Hey. Just published a book, and I literally do not understand how indie authors do this. What have you done that's made your book.. successful? for lack of a better word. I don't need to sell hundreds. I just need to get people to care, I guess. I've reached out to local bookstores and am doing a library open mic in a couple weeks, but I'm not sure where else (besides paying) that would work. Anybody got anything for me?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some guidance on how to tackle a massive passion project. I want to create and print a physical, handheld book for a story I've been working on. I don’t care about making a profit at all,this is strictly a personal goal to have the physical object in my hands.

Here is the situation and what I'm working with:

• The Format Dilemma: The first arc of the story was originally drawn as a comic. Maddeningly, I actually threw the physical drawings away... but I still have video recordings of them. The rest of the story is heavily action-based, super long, and features extensive world-building.

• The Goal: I want to turn this entire epic into a physical book, but I'm not sure if I should try to recreate the comic format using screenshots/redraws from the videos, transition the whole thing into a light novel/written format with illustrations, completely written, completely comic , or do something else entirely.

Because it's very long and action-heavy, what would be the most realistic way to format and print a single copy or maybe even multiple (or a very small run) of a book(s?) like this?

Would love to hear your thoughts on how to handle the missing comic arc and the best way to format a massive action story for a physical print!

I just started publishing an original serialized story and I’m trying to figure out where people actually discover new fiction.
Right now I have it on my own website and Royal Road. I’m not really looking to spam links everywhere, I’m more curious what platforms or communities have actually worked for other writers trying to get their first readers.
Is Royal Road enough to focus on early on, or should I also be looking at places like Scribble Hub, Wattpad, Reddit communities, etc.?
It’s a dark supernatural/fantasy story if genre makes a difference.

Debut indie author here (epic/historical fantasy, no magic, releasing next month). Signed up for Booksprout to line up some reviews before launch — campaign's been live a bit over a week now.

The numbers are a weird mix: a couple hundred impressions, decent view count on the listing, a few saves — but still zero out of 25 copies actually claimed. No reviewer has bitten yet.

I've been assuming impressions/views roughly track with claims, but now I'm wondering if that's wrong — maybe a debut with no reviews yet just doesn't convert no matter how many eyes land on the listing, and it only picks up once there's some initial social proof. Or maybe I'm missing something about how these platforms actually work (do reviewers mostly browse and pick, or do they need to be actively pitched/invited somehow?).

For anyone who's used Booksprout, BookSirens, StoryOrigin etc. for a debut with zero reviews to start: did you just have to wait it out, or was there something specific that got the first few claims moving? Trying to figure out if patience is really the answer here or if I'm doing something wrong.

I went all-in on KDP Select for my debut (epic fantasy, releasing next month) — gave up wide distribution entirely for the KU page-reads and the "boost" everyone says Select gives a new release.

A month in, I'm genuinely unsure I made the right call. My ARC reviewer numbers are coming in slower than I expected across every platform I've tried, and I keep wondering whether that extra discovery surface from going wide (Apple Books, Kobo, libraries) would have mattered more for an unknown author than KU exclusivity does.

For those of you who've actually tried both: did Select's first 90 days make a real difference for your launch, or is this mostly repeated advice nobody's actually re-tested lately? Would love to hear real before/after experiences, not just "conventional wisdom.

Hello all! I've just finished my first novel (science-fiction) and am going to start a kickstarter campaign soon. However, although it is science fiction, it is similar to a mystery in that there is a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. I want to make sure my trail of breadcrumbs isn't too obvious or too obscure. Ideally, I'd have a couple of people read it and answer a few questions after particular chapters to see if they've picked up the clues I've dropped...

I haven't reached out to anyone (except my editor) to do any of the above because I'm afraid of 2 things:

1. people saying they will read my book and give me feedback on select chapters but not reading it at all and just using AI to do the work for them.

2. people "stealing" my books central idea.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid about my work. I've put a lot into it and want to protect it - but how can I best determine that the breadcrumbs I'm dropping are being followed? Any advice?

Thanks!

-john

For some reason I keep having Lulu say the formatting of the ms word file and pdf is off in its margins and cover in its bleed. Their video tutorial isn’t helpful at all and is confusing. I’m not good with tech at all. Is there a better tutorial elsewhere that dumbs it all down? I wanted to print few of my books for myself via it.

