Monday, August 29, 2016

Indie Author Day

If dogs can have their own day (which was last week), why not indie authors?

The first annual Indie Author Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 8th. Libraries across the United States will be holding a variety of events to support local indie authors. You can learn more about Indie Author Day at their own website, indieauthorday.com. This is also where authors and libraries can sign up to join the event. I think signing up puts you on the ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) mailing list, as I received an e-mail from them with an offer of a free eBook shortly after I signed up.

One caveat I would point out is that one of the sponsors of Indie Author Day is SELF-e, a service that asks indie authors to donate eBooks so SELF-e can sell them to libraries. I don't mind donating paper copies of my books to the local library or offering permafree books as a marketing strategy, but other people shouldn't profit off of my free works. Hopefully they won't pressure me to enroll with SELF-e.

My local library hasn't signed up yet to be part of Indie Author Day, so I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to do anything with them or if I'll be able to participate at another nearby library. I'll keep you updated as the time draws closer.

5 comments:

PT Dilloway said...

I'll mark that on my calendar.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Well, hopefully some library near you will participate.

Maria Zannini said...

That does seem odd for a company to profit for donating books. And how do authors know their books are in there unless they contact the library?

I suppose that's another way to make a buck so authors don't have to do the job themselves.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Wow, even our small town library is participating in that event. (I'm attending as a publisher with a couple of my authors. No, I'm not indie - it's a bonus for doing my seminars there the following couple Saturdays.) I'd call your library and request it.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Do you plan to participate, Pat?

Alex, there is a nearby library participating, so I can talk to them if my local library doesn't join the event.

Maria, the company expects the indies to donate the books, but then the company charges the libraries. Hurts both parties, IMO.

Diane, that's a good idea!

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