How I Became an Indie Book Blogger by Laura Smith
AUTHOR - BLOGGER - AND INDIE SUPPORTER
My name is Laura, and I run Laura’s Books and Blogs. It’s primarily a book review blog, but I also feature guest posts from other writers, essays about writing, list posts, and pretty much anything having to do with entertainment, including movies, travel, and any fun projects that I decide to take on. But it was mainly started as a platform for indie authors to promote their books in creative and eye-catching ways.
Starting out as a self-published author
I’ve been writing my whole life, and when I decided to start writing children’s books, I ultimately went the self-publishing route. Self-publishing online was a relatively new concept, and it cut out the middleman of editors, publishers, and agents whose hoops you have to jump through before you put your work into the world.
This is something I’m now dealing with as I wait for my next book to be traditionally published years after it was accepted for publication. I was young, impatient, and just wanted to see my name in print. So, over the course of five years, I self-published three middle grade novels.
A marketing nightmare
Upon hitting submit, I hit the brick wall of self-publishing: marketing. I thought I’d hit publish, send out a few social media posts, and people would start adding my book to their Amazon carts.
Who did I think I was? What were these stories with awful covers meant for an audience who is not allowed to browse through Amazon or social media? And when they do go online, it’s not to look for a good book to read.
I had neglected the part of writing that is most crucial for success. And I had no team of marketing experts to help me, or even one marketing expert to help me. So, I had to experiment. I did my research and submitted forms to every free book posting site. I then began to scope out blogs who publish reviews of middle grade indie books which, frankly, aren’t a lot.
Bloggers are a hopeful beam of light to indie authors. But they too are notoriously unreliable. Most bloggers blog as a side gig, and they often bite off more than they can chew. More often than not, you’ll find that book bloggers are closed for book review requests because they are so backlogged that they’ll probably never get to the list of books that they’ve already agreed to read.
Starting my dream blog
So, I decided to start my own book blog. And I began by setting guidelines that I, as an indie author, would love to stumble across and help me promote my work. Here are the guidelines that I came up with:
It would be clean and easy to maneuver and read
I put a lot of time into researching design. I wanted it clean and easy to maneuver. My blog’s palette is light blue and white because I read that blue gives off a sense of professionalism. And I chose a theme that allows me to fit as many of my latest posts on my home screen as possible. I spent a lot of time in my first year redesigning until I came up with a design and aesthetic that I like.
Then, I put in a bunch of subpages linking to my books and other writing as well as resources that I’ve come across, charts that I’ve made, and lists that I’ve compiled that might help other authors. I wanted readers to feel compelled to stay on my site and click through as much as possible.
I still struggle with the photography side of things. I’m not a great photographer, I don’t have professional photography equipment, and my banner and Pinterest designs are hit or miss. I’ve learned to keep it as simple as possible rather than trying to look super unique and busy and then looking back and seeing a hot mess of poorly-designed images throughout the post.
It would be reliable
I wanted my blog to be reliable and helpful to these indie authors. If I committed to reading the book, it would be read, reviewed, and published in no more than three months.
After reading, I would get back to the author with a concrete date of publication, and I would always hit that deadline. After four years, I’ve never missed that deadline. I work as far in advance as possible, and even if the author ghosts me, I still make sure that I hold up my end of the bargain.
My usual posts, including book reviews, go up on Mondays at 6:30 am my time. This gives me time before work to blast the link out to my social media sites and make sure the author is notified. Then, I continue to promote it throughout the week and occasionally go back through old posts and repost links online, particularly if they are appropriate for a time of year, holiday, or world event.
No negative reviews
I would only read books that I believed I would like and could give a review of three stars or more. I rate and review the books that I read on Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Bookbub, depending on which sites the book is listed. Those reviews are like gold to indie authors, and I make sure to give them as much help as I can.
I now use the same five-star rating system on my blog. So, if I can’t honestly give the book a “good” review, I’ll stop reading and let the author know that I can’t review it.
As an author myself, I would rather give no review than a bad one. I also think that bad reviews don’t help readers at all. Why would you want to read my thoughts on why a book was bad? Wouldn’t you only want to read reviews about books that you yourself might want to read? Reviews are meant to get readers to read the book, and even if you disagree with my assessment, at least you gave the book a chance and judged for yourself, not based on something I said.
Year One
My blog began as a mixed bag of posts ranging from essays on entertainment and writing to promotional posts about my other writing gigs. I had a very low-pressure day job with a lot of time on my hands. And I had the time and freedom to experiment and take on additional writing projects to help build a more professional list of credentials
I started reviewing books and movies for other websites. So, I would write mini-posts on my blog linking to those reviews. They didn’t have much to say and were not very SEO-friendly, but they gave me content to publish as a sort of writing portfolio.
I then put out a call for indie authors to submit their books to me. I did this through social media, in my monthly newsletter, and on other websites. It didn’t take long for requests to come pouring in from all types of writers in all genres. And the more requests I got, the more particular I had to be in deciding which books to review, trying to choose the ones I would like the most.
