At the start of March of this year, a weeklong boycott of Amazon and other large companies organized by The People’s Union USA aimed to put pressure on businesses that had ended their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, raise awareness for workers at the companies, and support small businesses.
The boycott didn’t affect much; data from Momentum Commerce shows the company actually saw a nearly 6 percent increase in sales that week, and Kindle Unlimited rates from the month of March signal growth happened there, too. But the concern some authors felt leading up to the blackout week was real, and as you’ll read in Samantha Margot’s feature this month, it reflects a larger discussion happening in the indie author world today.
Many of us pride ourselves on being a one-man publishing band. We get to make our own business decisions, marketing campaigns, and artistic choices rather than waiting for the approval of a team at a traditional publishing company. But like it or not, so many parts of our businesses are still at the whims of third-party platforms. Social media platforms can change algorithms, software companies can shutter, and the closure of an author’s account on a site like Kindle Direct Publishing can mean their livelihood disappears as well.
The focus of this month’s issue is on “building on your own land,” and in some ways, the concept feels more relevant than ever. Indie authors have always been able to adapt, and we’ll find ways to share our stories no matter what happens to the third-party platforms we use—even if they’re giants, like Amazon or Meta. But diversifying your business across platforms, owning your software and processes wherever possible, and ensuring your data is backed up, secure, and accessible means you aren’t left scrambling when things inevitably shift.
In these pages, you’ll find stories that talk about how you can own your own business, from finding paths to direct sales to managing your readership without social media. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but that’s exactly the point. When you build on your own land, you get to be in control. And isn’t that what being independent is all about?
Nicole Schroeder
Editor in Chief
