8 Ways to Support Indie Publishing

Indie publishing is a vital part of the book world. It enables unagented writers like me to get our books out in the world. But indie publishers not only operate on a shoestring, with tiny profit margins; they also swim in a sea where the big fish – the Big 5 publishers – get most of the publicity, reviews in the national press and book awards. Why? Because those big publishers have the financial clout.

So it is down to us, the readers (I’m a reader as well as a writer) to do help redress the balance. Here are 8 ways we can all do our bit to help independent publishing survive and thrive:

1 Buy direct from indie publishers. That way their income is (unless they choose to offer promotional discounts) the full cover price of the book.

2 Use social media to spread the word about a book you enjoy: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok (if you know how that works!) and any others I don’t even know about!

3 Review books you like – on your own blog if you have one, and also on Goodreads and Amazon (if it will let you). Even a couple of lines about a book is valuable.

4 Tell a friend, or two. Word of mouth is hugely powerful.

5 Ask your local bookshop to stock a book you’ve enjoyed. Having books on display, available for potential purchasers to browse, really boosts them.

6 Ask your local library to buy a book you’ve enjoyed. You might be surprised how amenable libraries are to this.

And, particularly now, in the run-up to Christmas:

7 Buy books you’ve enjoyed as Christmas presents for your family and friends. Some indie publishers offer Christmas boxes with other goodies alongside their books. Louise Walters Books for example, supplies local Banbury cakes with her books.

8 Submit your favourite books of year to the end-of-year readers’ listings such as that published by The Guardian.

Thank you!