I’ve Been Thinking

~ JM Williams

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As an indie author, I get a lot of love from people I meet every day in person, whether in the office or at an author event. They say they are proud or envious of the work I’ve accomplished (which, I accept, has been significant), and always offer me wishes for success.

So why is it so hard for people to follow through with any tangible action of support for an artist friend or colleague? The price of an indie book (at least an ebook) is cheaper than a cup of coffee. Writing a review is free, and only takes five minutes.

I wonder if I am doing something wrong in this regard, in that I have utterly failed to even get my family to do this.

Perhaps in reaction to my own experience, I have started buying copies of the books from authors I follow. The most recent have been Esther Chilton and Cathleen Townsend, I’ve bought several more since having this epiphany. I don’t know if I will get around to reading them soon, but that’s not the point. The point is I want to support their work. I want them to have just that extra sliver of success, which might be the difference between them continuing their craft or giving up.

How is this not basic custom among us indie authors? Why are we not instinctively driven to support one another, especially when it only accounts for a few dollars at a time?

I tell you what, if I follow your blog and you publish a book, I give my solemn pledge to purchase a copy. If I happen to finish it (which, I will admit, is currently a rare thing for me to do), I will leave a review.

I hope my fellow authors reading the post will adopt a similar stance. We will all be better off if we support one another.

~JM

11 thoughts on “I’ve Been Thinking”

  1. I entirely agree! I haven’t yet published any of my novels (though I have plans to) and I would hope for the support of friends and family. But even when a short story I wrote won third place in a competition and was published online, none of my friends read it! Plenty of congrats, no desire to follow up. I’ve learnt not to take it personally. But I always buy my friends books and have committed to leaving reviews. Writers have to support each other if no one else will!

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      1. The Henshaw Short Story competition! It was the December 2018 competition – they do about four a year.

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      2. Wow, thanks for the info. I will look into this one. 🙂 When I try to navigate to your blog, I get a page is removed error. Do you have a new site by chance?

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      3. Damn! The site is melanierousselfiction.com. Not sure why that’s not working but thank you for letting me know! Will have to investigate.

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  2. Thanks, JM. I’ve been trying to do this same thing for a while–read and review friends’ books. It’s hard being a writer sometimes. It makes a big difference if it seems like someone, you know, actually cares. : )

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  3. Amen. I always track those who like my blog back to the source and read what they have on offer. If it is good, I buy, read, and review. That’s how I came to your novels.

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  4. That’s so funny you write about this, JM. I do this, a passive sort of move on my part to promote Indies. I review a lot of them on my blog hoping to get the idea across that way too. Since I started reading Indies, I’ve completely changed my opinion about their professionalism and value. Many are completely equal to traditional blockbusters though maybe in more niche areas of interest.

    Just bought your book, The Adventures of Iric. I’ve never read flash fiction. I’m pretty excited to try it out!

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  5. Pingback: Reflecting on a Productive 2019 – JM Williams

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