Bridging The Gap Between Indie Authors and Indie Bookstores
Escaping the Algorithm: The Self-Published Author’s Handbook to Working Directly with the Book Community to Build a Business provides actionable steps to producing a marketable book.
Selling self-published books doesn’t have to mean going viral on social media. Indie authors can work directly with the book industry to sell their books.
M.J. Etkind, The New York Times Featured Author who’s never had a book deal, walks through her strategy for selling to bookstores and reaching partners within the book industry. Tired of expensive self-publishing courses that promise vitality (and yet oftentimes they lead nowhere), M.J. Etkind shares how she has sold over 1,000 books to bookstores and libraries and has had placement in over 100 bookstores with just three self-published novels.
This book includes a replicable marketing strategy that directly reaches the buyers who decide what goes on shelves. Authors are no longer forced into a world where they are required to battle ever changing algorithms for book sales.
Are you a bookstore wanting to teach this book in you store? Check out resources here:
"This book is an important read and thoughtful guide for aspiring authors and booksellers alike, helping to foster mutually beneficial relationships between indie bookstores and the indie authors who write the stories on our shelves." - Natasha Meyer, Owner of The Well Red Damsel: A Romance Bookstore, Milwaukee, WI
"An invaluable resource for self-published authors searching for success with bookstores and beyond! If you're not sure where to start to get your books on the shelves, this is a must-read!" - Kealie Mardell-Carrera, Underdog Bookstore, Monrovia, CA
"M.J. reiterates and validates everything I have been telling self-published authors for years.” - Arlan Hess, City Books, Pittsburgh
"A definitive guide on getting your book noticed and stocked on indie bookshop shelves." - Katie Gilliland, Owner/Editor, Finch & Fern Book Co, Sylvania, OH
"Solid and practical advice for engaging with bookstores without making it weird for everyone. This is how you approach (please)” - Danielle Trenneym, Owner of Vintage Max Mercantile, Bellevue PA
"Drawing on her personal experience partnering with bookstores as an indie author, Etkind has created an accessible, empathetic, and business-savvy guide for all of us.” - Lily and Hannah Barrett, Read My Lips Boston
As a self-published author and bookstore lover, I have found myself committed to bridge the gap between indie bookstores and indie authors. Traditional publishing continues to get less risky and more conservative with the books they are buying. Authors from marginalized identities are being left out of the conversation more and more. In addition, places like Amazon and TikTok, which created the indie author boom, have degraded in the past few years. Amazon has been overrun by AI slop which is making it hard for actual indie authors who don't use AI, to find an audience. Tiktok's change in ownership and traditional publishing’s ability to put money behind big books has made it much harder for new voices to break through on that app.
Independent bookstores continue to be a great way for readers to discover new authors away from the algorithms and the endless scroll of AI slop. The issue is that indie authors and indie bookstores tend to have competing priorities. Indie bookstores tend to prefer the lower risk that comes with bringing in a traditionally published book, often relying on big five publishers to curate their shelves. This is a move that continues to enforce large publishing dominance (oligopoly) through our local bookstores. Conversely, indie authors struggle to fully understand the economics and benefits of working with bookstores. The issue is that this lack of relationship shuts out so many authors because so many readers still rely on their local bookstore for what they are buying and reading.
As our world changes, I am committed to building a bridge between indie authors and indie bookstores.
I have developed completely free resources for both indie bookstores and indie authors to help bridge the gap between the two.
I am also always open to presenting this information either in person or virtually to help continue to bridge this gap. Please email me at mjetkind@izzihousebooks.com for requests or inquiries about these resources.