The Indie Expedition (5): Launching as an Indie Author

This was unexpected!

Another Unexpected Post - 5th Entry

By Thio Isobel Moss

This is getting to be a habit.

I did not foresee having cause to post again so soon. It’s been a busy weekend!

Having received my first rating, my first 5-star rating, and then having deduced that it was not from one of my ARC readers, but from someone who could not have read my book at all…well, it’s made itself at home in my head. Living there rent-free!

So, when I opened up my email this morning and saw something from one of the sites I’m on, my little brain thought it was a follow-up pertaining to the situation described above. I thought it was informing me that the 5-star rating had been removed. That is not what it was.

There were two questions listed that clued me in:

Will you suggest your store purchase this title? Yes
Are you likely to handsell this title? Yes

There is a lot of doubt and vulnerability involved with presenting your book to the world. My first feedback came from a scammer. My second, from a bookseller on NetGalley. There was no review, but that’s just fine; this reviewer single-handedly wiped away all the leftover frustration from the other situation. I cannot express how grateful I am for this.

Writing, publishing—traditional or indie, these are shark-infested waters. There are folks who will try to manipulate or misrepresent your work — low ratings, high ratings, or worse. Know that going in.

Authors and those in the business have a tremendous amount of influence over the prevailing book culture, even when it doesn’t feel like it. How you choose to respond to any given situation, good or bad, launches a chain reaction.

Even when things are rough, there are people who will advise you, help you improve, and review your book with honesty. There are professionals who will go above and beyond because they love books.

What an awesome thing to unite people.

I’m getting more grandiose than I intended, but this has been such a welcome and timely twist to my story.

To that reviewer, thank you.

I’m still at the start of this adventure, and there will be more obstacles ahead. But knowing that someone read my book and liked it—that’s why I write: to share the worlds I contain.

I hope you share yours, too.