Promoting Indie Work is Expensive. It Shouldn't Be.

For most authors, the cost of promoting their hard work is what kills their dream. I think that's a tragedy.

I’d like to make you a deal. But first, let’s talk about the worst part of being an author.

If you spend any time around indie authors on social media, you quickly find that of all the bones of contention we like to gnaw on regarding our craft, promotion is the biggest, toughest one. Our writing communities can be great. Mine certainly has been. Heck, the guy who runs this site agreed to read some of my first draft junk when we were barely moots on Twitter. Within our camps, we forge lasting friendships, commiserate and support each other through the highs and lows, and in the process, do our bit to keep the flames of our art, and literary movements alive.

Writing circles being tightly knit by nature, our friends are often eager to help. An author’s group will help polish edits, get that eBook generated, help with reviews, anything they can do to help you get that dream of yours within inches of the finish line. Then comes time to get a cover designed. A trailer put together. Promo posts for social media. Things your trusted allies simply can’t provide. The dream, riding high, comes crashing against the rocks of a lack of budget and experience. I often see people post online about how they had to settle for a bland cover or less than professional promo graphics, and it breaks my heart.

Before I began writing my novel Body and Blood to save myself from a severe struggle with depression, I was a graphic designer for twenty years. It’s still my day job. Over the past few years, I’ve put a lot of that experience towards helping indie authors and small presses with covers for digital and print, interior book design, book trailers, advertising and social media graphics. Some of my clients have included Amazon bestselling author of the Phoenix series Lori Janeski, Dark Legacies series author Yuval Kordov, Saint Tommy, NYPD and White Ops author and Upstream Reviews E-I-C Declan Finn, The ever audacious J. Manfred Weischel, Full Armor Publishing, Cirsova magazine, Crucifixion Press and many other no doubt familiar names around the Superversive / Iron Age scene.

But let my work speak for itself (there’s more at my website, studiothirtyeight.art):

Back To That Deal . . .

So here’s what I’m offering you, scribes, madmen and dreamers: professional work on a sliding scale. I’ve belly-crawled through the indie author minefield, and I know how to meet people where they’re at in the journey. I also beta read, put together book trailers and write promotional copy, if that’s what you need, and I’m willing to work with whatever your budget is. I know how important it is to you to get your work out there, because I’ve been where you once were.

This site, and the Superversive movement at large was predicated on the things we create mattering, pushing back against the rot we see all around us. Even if you don’t think you can get your quality promotional material for your work, don’t give up. Not until you’ve talked to me, anyway.

Come on, dreamer. Let’s make a deal.

Find me:
On X: @MissingByline (DMs open)
On the web: www.studiothirtyeight.wordpress.com