage of wide opportunities means reaching for great new things and experimenting and constantly pushing the boundaries the way indie authors always have. So yeah, wide and publishing are going to continue to expand and discover things we can't even think about today. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: There's no doubt that selling direct brings authors direct control, direct access, more direct things than they've ever imagined possible. But I see the growth of direct selling as yet another opportunity. I'm a big fan of Mitch Joel. He's a Canadian digital marketing guru; you may consider him Canada's Seth Godin. Mitch has a book called "Six Pixels of Separation." He has a podcast of the same name, a long-running podcast that I highly recommend. And something Mitch said years ago that I really do believe is that everything is with, rather than instead of. So new technologies and new opportunities open up, it doesn't necessarily remove the other opportunities. It just adds to them. So selling direct is going to add to it. There may be consumers that are never comfortable purchasing directly from authors. There may be readers that are more comfortable getting stuff from libraries. There may be readers that are more comfortable just purchasing on the retailer where they've always purchased their books, whether it's a local independent bookstore that they order books through, whether it's an online retailer, etc. That's always gonna change and always gonna evolve. What's gonna happen as direct selling becomes more and more popular is it's gonna open up that opportunity for other authors. What's also going to likely happen is companies are going to produce tools that are gonna help authors. The way that BookFunnel allows authors direct sales and the ability to provide content for free via newsletter subscriptions, etc., companies like BookFunnel and others out there are going to create tools that will help enable authors whether the author is truly comfortable with the technology or whether the author needs some assistance. So there's gonna be various levels of tools available for authors. What does that mean to the industry? It means there's more opportunities for people to build things and grow. More opportunities for readers to be comfortable buying direct, which means more authors will have the opportunity to sell direct, but that is not going to destroy the retail platforms. Yes, they're gonna change and grow and evolve just as shopping in general has changed and grown and evolved in my fifty-four years over the years of local stores and shopping malls, giant box stores and mom and pop operations, etc., including the growth of online selling, which is what we're looking at maybe twenty-five years or so of proper online selling. So, yes, direct sales are going to add to the industry. They're gonna give more opportunities, not just for authors, not just for publishers, but more opportunities for companies in general who are looking to assist those entities with their writing and publishing needs. Indie Author Magazine: With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years' time? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: AI, like any new technology, is widely debated as a hot button topic. Right now, people are up in arms about it. They're fighting over it. They're terrified. And change brings that. That's understandable that people are afraid. They're afraid of the Amazon algorithm changing. They're afraid of AI. They're afraid of what I've built. These things that I've built as an indie author can be changed, can be taken away. I actually predict that there's gonna be a lot of scammers, just like there always are scammers every time a new technology comes out who think that writing is a quick buck. It's not a quick buck. It's hard-earned, blood, sweat, and tears. Yes, even for indie authors, there's still a significant amount of work because a hundred authors can do all the right things, do all the perfect things, produce the best possible content, and yet maybe ten of them are gonna find huge success. While the rest, just like in traditional publishing, may flower in midlist realm. It's always hard work. And so those scammers and crackpots and those people who ruin it for everyone are gonna come and they're gonna go. In five years' time, we're gonna normalize the use of AI tools, just like we've normalized the use of speaking to devices in our homes today, just like we've normalized the use of GPS, just like we've normalized the adaptation of checking grammar in a word document. It's going to be part and parcel of the way that we continue to work and grow and write and be inspired. We're gonna be able to leverage these tools in ways we can't even imagine possible that are going to do a few simple things, which is what technology often does. Horse and buggy, walking, car, airplanes, boats—all of those things that are vehicular transportation. The same sort of parallels will be happening in writing. Maybe writers who struggle with particular elements of writing are gonna be able to leverage some of these tools to assist them, whether they're stuck with writer's block or whether it's some other aspect of writing that they've always had challenges with. It's gonna enable writers to produce better quality content, and it's not going to get rid of editors. Writers still need that human developmental style. They still need feedback from other humans. So AI is gonna continue to assist writers, and some writers are gonna be able to adapt it into their process just like I learned to write by hand, then I learned to write on a manual typewriter, then I learned to use a word processor. Indie Author Magazine: How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: How important is technology to an indie author's success or to the industry as a whole? How isn't it important? Technology has always been one of those powerful forces in publishing that has continued to move it forward to the next level. Technology has always allowed the growth of readership, the growth of the possibilities for authors, and the growth into bold new frontiers. Think about this. Without the ebook, indie authors would not have the lives that they have to this day. And that doesn't even go back twenty years. Technology is perhaps one of the most critical aspects that's going to continue to grow the publishing industry. And as indie authors continue to leverage it, much better than many publishers who still haven't even embraced that last big