Mersades Bergmann - Independent Publishing

There is a difference between indie authors and self published authors.

I believe misusing them is not fair to other writers or to readers.

I understand they get used interchangeably by many authors, but there is a distinct difference.

Self-published authors foot the bill, they take over as the publisher. They stay in complete control, pay for their own editing, a cover designer, proper formatting, and handle all distribution. While this can cost $0.00 if done on your own, it isn’t recommended. It’s important to hire professional help, that’s what it means to put yourself in the place of a publisher. Investment.

Indie authors are authors published with a small independent publisher. (The Scriptorium Publishing, Rare Bird Books, Hawthorne Books, and more.) We as publishers pay for everything. We vet submissions, help make it the best it can be, and push it.

I believe it is important we understand these key differences. Especially in an ecosystem where self-published books are clogging the space.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing on everyone who self-published. I’m dissing on the ones who think you can slap on an AI cover or plain image, not professional format their book, and very clearly have no editor. These books are everywhere and will call themselves indie. Which is misleading and unfair to our readers.

The Scriptorium Publishing is running our second writing contest.

This one is focused on Dark Romance.

Dark Romance focuses on the uglier side of love. It’s where pain and passion live together. No sugar coating what reality feels like.

For rules, guidelines, and further information please check out https://thescriptoriumpublishing.com/the-scriptorium-writing-contest/

The Scriptorium Writing Contest - The Scriptorium Publishing This is a growing writing contest designed to spotlight bold, strange, and emotionally resonant voices.

Types of ART that is being replaced by AI and affecting the creative industry:

•Illustration

•Book covers

•Editing/Writing

•Marketing

•Game Development

Stop. Hire a professional. Stand against the AI takeover.

Human creation will always be better.

*Daily reminder not to take anyone’s work and feed it to AI. Don’t aid in theft.*

Struggling with marketing and advertising?

In a world full of AI, it's hard to stick to your human-centered guns. Here are some options without using gen AI.

•Take videos of yourself packing books, unboxing the books, or signing the books. Speed it up, zoom in, remove sound and add music or a voice over.

•Take images of people holding your book somewhere in nature: reading it at the park on a blanket, a bench, sitting in their car.

•Create videos talking about how you relate to a character, what made them the hardest or easiest to write.

You can reuse these time and time again. From static ads across social media, to engaging videos.

Authors, what is your favorite non-AI way to connect with your readers?

“The fact is that brands are not maintained by advertising but by customers’ engagement with brands and customers’ brand experiences.”

-Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2023) Marketing: An Introduction (15 Ed.)

Human connection is irreplaceable.

Authenticity drives thought leadership.

Generative AI is ruining the book industry.

I am not a typical publisher.

I am 100% myself at all times. If you come into my stream and see me joking around with my chatters, it doesn’t make me unprofessional—it makes me authentic.

I am a weird girl, a loud girl, a creative, enthusiastic, unapologetically blunt girl.

I love books, I love magic, I love the weird and obsessive, the odd and unusual.

That doesn’t make me any less knowledgeable. I encourage everyone to always be themselves. Don’t let one person take you and force you to live in a box.

“I, myself, am strange and unusual.”

Self published and Indie Published are not the same.

If you shoulder all the financial burdens of publishing—you’re self published.

If you go to a small press, where they shoulder all of the financial burden—you’re an indie author.

Using them interchangeably is confusing.