I am an indie writer. What that means is I am published through an independent press that specializes in a particular genre. At Marcher Lord Press, we seek to fill a niche that many larger publishing companies are not targeting: Christian speculative fiction. This includes science fiction, fantasy, steam punk, dystopia, you name it.
However, as a small specialty press, it also means we don’t have the big marketing budgets that larger publishing houses have. We find ways market ourselves. Not easy, I assure you :). Some of the things we do are: seek out places to be interviewed or reviewed, do book giveaways, and guest blog on different sites. But many times these efforts are only tiny pebbles tossed into the vast ocean of books.
You see, my biggest hurdle an indie author is being found by readers. How do people find my story with so many books out there? And if they do find my book, how do they know it is worth reading?
This is where you, the reader, come in. You are my greatest supporter and ally.
I can hear what you are thinking: I love your book, but I don’t like doing book reviews! I totally understand. It takes a lot of guts for me to write a review. So let me introduce you to other ways you can help an indie author like me get the word out.
Amazon Like: Every book on Amazon has a “like” button attached to it. It’s just like “liking” a post on Facebook. Press the button and tada, there is another “like”. But when a book accumulates enough “likes”, then Amazon begins to promote that book more. Easy, takes 10 seconds, and helps out authors like me. So if you enjoyed Daughter of Light, would you consider “liking” it on Amazon?
Amazon Author Page: I have an author page on Amazon. Just like the “like” system for books, by “liking” my author page, people will be able to find me more on Amazon. Would you consider “liking” my page?
Kobo: Easy peezy. Once again, all you have to do is click and “like”, only this time it’s through Facebook.
And lastly, “liking” it on the Marcher Lord Press website:
No scary reviews, no tacking stars onto my book. Only a couple quick clicks that take less than a minute. And yet by doing this, you will be doing more for me as an author than anything I could do. You, my readers, make a huge difference.
So would you consider taking a moment and helping an indie author out? I would so appreciate that! Thank you.
Morgan L. Busse 
You know what I can’t figure out? Tagging. My publisher asks the authors to like and “tag” fellow authors on Amazon, but I can’t figure out how to tag.
Hi Jennifer! Tags can be found near the bottom of the book’s page. Basically you either agree with the tags already attached to the book by clicking next to the tag, or create a new one that you think belongs with the book. For example, the tags associated with my book are: Fantasy, Christian Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Epic Fantasy, etc…
What I find interesting is all these ways Amazon and other sites have to promote authors (likes, reviews, tags, etc…), yet I wonder how many common readers know about these or even how to use them. You almost have to be an expert at these lol.
Just ordered your book. Look forward to reading it.