technological expansion, the ebook. Technology is going to maintain its popularity, perhaps second only to the value and the importance of authors themselves. Indie Author Magazine: What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: What does transmedia mean for author success? And will authors have to be more than just writers in order to survive in the business? Well, let's be honest, that's already the case. There was a day not that long ago, not that many decades ago when all the writer had to do was pound out their manuscript on a typewriter, submit it to a publisher, sit back, and do it all again. Well, those days are gone. Even if you're traditional publishing, you have to take so much more into your own hands for promotion, etc. And if you're an indie author, you are an indie publisher, meaning you've taken all the responsibilities of that publisher on top of the writing itself. So, of course, there's way more already to surviving successfully as a writer. Transmedia is just the opportunity for writers to license their work well beyond the book. The book is yet one aspect of the IP that comes from a writer's imagination. I've already licensed books to publishers, the same content in a different manner, outside of the contract with the publisher to other forms of media and apps. I've already leveraged tools like this, and I know I'm gonna continue to, and other writers out there are gonna continue to find ways to exploit their IP. It can be, we think of social media, we think of video, we think of audio. There's games and toys and cards and all kinds of other media that's related to storytelling. Look at Star Wars. Look at Lego Star Wars, look at the games available, video games, board games, cards, all kinds of things that have transcended the media of just that story of a young man who wishes to be a pilot one day and maybe rescue a princess and go on a hero's journey, that Luke Skywalker story from the early seventies when that first came out. The how that's transcended and gone into so many different media, whether it's costumes, toys, etc. There are already authors taking advantage at IP licensing fairs in Las Vegas, for example, looking at ways to exploit that IP. And here's something that will be interesting. Writers are used to working with publishers and used to begging publishers, "Please, sir. Could you look at my manuscript, please?" In the IP world, it's a little bit different where people are constantly looking for properties to license that already have a following. So if you're an indie author with a lot of readers, that can actually be currency for licensing your IP to some of those companies. So transmedia and being more than just a writer already and has long already been with us, it's only gonna continue to grow and expand. Indie Author Magazine: What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: In terms of building community, authors have some amazing tools at their disposal. There's, of course, various social media platforms that are virtually free since we are the product on those platforms. But there are ways for us to connect. There are ways for our readers to reach out to us. There are ways for us to engage and interact with our readers, which is fantastic. It's great. One of the most powerful tools within that realm, of course, is an author newsletter. Email is still one of the most powerful ways that you can connect with your community, that you can reach the people who want to hear from you and find out about your next book. I don't see email going away anytime soon. It's been around for a long time. It's probably going to be around for a longer time. Other social medias will come and go, and you may find areas and realms that work better for you when you're engaging with your community. And the one thing I wanna remind you with is the way that you build community and the way that you build engagement is interacting and engaging and participating with those people, not trying to sell to them, but providing them content that they find valuable. And if you're worried about how to provide that content, never forget that you're a storyteller. That should come naturally to you. Entertaining people, sharing fun stories for them. It's all just part of that community building. And if you do it with that in mind rather than selling in mind, you'll continue to grow a larger community. Indie Author Magazine: Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? Mark Leslie Lefebvre: Why does community matter in the future of publishing? Community is really what publishing is all about. Think about this. You have a writer who creates content. You have a reader who wants to engage with and consume that content. And you have an entire industry built around connecting the writer and the reader. It's a magical dance of what publishing always has been at multiple levels from indie publishing, traditional publishing, whatever have you. It's about that community of those groups coming together. Yes, it's changing. It's evolving. It's complex and multilayered. There's opportunities for readers and writers to connect, for writers to provide more of what those readers want by engaging with them. So community is, again, one of those critical important aspects that moves the publishing industry and authors forward. Indie authors more than any other entity have the opportunity to engage and build in a community that can further that relationship between writer and reader. But one of the things I love most about the indie author industry in general is the way that authors are willing to help one another. And that's another really critical and important

**Indie Author Magazine:** On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Oriana Leckert: I think we’re in a thrilling moment of creative autonomy, where authors and content creators of all kinds are seizing control of every aspect of their work, from writing what they want, to building the audience they want, to producing, marketing, and distributing books in precisely the ways they want to do so. I believe this will continue the trend of fragmented creative spaces, where authors gather smaller but more passionate communities of readers around them, forging closer relationships with their audiences, often inviting these supporters to participate in shaping their creative output. Authors have more avenues than ever to bring their books into the world, which I believe can only enhance the quality, quantity, and variety of creative work all across the industry.