Writing my reviews
I took a film class in college that taught me to just pick two or three big things about a movie to talk about in a review. I took that format and applied it to my book reviews. So, I usually talk about the story, its message, and its characters.
It’s the message part where I really dive deep, and authors seems to appreciate that. There’s no bigger compliment for me than when an author says, “You hit the nail right on the head in interpreting what I was trying to say.”
If the author has sent me a hard copy of their book to read, I try to take my own photos of the book cover and Bookstagram-worthy photos to use throughout the post and my Pinterest pins. Photos really help break up the text. So, the more the better. And while it can take some time to put them together, I feel like it’s worth it, especially if I don’t screw it up with my poor photography skills and poorly executed aesthetic ideas.
I also like to interview the authors about their book and then post that interview below the review. This allows me to keep my reviews short and concise while keeping the post itself a decent length.
I compile my interview questions after I’ve finished reading so that I can talk about the book itself, without spoilers, of course. And this makes the author’s answers a lot more fun and engaging, and hopefully, it makes the reader of the review want to read the book.
Who would want to read an indie book?
I think there’s this idea that indie books are the reject books that no one wanted to publish because they’re not as good as traditionally published books. My reviews are out to show readers that this is entirely untrue. And I had to prove it to myself first.
The indie books that I read for my blog often turn out to be better than the bestsellers that I read for fun. In fact, the majority of the books that I start and do not finish are these popular bestsellers.
A staggering number of books are written each year. These books are then pitched to a very small number of literary agents and publishing companies. Each company can only publish about one percent of the submissions that they receive. This means that a lot of good books get thrown into the “no” pile, simply because there’s not enough room for everyone.
Some authors get fed up with the popularity contest of traditional publishing and others don’t even attempt to throw their hat in the ring. But they have great stories to tell. So, my little blog is a place to find those stories.
I know that it’s trendy for readers to make TikTok dances of themselves dancing while holding the latest romance or fantasy release. But that’s not me, and it will never be me. My blog is here to direct readers to good stories that appeal to my specific tastes.
My tastes
I’ve never been a big fantasy or sci-fi reader, though I’ve always loved superhero stories and graphic novels. I also love paranormal and horror.
I love to promote picture books and middle grade books because there are so few bloggers out there who seem to give these books any attention, and I’ve never grown tired of a good children’s book.
I don’t mind romance books, but they can be formulaic and even problematic. So, they’re very hit or miss with me. I’m more likely to give romance a chance in the YA genre than adult. But any type of YA story, other than fantasy, usually catches my interest.
I love memoirs and biographies. But most memoirs contain super heavy topics that wear me out. I know that addiction and assault are very interesting topics, but I’ve read enough of these types of nonfiction books to know that I’ve read enough.
And finally, short books are my preference. I read over 90 books each year, and that’s made possible by reading a bunch of short books. For novels, I’ve been asking for books that are under 300 pages. This ensures that I can get through the book fast enough to get it reviewed and published within my above-mentioned time frame, and it allows me to read and review more books each year.
Guest posts and interviews
Whenever I turn down an author’s book, I always offer them other opportunities to promote their book. I created an author interview series where authors chose from a list of generic questions to answer. I retired this interview and brought it back in a new and improved form in 2023.
I also offer them a space to write a guest post. It can’t be self-promotional. It has to be about something useful or entertaining that an audience would want to read.
Again, these authors aren’t famous. No one is chomping at the bit to read their work. But if they read an engaging piece of their writing, maybe a personal story about their life or really helpful tips about writing, it may make them want to read more of their work, particularly the book that they have written and which is briefly plugged at the end of the post with links to buy. It’s free publicity for them and free content for me which allows me to publish more than one post that week.
In both situations, I also allow these authors to host a book giveaway. They set the terms, and I create a Rafflecopter form where readers earn entries by promoting the giveaway on social media and/or commenting on the post itself. I then draw a name or names when the giveaway ends and send the information to the author. They then take care of sending out the prizes. Some of these are more successful than others, and it’s always intriguing to see which ones gather the most interest.
My goals
My goals as a blogger are to build up as large of a platform as I can for both myself and indie authors. It’s not easy to compete with the big dogs, but I’m proud of the small yet sturdy platform I have been able to create just by being reliable, consistent, and finding good content to share with my readers. I have a small but loyal following, and plenty of outsiders are brought in by my more fun posts that seem to have a larger SEO draw.
I’m hoping this platform leads to new writing opportunities – and it has. I like having this online presence where others can read my work and the work of others who wouldn’t have a place to share their work and their thoughts otherwise.
We write to be heard and to have our thoughts validated. My blog gives me that outlet and the control to post what I want, when I want, and for the audience I want.
So, if you’re a writer of any level, and you want to contribute a guest post, feel free to pitch me your ideas. Or if you’re an author and write the type of books I like to read, send me a book review request. As you know, I consider every submission and offer additional opportunities for you to promote your work and treat that work the way that indie authors deserve to be treated.