From my Goodreads blog:
What are the relationships between indie writers out there? This is a very interesting subject. When I first came into the business, I was asked by a fellow indie author to review his work, but he was not willing to review mine. "Why?" I asked. He said that it looked bad to appear to provide reviews that seemed quid pro quo. He was right to think that, since those readers who post reviews can be savage about an authors credibility.
Over the last year I've read Stuart Jaffe's The Way of the Black Beast, Timothy Wood's Grant me Timely Grace, and Rebecca Scarberry's Messages from Henry. Each was a work of the heart by the particular author. But, I can't spend all my time reading - as you've guessed, I'm a writer. Having said that, I try and support my fellow authors as I can. One way I've done this is by putting their web site as a link on my web site. I've written a few reviews, and have gone to fellow author's pages at various sites to "like", comment, or put down some tags for them. Some of them have done the same for me. And, that is really the name of the game as an indie author, networking.
As an indie author, I spend most of my waking time at my day job, or writing. Time for promoting others, and myself is very limited for me.
On the subject of promotion, it is clear that there is little desire by some authors to promote their fellow author's works. Why? It's not clear. Most likely they are under the same stress that I am.
In the market there are few well developed and inexpensive advertising outlets for indie authors, and the personal cost in time and/or money to market one's works is prohibitive in many cases. Having said that, my readership continues to grow - slowly. Visibility is the crucial key to financial success for an indie author. How do we achieve that? There are some suggestions out there, a few books, but it all boils down to money and time; a luxury that most indie authors struggle with. I sure struggle with it.
If you like sword and sorcery fantasy, or historical fiction, check out my works here on Goodread, Amazon Books, Smashwords, or my web site www.boarerpitchford.com. I write action and adventure stories that drive the imagination and titillate the senses.
Regards,
Lawrence BoarerPitchford, Author
Thadius (historical fiction)
Sawbones (historical fiction)
In the World of Hyboria (barbarian sword and sorcery)
The Lantern of Dern Blackhammer (sword and sorcery)
