Top Five Industry Changes All Writers Should Know...and Embrace!

INDIE BOOK COLLECTIVE

1. EBooks. In December 2010, Amazon reported that eBooks on their site outsold all other forms of books. 85% of the electronic book market is dominated by Amazon.com. While print and audio formats will never die out, the sooner authors embrace this new, viable format of eBooks as the forward trend, the better their careers will be for it.

2. The Power of Free. Whether it’s the buy one book in a year and get ten free option of book clubs or your weekly visit to the library, then and now, free reads can earn future dollars and new fans. Harnessing the power of creating a free reads, and giving free reads away in a strategic way, will expose authors to tons of new readers they can earn into fandom. 

3. Book Bloggers. The new grocery store line is online. Where readers used to look to magazines for book reviews, the blogosphere is evolving into a reader-centric place filled with bloggers who love to read and love to talk books. Readers are finding their additions to their To Be Read pile through blog hops, guest blogging and contests thrown by members of this tight community. Become a good neighbor by visiting a blog a day and commenting in a positive way.

4. Even traditional is going indie. Bob Mayer, JA Konrath. The list goes on. Having a New York contract doesn’t mean authors aren’t going indie. Because of massive innovations and a plethora of author friendly self-publishing platforms, being indie is no longer a dirty word. Authors of all sorts of backgrounds are dipping a toe in the indie waters and creating extras through self-publishing for fans during the down time between traditional releases.

5. Social Media. Twitter, Facebook, blogging or any other social media platform will not sell books. It will, however, forge relationships that authors can nurture into a tribe of readers who then create the word of mouth buzz that does sell books. Word of mouth buzz comes in many forms now thanks to tweets, status updates, blog posts and more. Reviews, hitting the ‘like’ button on an Amazon page and more all create popularity and stem from social media relationships. If authors keep this platform fan-centric, their readers will repay them in kind, and do so spontaneously. Because readers love to help authors that they love!

Co-founded by Carolyn McCray, Amber Scott and Rachel Thompson, the Indie Book Collective is made up of authors who love to help fellow authors succeed. Membership is as easy as following @IndieBookIBC on Twitter or hitting the 'Like' button on Facebook. We have monthly webinar classes on Social media, Facebook start-up, getting Goodreads, Blogging basics and much more!