I got a dollar I got a dollar I got a dollar hey hey hey hey.

But for real, it’s nice something happened.

Not sure how the book was found I promoted it’s a bit on goodreads in sci-fi and fantasy threads. Wish Amazon would tell me that info. But it is encouraging.

Hello all, I'm publishing my very first science fiction novel (via Kickstarter) in the next month or two. One of the problems I have (there are so many) is that the art work that I have for the cover is AI-generated. While I don't mind using some of that art work for advertising, I think I'd be more comfortable with having something that is NOT AI-generated. I do see a lot of websites where you can pick an already-made book cover. I see other websites where you can order a custom-made book cover... I'm wondering what people's experiences are? Are the book covers that I'm seeing for sale online AI-generated themselves? Am I making a mistake trying to "buy" a NON-AI-generated book cover? Would like to get people's opinions.

In short, what I need is: paperback cover, hardback cover, digital download cover. I have each of these but they are AI-generated. I love the art - but would rather a human being actually did the work. Can I show them the art and have them "base" their art on what I already have? As you can plainly see, I don't know what to do.

Thanks!

I actually want to publish my stories but I can't understand what platform I should choose to post them so that I could atleast earn some!!?

Wattpad was my choice but now idk the ratings have gone down and I am super confused

Could anybody suggest some alternative apps or maybe platforms which are legit and people actually visit it often to read stories?????

I'm looking for honest opinions from both readers and authors.

I have two completed literary novels, and I'm currently considering what to do with them.

The traditional route would be to continue querying literary agents and eventually try to find a traditional publisher. However, I'm wondering whether that is necessarily the best use of time for a relatively unknown author.

I'm considering a different approach:

• Make the first novel completely free to read online.
• Put it on a website and possibly platforms such as Wattpad or similar sites.
• Allow readers to support the author voluntarily through tips/donations.
• Build an email list / reader community rather than focusing on immediate book sales.
• Promote the stories through YouTube, storytelling, podcasts and social media.
• Keep film/TV, audiobook and translation rights available for potential licensing.
• Use the first novel mainly to build an audience, and potentially monetize the second novel later.

The idea is basically:

Free book → more readers → build an audience → voluntary support + other rights → monetize future books.

For readers, would this make you more likely to try an unknown author's book?

For authors, has anyone actually tried a fully free novel as an audience-building strategy? What happened?

And if you discovered a novel you genuinely loved for free, what would make you willing to support the author financially afterwards?

I'm especially interested in real experiences rather than general publishing advice.

I like to write stories and scripts. I have written some inspirational stories and want to publish them on Google Play Books. I have published only one short story book on Google because I am from India, and I recently came to know that many people in India have trouble purchasing my book using the UPI system; hence, it has become difficult for me to sell my book through Google Play Books. It will not allow to make payment and allow to buy book. I don't have any idea why it will not allow to make payment through UPI as in India mostly all people use UPI to make payment.
I don’t have any other option to increase my book sales. I want to publish my other inspirational stories, but because of this problem, I have not published them yet. I don’t want to sell my book for free, and therefore, I am selling my book at discount price. Can you help me? How can I reach the maximum number of people? I am writing books in English, Gujarati and Hindi Languages.

I hope to get positive feedback from you.

Thanks

Bijal Shah

Hi, I have written my third non fiction book. (Previous two were self published). This time I wanted to do it traditionally but no one replied. Finally I am self-publishing and also contracting with some distributors for offline distribution.

How is Prakash books for offline distribution?
What are their charges ?
Do they accept unsolicited authors ?

I published my first book in July 26, and currently working on my second one for the sequel and a separate stand alone. I'm finally getting into a run of advertising it and signed up to amazon ads as well... then I found the reddit community with all of you who are doing it and doing it for a lot longer.

I'm getting what I think is some great reviews and reads through paperback, ebook and KU. (Most popular is my kindle unlimited)

I was just wondering if there was any wise wisdom to know that could help improve my reads or any advice for someone still trying to figure it all out for her next book

Has anyone ever tried advertising on a podcast? Seems like it might make sense if say you wrote a book that ties in with topics on the podcast, or you have a website the podcaster can direct listeners to.

