“Success” is a funny concept in the realm of indie publishing. Many authors choose to publish independently precisely because they are uninterested in mainstream success—eye-watering advances, NYT book reviews, etc.—preferring to retain more control over the publishing process and potentially stronger relationships with their readers.
That said, in order to make a realistic career (or even a satisfactory side hustle) out of writing books, one needs some kind of success. Most indie authors would probably hope for some combination of a) hundreds of readers for a given book over time (that is, not right away!); b) generally positive reviews for that book; and c) an invested audience who will continue to read their work in the future.
So how can you achieve these things? To help you out, here are four elements which are consistently found amongst the most successful indie books in the game—and which you, too, can pursue for your own publishing success!
1. A polished first impression
This first factor is pretty self-explanatory, yet a surprising number of authors still overlook it: in order for your book to attract readers, it needs to look good.
Your book cover design is naturally a huge part of this. Despite the old adage, readers do judge books by their covers—and if your book doesn’t have an appealing, genre-indicative cover design, your target readers won’t pick it up (or download it on Amazon, as it were).
The good news is that it’s never been easier to obtain a quality cover design for your book. Whether you’re DIY’ing with a template or hiring a cover designer with relevant experience in your genre, a bit of research and a custom cover will go a long way toward helping your sales. Even if you’ve long relied on a tried-and-true cover for a book you’ve already published, don’t rule out the possibility of redesigning it over time! As this case study shows, an outdated cover could mean leaving huge swathes of readers on the table, which you certainly don’t want.
On top of pure visual appeal, you’ll also want to ensure that your book creates a stellar first impression with its “first glance text”: your book description, featured praise from authors or reviewers, and the first few pages of your actual book. These are the key textual elements which can make or break a book sale—so if you haven’t spent much time workshopping your hook to pull in readers, start there.
You might also consider asking authors in your genre for some quick, grabby pull quotes; using comp titles in your description, so that fans of similar books will know your book is “for them”; or even hiring a professional editor to polish your first few chapters (if not your entire book!). In other words, there are plenty of things you can do to polish up your book, and it’s best to do them as early as possible, so when you move on to further marketing, you’ll know there’s a solid product at the heart of it.
Speaking of marketing, the next factor in indie book success would have to be…
2. Marketing to the right audience
You’d be shocked how many authors, particularly those just getting started, don’t really have a sense of their target audience—and even among those who do, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re marketing to that audience effectively!
Too many authors either a) think their book is “for everyone,” or b) know who their book is for, but are lured by the siren song of wider readership. This leads to ineffective—even detrimental—marketing campaigns. You probably know what I’m talking about: books claiming comp titles which ultimately bear no resemblance to the book in question, books that seem like they’re action-packed in plot but are actually much more character-driven, and so on.
To be fair, this sort of marketing snafu is more common in traditional publishing, where there can be a real disconnect between the author’s intentions and the marketing team’s goals. But even the mighty power of a Big 5 publisher can’t stop the bad reviews from pouring in when a book is marketed badly. So needless to say, it’s definitely something to avoid as an indie author with (presumably) less industry influence.
Fortunately, as an indie author, you’ll have a lot more control over your marketing. To make sure you’re reaching your intended audience and steering clear of angry reviews from your unintended audience, consider the following about your book’s marketing materials:
- Are the plot, pacing, and tone all (relatively) clear? While you don’t want to give everything away, readers should be able to quickly tell from your blurb whether your book is “for them” or not.
- Have I exaggerated or over-embellished anything? It might seem savvy to compare your book to the summer’s hottest bestseller, or promise a shocking twist in the third act… but if your book falls short of expectations, you’ll have some very dissatisfied readers on your hands.
- Am I advertising on the right platforms? I touched on this in my last post about finding readers on social media, but once again, ads on key platforms can be incredibly valuable. While you don’t need to master every social platform, it’s still good to keep track of where your readers “hang out”—like on Facebook, Twitter/X, or Instagram—and advertise there if possible.
3. Personal engagement with readers
And on the flip side of marketing, there’s the slightly less-calculated tack of personal engagement. For many authors, this is a real highlight of the independent publishing experience, and indeed one of the reasons why they choose to self-publish in the first place.
It’s also nice to have in your arsenal because it allows for maximum authorial impact. While other elements of indie book success (strong cover design, targeted marketing, etc.) are undoubtedly important, the results still largely depend on the whims of others.
But in conversation with readers, whether on social media, via your mailing list, or at virtual or in-person author events, you can forge personal connections, get people invested in your work, and maybe even convert new readers who otherwise wouldn’t have given your book a second thought! A few possible avenues of engagement might be:
- Talking about the writing process and journey for your book. Readers adore this kind of behind-the-scenes insight. Particularly if your book is memoir or autofiction, it can be very compelling to talk about your experiences.
- Polling readers about their tastes. Once you’ve built up a following, you can conduct direct market research by simply asking readers what they like. You might inquire about their other favorite books, or ask what they want to see in your next title; by doing this, you’ll set the stage for success before that next book is even written.
- Giving out free books, merch, etc. As noted in my previous post on social media, there’s nothing readers love more than free stuff! This is an excellent way to both bring in new readers and shore up existing loyalty. If anyone was thinking about unfollowing you, a giveaway could tide them over until your next release.
Check out this post on building a high-value author newsletter for even more brilliant reader engagement ideas.
4. Time for each book to come into its own
Lastly, it might sound like a cop-out, but it’s really the final piece of the puzzle: as an indie author, one of your greatest allies will be time. Practically no author “makes it” right out of the gate, and for the majority of indie books, it will take months or even years to hit the hundred-reader mark—not to mention those other milestones mentioned above.
But don’t let this discourage you; instead, let it inspire you. As the TikTok comment meme goes, “The time will pass anyways.” You can spend that time fretting about how your last book performed, or you can continue building out your backlist, engaging with your followers, and enjoying the indie publishing community.
Don’t give up on more traditional marketing either! Keep running ad campaigns (within financial reason) even after your book’s initial launch, because you never know when a new reader will come along and devour every single one of your titles. You especially don’t want to dismiss the power of the backlist for genres like mystery and romance, where readers love series and often binge-read them. Indeed, in these genres, gaining a new reader for one book often equates to a new reader for them all.
To be sure, this is where the indie publishing community becomes not only a morale booster, but a career maker. They’ll help you persevere through the toughest of times so you can reap those rewards. On that note, as you strive to make your book a long-term success, remember to pursue not just the right campaigns, but the right company. It may be called “independent” publishing, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.