Indie Author Magazine: How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? Paddy Finn: I don't subscribe to the idea of exclusive versus wide. It focuses too much on such a narrow sliver of your intellectual property's potential. The question should be: How do I make my IP work the hardest and smartest for me and my family? Sure, exclusive versus wide is an important question for many and going wide can be a great tactic. But don't mistake tactic for strategy. Exclusive versus wide is such a small part of the bigger picture that if you put it on a pie chart of potential, you wouldn't even see it. Indie Author Magazine: Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? Paddy Finn: Wide already means so much more. Most of the indie publishing community just hasn't realized it yet. With so many new tools and platforms coming to the fore, authors interested in going wide have so many options. Right now, you could build a 7-figure business on Kickstarter without even touching Amazon, Google Play, Apple Books, or any of the e-book-centric platforms. Some might laugh when I say that, but I'm proof that it can be done. Anyone can do it! The crazy part is so few do! The thing is so few try or fail to stick with it after achieving less-than-stellar results on their first attempt. I built a 7-figure publishing house from scratch solely using Kickstarter. And I'm in the process of building another that will make 7 figures year one. And crowdfunding is just one avenue among many. Some of my author friends generate silly numbers using the TikTok shop, YouTube, or selling direct from their website. And in ten years, there'll be a dozen new avenues we can't even imagine yet. Great things await those who brave the road less traveled. Indie Author Magazine: On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? Paddy Finn: Direct publishing gets back to the core of indie publishing: Taking the fate of you and your story-babies into your own hands. Indie publishing began with a handful of authors who refused to let gatekeepers tell them what they could or couldn't do. In bravely exploring uncharted territory, those early indie authors discovered a horde of insatiable readers salivating for more books. And they delivered what that audience wanted, paving the frontier for those of us who followed. But the peak of that gold rush is behind us. Those mines still have gold, but it's becoming more difficult to find. And as any author worth their salt knows, "THE END" is just another way of saying "NEXT". Direct sales is a natural evolution in the industry lifecycle... especially an industry built on a foundation of people who stuck it to the man. For many, direct sales is still an unknown, but that's what makes it so beautiful! It's like tapping into another gold vein very few have discovered. That said, worthwhile prospecting is never without risks. It requires an investment of time and/or money. But those who brave the risks and stick with the process will reap the rewards of another indie publishing gold rush. What that means for the industry as a whole is anyone's guess. What matters is that you're out on the frontier, digging new roads and building new infrastructure for those who will follow. Instead of waiting to see how the industry changes, be one of those changing it, for therein lies true success.

**Indie Author Magazine:** How will the strategy of publishing wide play a part in the future of the industry? **Tanya**: The thing so many of us forget is that the indie publishing industry as we known it is so young. The digital stores/platforms we use for publishing (and view as the standard) aren't that old either. I can't imagine that Amazon, Apple, Google, etc. will be the only places where we sell books forever. Neither can we guarantee that they will be as strong as they currently are. I know it's not apples to apples, but the rise and decline of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok show us that the various online giants don't remain at a steady, constant strength in perpetuity. Things are constantly in flux, and the indie publishing industry has a long life ahead of it. The point of this is to say that I've never seen utilizing Amazon-only book-selling tactics as the best method. There are many evergreen strategies that apply to every single digital retailer, and even to direct sales methods such as Kickstarter and live events, and these strategies are powerful in the long run, and more sustainable. They will be applicable no matter what changes we see with online retailers. In the future, I hope to see more authors at least learning these broader strategies, even if they decide to be exclusive with some or all of their books for now. **Indie Author Magazine:** Do you anticipate that the definition of wide will ever evolve to mean more? If so, where do you see authors going? **Tanya**: Definitely. As new platforms, retailers, and even methods of human communication form and develop, the opportunities for selling wide will only grow. **Indie Author Magazine:** On an individual level, direct publishing can equate to greater control over titles, greater royalties, and a closer relationship with readers. What will the trend of authors publishing direct mean for the industry as a whole? **Tanya**: With the future rise of ai-generated works, I think direct sales will only become more and more important for authors. Some readers will be satisfied with books/art/media that are good enough, an enjoyable escape. They won't mind if their books are largely a product of ai. But others will crave a more human touch. They will long for human connections and will gravitate toward creators who develop those direct relationships with their readers. For this reason, cultivating direct sales methods and doubling down on being human will become a huge boon to the authors who put in the effort to do it. Direct relationships are going to matter more than ever. **Indie Author Magazine:** With AI being such a hot-button, divisive topic now, what role(s)—if any—do you think it will play in the indie publishing world in five years