Authors at the Armouries is going to be an extravaganza of Indie and traditionally published authors in genres from romance, dark romance, children’s literature, paranormal and literary fiction, plus everything in between. We will demonstrate the power of “doing it for yourself” and how dramatically things have changed since I began publishing over ten years ago, when self-publishing was still frowned upon and taken very un-seriously. It’s now pretty normal for a self-published author to top the entire US Kindle Store. It’s no longer the traditional publishers i.e. the gatekeepers dictating who makes it to #1. It’s the readers who’ve begun to decide who makes it to the #1 top spot. This is in part down to social media which has made it possible for authors to reach readers directly. Taking control of their own marketing, with all the tools available to them, Indie authors are charging ahead in the bestseller lists.
But “doing it for yourself” can be difficult. The rewards these days can be immense, with Kindle Unlimited earning some authors 6 or 7 figures a year. And there is some major satisfaction for these authors who’ve done it for themselves. However… I’ve seen first-hand the commitment required, and it is their herculean efforts that get these Indie superstars to where they are.
The ideal scenario for an author would be that they write day and night, then hand over their work and see it catapult without all the EXTRA work required. Such as sourcing editors, cover designers, then sending preview copies to ARC teams, scheduling social media posts, creating social media posts, engaging with their readers, setting up Amazon, Bookbub and other ads, AND THEN, also trying to have a personal life, too. It is really hard and these achievements are VERY hard won.
Early in my career I was offered the chance to publish with various publishers and given plenty of advice by people who I can only describe as stiff and overly opinionated, and who would no doubt have butchered out the heart of my work. Which brings me to my point here: indie publishing offers both readers and authors stories of all kinds, with all the details often edited out by traditional publishers left intact. Indie offers freedom on so many levels and it was that freedom I found very hard to give up. So I never have. It means I can publish as many books as I want, when I want, how I want – because there’s nobody else to answer to.
I was reading an interview with a BIG author a while ago, can’t quite remember who now, but I think it was one of two people and I don’t want to perjure either, but they said something along the lines of “I give everything to that book, I say everything I want to in that book, so why would I want to say anything else on social media?” I mean, quite. But that is the way of things, these days anyway lol. Social media is a massive weapon that many of my authors use to absolutely slay.
There are many Indie superstars among the contingent of AATA, including bestselling Australian romance author Kylie Kent who is making the journey to sign with us! Plus Amanda Richardson, Jenna Wolfhart, Gemma Weir, Mina Carter, Steven Moore, and Laura Greenwood.
To find out about all of our authors, visit smlevents.uk/aata
There will be newbie authors at this event as well as seasoned, but I remember in the beginning, it was book signings that really changed the game for me and gave me that extra push I needed. It made things more real.
Sometimes when I tell my husband the news about our event and the latest developments he looks at me like this can’t be real. I feel that way, too. I’ve kept the emotion at arm’s length and I will do until the day when it will probably pour forth suddenly – when the people actually are in the room and it all becomes real.
We’ve got many people coming from overseas (not just Oz, but the US, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Bangladesh!) and it’s going to be unreal.
My event, along with many other book signings this year, will demonstrate that self-publishing doesn’t just offer the bigger royalty share. It offers a community unlike any other, where gatekeepers do not exist, choice is aplenty, support is unparalleled and CREATIVITY has no bounds.
Join us!
Sarah Michelle Lynch 