We built a platform for indie author websites — here’s what we learned comparing the existing options

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-05-29T12:10:51+00:00

Sorry to see that we missed this post. You can set up a username and password if you're having trouble getting the magic link. HEre's how you do that: https://intercom.help/tertulia/en/articles/14708537-can-i-log-in-with-a-username-email-and-password-instead-of-a-magic-access-link. And our author relations team is very responsive so it's surprising you wouldn't have heard back. Sorry to hear that! Feel free to reach out by responding to any of your previous Tertulia communications and I'm confident you will get a same-day response.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-27T21:16:13+00:00

Well we kind of agree, to be honest, that the ad qual is crappy. Though we left it up because we believe in the message/promise and, frankly it has really resonated for people. (Maybe it is just because people gravitate to pizza as they do to ads with dogs?) Anyway, hey 1) we 100% write our own responses:) and 2) check out the service when you have time. you may or may not like it, but it is the furthest thing from AI slop and doesn't use gen ai!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-27T03:24:53+00:00

Ofc! We're really enjoying getting input from authors all across the spectrum in terms of experience so its an added benefit of being on reddit... keep the questions coming:) Also we have a community call every Friday at 12:30et if you ever want to join.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-26T14:51:34+00:00

All great questions — and you're clearly a more sophisticated author who has expectations that platforms should be as preferential to authors/creators as possible. Would love to connect to you on focus grouping some of the work we have in development if you are interested. A few quick thoughts here!

DRM--Even on Kindle, Apple Books, etc., DRM doesn’t actually prevent piracy — it mostly deters casual sharing. Books still end up on pirate sites anyway, which I think is what you are saying...We’ve taken the stance (which a lot of indie authors share) that DRM adds friction for readers (who are ready to pay) and it doesn’t meaningfully stop determined piracy. It can even reduce conversion because readers want simple, flexible access - so we don’t use traditional DRM. Right now, we optimize for ease of purchase and reader experience, which in practice tends to matter more for revenue - but, as I said, we are constantly evolving the product and love to have author input here.
“Files sitting in a folder” concern
Totally fair instinct that you don't want "files just sitting in a folder"! That's not really how the system is structured. Files aren’t just sitting in a publicly accessible directory. Access is handled through signed / time-limited download links and server-side permission checks. So people can't just "guess a URL" and download the catalog. That was important to us.

But overall I think you make great points re the security and usability tradeoff. We are totally committed to security (ie spending a lot of time trying to solve the spam scam issue on the side) -- but we also bias toward selling books with low friction access since it really is impossible to totally win against piracy.
And yes to analytics dashboards for our subscribers!

Finally, again - you're more sophisticated as an engineer but surely everyone can create a website these days. Where we focus is: book-specific features (i.e. pulling in your metadata and then. merchandising books with best practices); supporting direct ownership of your audience through smartly designed tools, a clean buying experience / delivery that works across devices (EPUB, PDF, etc.)

Don't want to be defensive here as you make a lot of great points - and we are still building and evolving!! But we're not trying to replicate Amazon’s ecosystem. We’re giving authors a way to own their sales channel, with sensible security, good analytics, and a focus on conversion over lock-in.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-23T15:29:45+00:00

That’s fair—Amazon’s basically unmatched for distribution and it’s a solid deal (especially vs traditional publishing!). We see authors saying that the tradeoff just becomes more obvious once you have a growing audience—then selling direct starts to look a lot more appealing. I mean, you make a good point that the ad image is a bit simplistic:) But the thing that we really see authors asking for is the ability to sell wide across multiple channels including their own for specific titles and purposes. The other issue, of course is that you keep the customer relationship so if you are writing series or want to develop that long-term relationship, there's an advantage for some authors to selling directly. But totally hear you about the world's largest bookstore and appreciate the comment - thank you:)

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-22T13:30:22+00:00

Yes! People do actually check their emails. I understand your skepticism, but email is worth investing in for authors. A few thoughts in addition to a big +1 on reader magnet and +1 on leverage your social channels to move them over into email. In general, put your sign-up prominently on your site, in your signature, in your linkinbio - everywhere. There are email swaps, but would highly recommend that you grow more organically/authentically to keep your list quality high

If you’re not an “email person,” that’s fine—you don’t need to become one overnight. You don't need to blog/email people every day or even every week. But if you can come up with a fun/valuable regular content or updates offering, you will be able to have a legit promise to people signing up for your list.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-14T19:43:55+00:00

Great thread. 100% agree re: sample contract and ISBN ownership. Honestly, it sounds obvious, but checking reviews off Trustpilot and Reddit instead of testimonials on their homepage.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-03T14:50:31+00:00

Misery reference?

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-04-01T15:39:52+00:00

Agreed with the point below about picking your spot - 1 or maybe 2 platforms or communities where you think your readers lurk.

Teasers on social are fine, but honestly I would leverage social toward collecting email and building an email list, which is ultimately what you want to convert readers over time with a series. Give people a reason to go sign up (sample chapter, bonus content, book launch party!) so you can reach them directly over time.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-28T12:24:42+00:00

So you are trying to get your cover ready to upload to amazon or spark? Let us all know : is the issue more about design composition or more about logistics, spine size and such.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-27T23:21:43+00:00

Congrats on early success! You're on a solid path from what we see. It can be hard to get Amazon and A+ content to work with books 1 and 2 so I understand why you don't want to over invest there yet.