time? **Tanya**: I see ai as another tool. Some authors will use it. Others won't. But I think this is another area where many people aren't looking into the future enough. Many people see what it is now and think that ai can only be used for brainstorming or generating impersonal text that a writer can then stick into their book. But things changed so fast in just this past year. Ai will continue evolving. I think it's only a matter of time before each author can get an ai assistant that is trained directly on their style of writing and can help them create something that feels perfectly THEM. I think at that point, many more authors will choose to utilize it. The idea of having a brainstorming buddy, writing partner, and editor who knows your writing style, genre, story preferences, and thematic sensibilities intimately and deeply will be very hard to pass up. I think it's something most of us wish we had now. **Indie Author Magazine:** How important is technology to one's success as an indie author and to the industry as a whole? **Tanya**: Storytellers will always find a way to tell their stories. But there are shortcuts that can speed the process. To some people, that's important. To others, the more natural, handmade process is more important. Looking at it from my artist perspective, I think of how I utilize Photoshop as my main illustration tool. I love how it speeds up the process, from being able to use undo/redo to being able to easily experiment with and change colors, to being able to save multiple files in which I try totally different things. But I compare that to fine artists who carefully choose their oil paints and brushes and launch into a painting without as much control, embracing that the process will be more slow and laborious, but that it will have its own rewards that can't be experienced in a digital format. Technology is the same for writers. There are so many tools. And some will resonate with different people, especially those who value speed or who, due to disabilities or personal circumstances, benefit from extra writing aids. But there will always be those who want nothing more than a computer and a word processor. And neither choice is wrong. **Indie Author Magazine:** What does transmedia mean for an author's business? Will indie authors ever need to be more than just "writers" to survive in the industry? **Tanya**: This is another case where I think it will differ so much from author to author. Some people don't want to be anything more than a writer. To branch out would take all the joy out of it for them. But I think that the need for varied streams of income is going to become increasingly more important to those who are trying to make a full-time living as an author. So those who want to make creating/storytelling their full-time work will benefit immensely from transmedia. And their efforts to create transmedia will benefit immensely from ai, which will help fill in the gaps of skills they might be missing, such as music, art, animation, etc. This will only become more relevant as ai improves, which is really exciting. **Indie Author Magazine:** What can authors do now to build community with their readers and within the industry? **Tanya**: Lean into your personal strengths. Understand who you are. This is the best way to learn how to build community for your creations. For some people, that will mean engaging members of their audience one by one so that these individuals develop an actual, personal relationship with them. For some creators, those relationships will fuel them and help them feel like what they're doing truly matters. For others, that one-by-one aspect sounds so overwhelming, and way too personal. They'll want to try something else. Perhaps they'll want to always be putting valuable content and information out into the world, so even if they don't have personal relationships with members of their audience, they still have a whole crowd of people who adore and value them for what they give to the community. For some authors, it will mean creating polls and engaging on social media, always asking what their audience wants more of and then giving it to them. For others, it will mean creating big launch campaigns with lots of hype and engaging heavily with their audience during that time, then cutting way back on engagement when it's over for a well-needed break. There are so many different ways to build and grow an audience. But they won't all work for you, and many will burn you out long before you see the fruits of your labors. So experiment. Find what works for you and forget the rest. **Indie Author Magazine:** Why does community matter in the future of indie publishing? **Tanya**: I view this in the same way I view the importance of direct sales. Relationships matter. Think about it from the perspective of a reader or fan. I can recall when I first read a book by the author/illustrator James A. Owen. His work resonated with me so powerfully that I wished I could meet him and tell him just how much it meant to me. And then, years later, I did meet him while he tabled at a comic convention. I was able to tell him what his writing meant to me, and, to my astonishment, he was one of the most kind and gracious people I'd ever met. He seemed to genuinely want to talk to me, hear what I have to say, and give me advice. He encouraged me to try to go to a specific writing conference that he thought would benefit me. I did, and I met and talked with him again there. Over the years, we have stayed in touch and become friends. Now, I am a lifelong, die-hard James A. Owen fan. And it all stared because he cared about me, a stranger who enjoyed his work. This is how superfans are made. Slowly, building over the years. It's how friendships are made too. As authors, it helps to think of building out community like cultivating a friendship. We give. We listen. And then people come to care about us and our work. They care about the stories we tell. They support us because they want more and because they want us to succeed. They don't let us fall. And what can be more magical than that?