Indie Author Blog Tag (and giveaway winner announcements!)

Happy National Indie Author Day!!!

As a day-of celebration, I wanted to start up a blog tag for indie authors! (And at the end I’ll announce the winners of the four giveaways from this week!)

Rules

  1. Link back to the original tag (here!)
  2. Link to the authors you mention (or their books) in your answers
  3. Tag 5 other indie authors

Questions

Why do you publish indie?

First, because I appreciate the creative freedom. I have the final say over every element of the finished product. Perhaps most importantly, to me, I don’t have to follow market trends and I can set my own writing pace. (As much as I would love to, I just can’t produce a fully published book in a year, much less keep that up year after year; maybe one day, but not yet.) My process and my work is my own and I get to not only direct it myself but also invite others into it as I go! Indie publishing allows me to build up a strong community around my work and connect with other authors and readers who are equally passionate about a given book and the indie publishing process in general. Overall I just really love the indie publishing process and the opportunity and responsibility of seeing through every part of the process and having a unique connection with the people I work with and the readers I impact.

What’s your favorite indie standalone?

Watson and Holmes by E.B. Dawson. I’m not generally a big fan of reading sci-fi books set in space (I don’t know why; it’s just a quirk), but this book did it right. And it was so much fun to see Sherlock Holmes reimagined in a sci-fi world!

What’s your favorite indie series?

Aaaaaaah. There are so many I love! But I think Hannah Heath‘s Terebinth Tree Chronicles probably win, since I always buy them as soon as they come out and I can’t say the same for any other indie series. They’re so good! And the worldbuilding is so cool.

What’s your most anticipated indie book release?

Besides my own (I’m so stinking excited for Calligraphy Guild to reach readers), I’m super excited for the next Terebinth Tree Chronicles book! I can’t wait to read Durran’s story!

What was your most recent indie read?

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen. Great worldbuilding; too much steam and language. (I have a full review here.)

What is your favorite part of being an indie author?

This answer is pretty much the same as why I publish indie, lol. I love the creative freedom and the community. And I get to learn and practice so many non-writing skills, like graphic design and formatting! Sometimes it’s more frustrating than fun, but a lot of the time I have a lot of fun formatting my books to look exactly the way I want and designing book graphics.

What’s the hardest part of being an indie author?

Having to do all the things. XD As fun as it can be, it can also be overwhelming. You have to write the book, edit the book, find the right professional editor for your book, find the right cover designer, pay for the editor and cover designer, format your book (or hire someone else to format your book), create attractive book graphics, market your book, set up a launch party and host it, etc., etc., etc. It’s a long and energy-intensive process.

Do you ever plan to go hybrid?

Yes! I would love to have a standalone or duology traditionally published one day. I actually have a few projects that I’ve specifically considered pitching one day, but we’ll see what ends up happening. Currently, traditional publishing is a down-the-road idea (though that might change in the next few months as I finish up Calligraphy Guild‘s edits and choose a new project, with a hopeful trip to RealmMakers next year in mind).

How many books have you released?

I’ve released three books, all short story-focused:

Lost Girl (standalone short story/novella)

The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles (a series of fairytale retelling short stories, or a novella in parts if you prefer to look at it that way)

Short Story Collection vol. 1 (a sampler of my work, including two stories from my sci-fi world and one from Deseran).

Where are you with your current project?

I’m in the latter stages of editing! I’ve been working on line edits, and those are what I’ll get back from Jane Maree shortly as well. I’ll have one more round to apply her notes and mine, and then I’ll send it back for the final copy-edits!!! I’m super excited to be getting so close!!

(If you’d like to help me out with promoting Calligraphy Guild in a couple months, you can sign up to my street team!)

Nominees

Grace Johnson

Jenna Terese

E.K. Seaver

E.G. Bella

Nicki Chapelway

Giveaway Winners

Fantasy Giveaway

Congratulations, Erin! You’ve won the fantasy giveaway!

Contemporary Giveaway

Congratulations, Mattie! You’ve won the contemporary giveaway!

Non-Fiction Giveaway

Congratulations, Mattie! You’ve won the non-fiction giveaway!

Sci-Fi/Dystopian Giveaway

Congratulations, CC! You’ve won the sci-fi/dystopian giveaway!

If you’ve won a giveaway, I’ll be emailing you shortly to orchestrate shipping. :)

12 thoughts on “Indie Author Blog Tag (and giveaway winner announcements!)

  1. Thank you so much for tagging me on this! :) All the indie author-themed posts have been really fun to read the past week, and I got excited to see this pop up too. Although this tag is making me realize how few indie books I’ve read, haha…

  2. I’m completely with you on your choice for most anticipated release – both of them. XD I can’t wait to be able to read the completed Calligraphy Guild and give a copy a home on my shelf.
    And the Terebinth Tree Chronicles – /yes./ I’m so eager to get the next story!

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