Indie Author 101 Class Recap!
- Aug 14
- 3 min read
Photo collage: Top Right - Sarah Ickes, Bottom Right - program, Top Left - event setup, Middle Left - books, Bottom Left - Sheryl C.D. Ickes
Last night, we had the pleasure of hosting an indie author class for those looking to release their book into the hands of readers. After having a number of requests for us to put a class together like this, our two resident indie authors gave a talk on some tips, tricks, and insider knowledge to help make those first steps seem quite not so scary for new authors.
The night began with an introduction into what some of the available platforms are for self-publishing and what all information is needed to upload your book and cover into their systems. Without diving into file formatting specifically, as this could be a separate presentation on its own, Sarah discussed various book production details, how each aspect affects the overall retail price of a book, and how wholesale works when it comes to bookshops.
Next, our attending writers were given a basic course in social media outreach; such as sharing events with followers of your page, scheduling out posts in advance, and the different kinds of posts that keep your page from becoming stuck in a rut. For example:
Post “30 Seconds of Zen” reels every so often.
Use photos of your book without saying “Buy This So I Can Eat.”
Help organizers of events spread the word by sharing to your followers.
Schedule posts ahead of busy weeks or for while you’ll be on vacation.
And of course, in-person interaction is the best way to network amongst fellow readers and writers! Sarah informed our class about the different writing groups out there and the conferences which authors can attend, before Sheryl led the talk on how to best approach indie bookshops. Some of her key pointers included:
Don’t mention large retail chain stores to an indie bookshop.
Be sure to include the ISBN number of your book in an inquiry.
Keep inquiries on the shorter side rather than a mini novel.
Ask them before visiting and not when they have an event.
Towards the end of the presentation, Sarah closed out the night with a brief overview of things to steer clear of when embarking on becoming an indie author. One such tidbit is to do your research in the midst of a rise in scams with fake profiles pretending to be real editors at publishing houses. Check the email address, search up the name of the person or the company, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
All in all, our attendees enjoyed the informative evening, which included a short program for note-taking, and we all left that night with a better understanding of what goes on behind the publishing curtain, so to speak. Again, we would like to thank Sarah Ickes and Sheryl C.D. Ickes for their time in hosting this wonderful class, and we hope to see you all again at our next event.
If you are interested in finding out more about either Sarah’s or Sheryl’s books, please click on the following links below. Sarah also has a bi-monthly blog series she started this year, entitled The Author BookGuide, in which she shares her experiences within the world of self-publishing.
Sarah Ickes’s Website: https://www.sarahickesart.com/
Sarah’s The Author BookGuide Blog: https://www.sarahickesart.com/the-author-bookguide-blog-series
Sheryl C.D. Ickes’s Website: https://www.sherylcdickes.com/
Thanks to our volunteer who took pictures of the event’s set-up before the talk began at 7 pm.
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