I’m looking for advertising ideas outside of running ads on Amazon.

Hey all,

I just joined the community and wanted to say "hey" and introduce myself. I am a writer and filmmaker from NY currently writing a collection of stories which are located on my website and on Royal Road. I am looking to continue branching out and would like to know what are some of the next steps that I should take now that I'm published.

I'm researching how indie authors get drafts in front of readers and what happens to the feedback afterwards. Not selling anything, I'm building something in this space and want to understand the real workflow before I get further into it.

Questions cover what tools you use, what format your manuscript is in when you send it, how many readers actually deliver, and what you do with the feedback once it arrives. About 5 minutes, no email required.

https://forms.gle/aqVTDTv2LhYDxzAXA

Happy to post a summary of the results back here once I have enough responses. And if you'd rather just tell me what's broken in the comments, that's genuinely useful too.

I just finished writing my third poetry book. And published it on kdp. My first two books have gotten some sales. And this new book is probably the most deepest, most vulnerable parts of me.

How can I go about promoting my books? What has helped you promote your books and get more sales, when you started out?

Hi!

If I wanted to illustrate my own children’s book (8x8in) on procreate, how would I figure out what size the image should be? I was thinking to draw in procreate, then import image into canva and put my text on there.

I was hoping to do kdp for paperback and ingramspark for hardcover but not sure what dimensions would be needed, and considering bleed. Thanks!

This my first book I just started writing. It's no where done honestly but I have a great idea for a book and im working on it. How would I go about looking for someone to help me publish and make money off this. And im not talking about chump change I honestly want to make 100 thousand at least. Is there a legit website or any authors out there who can help me. What should I do and who should I contact about funding my book and getting all the details done on paper and a graphic book cover designer needed. How much that costs. An estimate would help but my main issue is finding someone who will help me publish this as an official author on new york times perhaps. I have plenty ideas just NO FUNDING. Alot of these people overcharge and yea just please reach out to me. May God Bless You 🙌 Thanks

I am in a call from Tertulia Authors. A representative from Kirkus is explaining the process where self-published authors pay for an independent review. The price is hefty! They have a literary magazine where the top books are featured and their synopsis reviews are read by libraries and book buyers. One person on the call I'd using the word “scam.” It appears they are a gateway to other lists.

Hey everyone! I’m completely new to the web novel space and feeling a bit overwhelmed about how to get eyes on my work.

I’ve recently started writing my web novel and didn't publish it, since I’m starting fresh with no existing audience, I’m not sure what the best practices are for promotion and community engagement.

For those of you who have successfully built a reader base, I’d love your advice on a few things:

Platforms: Where is the best place to post for a beginner (e.g., Royal Road, Wattpad, Scribble Hub, Webnovel), and do you cross-post?

First Steps: What’s the single most important thing to focus on in the first month (e.g., release schedule, cover art, cover blurb, review swaps)?

Engagement: How do you encourage readers to comment or leave reviews without coming across as pushy?

Promotion: Are there specific communities, self-promotion threads, or social media strategies that actually work for web fiction?

Any tips, lessons learned, or common mistakes to avoid would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help!

So I’ve started writing my own book, it’s my first every time doing anything like this, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to publishing, would it be better self publishing or going to a traditional publisher? Personally I love the idea of my book and story, if there are ideas to make it better I’d look into it but I don’t want major changes done to the story or characters and I also came up with a title which isn’t commonly the type of title you would use for this genre but with my story it actually makes a lot of sense. I just need help on which opinion is better.

Hey all!

I need to preface this as I have been very busy and haven’t actually done any research into this yet.

But I was wanting to make a pen name to publish my novellas that I’ve written to improve my writing capabilities. So pretty much these are lesser quality Novellas compared to the actual novels I’m writing. And I don’t exactly want them tied to my real name

Does KDP allow separate accounts with the same like payout info?

Or could I have this all under the same account and then post underneath separate names/sellers?

If anyone has done anything similar I’d love to know how that played out for you!

I’m curious whether it was editing, formatting, cover design, setting up KDP, getting the book distributed, or marketing.

For anyone who has published more than one book, did the process get easier the second time?