Being an indie author can be tough. There are millions of books available through Amazon and other sites.
Without the help of a large publishing house it can feel that as an indie author your voice is lost in a sea of voices.
That's why indie authors supporting each other can be so positive. Building those relationships helps to ensure that we are reaching a bigger audience. Let's face it, although most indie authors know they're not likely to become rich from their writing, they want to be sure that their hard work, dreams and vision doesn't result in a book that will forever be unread.
I recognised the value of offering mutual support to other indie authors long before I published my first book. As part of my book exchange at my cafe (The Gingerbread Tea House in Widnes) I asked for indie authors to support the book exchange by donating one of their books. The idea was that I would use the Facebook and Instagram platforms that I had built up for my business to help promote their books and that customers in the cafe could read a book and review it before passing it on.
One of the first people to respond to this call to support the community was Coral McCallum. Not only did she donate a copy of her fantastic book "Ellen", but she also donated download vouchers for her book "Shattered Hearts". In addition to this she interviewed me as a part of her blog, great exposure for my little business.
Later when I finally finished and published Chasing Butterflies she was an absolute rock, encouraging and supporting me as well as giving me advice. She reviewed Chasing Butterflies and also agreed to ARC review The China Doll. All that support and encouragement is so heartwarming! In addition she said "Hey, why don't we do another interview to coincide with the launch of your new book?" So we had another interview and here it is.....
I follow Coral on Facebook, she is so positive and uplifting, she always has great posts that seem to be perfect for how I am feeling!
I really appreciate this support from an experienced indie author.
If you would like to follow Coral on Facebook, here is the link...
You can also find her Silver Lake series and the stand alone novel Ellen on Amazon.
I have conducted several author interviews myself. I think it's such a great way of supporting and encouraging one another. We are all in this together so let's keep bigging each other up every day.
Thank you Coral x