Indie Thoughts
Interviews w/ Indie Authors. Featuring author Andrew K. Clark
Honoring the collaborative spirit of the indie author community, Indie Thoughts is a brand new initiative to gather helpful marketing insight from the indie authors out here putting in the work to make their dreams come true. It is my hope that by sharing helpful tips and different techniques, we can strengthen the community. Indie Thoughts will be included alongside the For Indies newsletter. Be sure to subscribe and get each new interview, as well as each new article, delivered straight to your inbox.
This week’s Indie Thoughts interview is with the charismatic Andrew K. Clark. Or, if you’re on Threads, you know him as The Monk. And that he really, really likes grits. Creating and maintaining a strong social media presence is imperative as an indie author, and I had to hear his thoughts about marketing as an indie author. Thankfully, The Monk obliged.
Do you consider yourself an indie author? What does that mean to you? If so, what made you decide to go this route? Do you have plans to switch gears and go traditional, or will you stay indie?
I am an indie author! To me, this means an author published with an independent press or small press (i.e., not one of the big four). My first book, Jesus in the Trailer: Poems, was published by Main Street Rag Press, and my novel, Where Dark Things Grow, is coming from Cowboy Jamboree Press in the fall of 2024. I did some traditional agent querying for my novel, but I am very comfortable with the small press model. They are bringing out more work that bends genres, as my work does. I’d never say never, but in my opinion, small presses are just braver. Just as an example, I got feedback from agents who’d requested full manuscripts saying things like “this is too dark for my list,” and the agent had ‘horror’ listed as a genre they rep on their pages (and my book is gothic horror, not “slasher” horror). They’re kind of looking for things that fit easily into a box and read like so many other books you’ve already read. There’s nothing brave about that.
What is your biggest marketing challenge as an indie author? Are there any specific challenges for authors who write in your genre?
When you publish indie, you are your own marketing machine. My biggest challenge has been getting folks who read my book and send me emails or DMs telling me they love it to actually go onto Goodreads or Amazon and write reviews. Being readers not in the industry, they are unaware of how much this affects the almighty algorithm. My first book was poetry, so that’s part of it. People don’t know how to review a book covering many different topics. I’m optimistic the novel will be easier for readers to review.
I think the best thing indie authors can do is be good literary citizens. By that, I mean being an advocate for other indie authors and small presses. Buying and reviewing their books and posting about them on social media. You do it first because you’re a reader and you want good work to get noticed. But also, if all you ever do is post about your work, people see through that agenda. You never expect reciprocity, but it’s nice when it happens, and it will be natural because you’re someone who practices what they preach.
Where did you learn your marketing skills, or is marketing something you do intuitively?
I work in the corporate world for my day gig and worked in sales and marketing for many years. It’s in my blood. As much as I’d rather just churn out creative work and have it sell itself, it doesn’t work that way. Being a good marketer is almost as important as being a good writer. So, I read a lot and watch YouTube videos about the best way to market books, then I just add a lot of my own personality into my online presence. I drop-shipped a bag of grits to the UK along with my book for someone who engaged with me on Threads, who’d never had them. I want to have fun engaging with other writers and readers online, so some things like this are a bit tongue in cheek. But hopefully they create some awareness of who I am and that I am an advocate for others.
How do you market your own books? Do you have a set schedule, or do you just post when inspired?
When my book launched, I posted on a schedule. I read about the best times to post on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. I do this now if I have readings coming up. Otherwise, I tend to just randomly post about books I like as a Bookstagrammer and mix in some posts about my work, such as sharing a newly published poem or posting an interview. When my novel launches next fall, I will be much more systematic and scheduled about it.
Is building community important to you? How do you go about doing that?
This is everything. When we talk about marketing, the best thing an indie author can do is build community and make connections. If you help other authors by promoting their work, if you connect folks you know with each other, you are building community. I do it by following writers I respect and folks I see others engage with online. I create and follow posts where writers can share lines from their work, talk about craft books, share a photo that fits the aesthetic of the book, etc. It’s all about having fun and meeting folks with similar interests and sensibilities.
Regarding social media, which platform would you say is your favorite? Is there one you consider more successful than the other?
For me, I’ve had the most success from Instagram and, lately, Threads. The Bookstagram community is really creative, and I’ve found it to be supportive of my work. The Threads literary community has a scrappy, irreverent vibe that gels with my personality, and it reminds me of Twitter in its early days.
What’s your least favorite and why?
X (Twitter) is my least favorite, and I’ve pretty much stopped engaging there. With X, there is a lot of hate speech as a constant, and now it is pretty favored and promoted by the owner. The left on X isn’t much better. The theme seems to be how we can tear someone apart and signal our virtue. There is no “thoughtful discourse” on X, as there was in its early days, and I want no part of it.
If you had any tips for indie authors starting out, what would it be?
Keep focusing on your craft: call this first things first. If you are not part of a critique group, find one or start one. These should be people who will be honest with you and whose opinion you absolutely trust. They should be empathically interested in improving your work. A good model is the “what’s working / what’s not working” model. This is a simple way to give feedback that is tempered and helpful. In addition, your critique partners should share any ideas they have about improving the work. That’s the goal. Saying something doesn’t work isn’t valuable without the follow-up.
Create community: find your niche. If you write horror, as I do, follow Bookstagrammers who promote those books. Post your own reviews and/or social media posts about books and authors you love. Look for your people and engage with them. It doesn’t have to all be about books either; I’ve had discussions about synthesizers, gardening, cities we’ve visited, etc., with writers and readers I’ve met online. But always be respectful. If we could get this tattooed on everyone’s head online, that would be great. Creating community doesn’t allow space to harass or talk down to folks and is the quickest way to find yourself in isolation.
Give us a little plug about your latest projects.
My novel, Where Dark Things Grow, is coming out next fall. It is a book of magical realism, horror, and the southern gothic. I would describe it as Daniel Woodrell meets Stephen Graham Jones (two of my favorite authors). It is set in 1930s Southern Appalachia, in and around Asheville, NC, my hometown, and where I live.
Quick synopsis of the book: Fifteen-year-old Leo is watching the world crumble. His father is missing, and his mother is slipping into madness as she cares for Leo, his sick sister Goldfish, and two useless brothers. Relatives are no help, and the church folk have turned their backs. Oh, and he’s being stalked by the ghost of his dead baby brother, Jacob.
When Leo discovers an enchanted wulver that will do his bidding, he decides to settle old scores. Revenge is sweet, but Leo soon learns he cannot control what he’s unleashed. It takes his tomboy best friend, Lilyfax, to help Leo overcome his anger as they set out to rescue trafficked girls rumored to be frozen in the trees by the mysterious Blue Man.
I was recently a guest on the Punch Bucket Lit Podcast where I talk about the book and read an excerpt. You can check that out here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pbl-pod-writers-in-conversation/id1691133005
Andrew K. Clark is a writer from Asheville, NC. His poetry collection, Jesus in the Trailer was published by Main Street Rag Press, and his first novel, Where Dark Things Grow, is forthcoming from Cowboy Jamboree Press in the fall of 2024. His work has appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, UCLA’s Out of Anonymity, Appalachian Review, Rappahannock Review, and The Wrath Bearing Tree. He received his MFA from Converse University. Connect with him at andrewkclark.com.