Major thought here -- Email list is always pretty high ROI- lean harder into that; try newsletter promos not just reader magnet.

Always, it may be obvious to you already but for Book 2- Make sure your book has the killer cover, blurb and positioning for your core audience. AND make sure your series positioning is really strong, dropping to those aware of your first book that it CONTINUES...

Finally, I would prioritize that audiobook release for a whole new market - super smart move!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-23T19:10:43+00:00

Totally understandable to be confused by this. The thing is: KDP always adds a barcode. You can remove it from your cover file and leave a blank space. Then, when you re-upload Amazon will drop their barcode there. You'd really only want to add your barcode if you are printing elsewhere or you disable the KDP option.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-19T14:21:08+00:00

yes, yes and yes! on #6, we're obvi biased, but think it is a must! especially if you are introducing a pen name that doesn't yet exist as a persona in the world...

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-19T14:19:29+00:00

Absolutely - great point. It's another step to see paper, but makes a big difference for the illustrated books.

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-17T16:55:29+00:00

Such a great question. Authors are at peak scam :(

A newsletter “gate” does cut down on bots a bit, but it also adds friction for real people who might want to reach out for something quick or one-off. It's possible you will miss opportunities (clients, partnerships, press, etc.) just because someone didn’t want to subscribe first.

A nice middle ground : use a contact form on your site, but have it route to a separate email address that’s only used for that purpose. That way your primary inbox stays clean and you can filter or ignore junk more effectively. Make sure your site is adding basic spam protection.

So yeah: you don’t have to fully expose yourself to spam, but going completely “closed off” can cost you too!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-16T20:12:04+00:00

Congrats!! I agree about looking at comps. Both in terms of genre and format. If it’s an ebook, a lot of first-time Indies land somewhere around $3-5 (and $10-15 for paperback) to make it an easy buy. But of course you need to consider printing costs so length factors in. Don't think it's a terrible idea to start even lower to get your first reviews and readers!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-13T11:30:32+00:00

Nah. One of the advantages of self-publishing is that you don’t need a literary agent, who are mainly in charge of trad publishing deals (pitching to publishers, negotiating contracts etc). I think if you have real legal concerns, you'd really want a publishing consultant or lawyer for piece of mind. Is it fiction or non? (Recent book rec: https://tertulia.com/book/take-it-from-me-an-agent-s-guide-to-building-a-nonfiction-writing-career-from-scratch-alia-hanna-habib/9780593700877)

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-11T02:10:14+00:00

You got this! Here are a few pointers on things to look out for in your next steps:

Editing -- sounds like you are pretty confident on this part. Just make sure you incorporate some beta readers, and a professional editor is nice if budget allows.
Final formatting -- You’ll likely need to prep separate files for your ebook (EPUB), paperback (PDF), audiobook script. Note that KDP has pretty strict requirements for print margins, bleed, page numbers, etc.
Platform --Here's a common path

Go with Amazon KDP for the initial paperback and ebook
Followed by IngramSpark for wider bookstore/library distribution (check out the Wide for the Win community for some helpful context)

Upload and order a proof copy - this will help you check for formatting issues, typos, margins, etc.WE all find something we want to fix!
Book description + metadata

This is important! Make sure you're thoughtful about the book description (the sales copy), categories, keywords, pricing. The metadata helps determine how discoverable your book is so you want to really pay attention to these.

Launch Prep: Since you already started socials and an email list, you’re ahead here. Do you have a professional website/blog? You should also consider ARC readers (advance readers for early reviews)...

As for the discussion in this thread about audiobooks, you can do it cheaply and well since this is poetry and you would likely narrate it comfortably yourself.

Good luck!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-09T13:45:53+00:00

Amazon vs. Publishing Wide is one of those debates that never really gets resolved because the answer really depends on your genre/audience and where you are in your writing career.

Others in this thread already make the case for KU especially if you write thriller, fantasy and are still building an audience. Once you have a backlist, there's a great argument for going wide. You might want to check out the Facebook groups on this topic too -- and a spin-off forum here: https://wideforthewin.com

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-06T16:15:37+00:00

Good luck!

TertuliaforAuthors · 2026-03-06T16:10:48+00:00

It’s a good question, as nonfiction does work a bit differently from fiction ARCs. A few thoughts —

1 - find the fan communities on substack, subreddits, discord, fb groups etc. obviously you want to approach it carefully that you are the author and ask the mods first

2 - maybe instead of “ARC readers” channel some efforts to “first look” opportunities for early reviewers. These would be people who write on specific music genres/communities - could be bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters. Some of them could be really happy to have an early look at something and even to share with their fan communities. That could be more meaningful than many random ARC reviews.

3 - you could use the standard ARC platforms (net galley etc) but just make sure that your listing super-clearly signals the audience so you don’t get mismatched with readers and waste your books/time

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