Indie Publishing Group Story

The Indie Publishing Group Story

Welcome to the Indie Publishing Group story.

I was as green as they came when I started in the publishing industry. I knew nothing about the self-publishing industry or the variety of self-publishing services that Canadian authors required to successfully self-publish their books. It happened to be the first industry I worked with after switching careers to achieve a better work-life balance for my family.

I came from an emergency services background, so publishing in Canada was all new to me.

My first job as a freelancer was for a hybrid publisher in Maryland. I worked as a project manager and handled everything. I organized the editors, formatters, and cover designers and ensured they were loaded to various platforms. During my almost two-year tenure at this company, I developed an interest in formatting and interior design.

Formatting isn’t a career you can go back to school for, as it’s not a career you probably ever heard of before entering the publishing world. I started using Microsoft Word, and it quickly became apparent that I couldn’t format the books as intended. They didn’t seem professional enough to me, so I knew there had to be a better option.

Switching to InDesign for all my formatting almost stopped me in my tracks.

InDesign can be really confusing at first, but after months of training, learning, and a bit of frustration, I became more proficient with it.

I love the aspect of taking a dull and boring Word file into something clean and professional-looking.

If you are writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, or Amazon KDP keyword and category research, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We also offer children’s book illustrations and formatting services.

For Canadian authors still considering whether or not Amazon KDP is the best self-publishing platform for them, check out The Complete Guide to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for Canadian Authors, where we cover everything you’ll need to know about getting started on Amazon KDP for the first time.

But my love falls for children’s books

I love all aspects, from the planning of the illustrations to the text placement. I love watching it all come together and seeing an author’s idea or concept become a physical book they can hold and share with readers.

While I love children’s books, it also falls naturally on me, as my husband and I have been publishing our children’s books since 2016. We started with nonfiction books but quickly moved to children’s books.

Our other books were just a step into the publishing world, but wow, did we make mistakes in the early days.

I won’t even tell you how many times we have had our books edited over the years. We used freelancers on Fiverr or Upwork for almost all of our editing at the time. We later discovered that, following some negative reviews, we needed to address this issue. If we were to take self-publishing seriously, we had to take our investment in the books more seriously.

I could handle the formatting, but editing is definitely out of my realm

So when we found Mary Metcalfe, I will say she saved me from throwing in the towel. She helped take my team at Indie Publishing Group to the next level by finding the right people with excellent editing skills.

I created Indie Publishing Group for my clients who wanted everything in one place. They didn’t want to have to work with multiple companies to finish their book. So, once I had my team of editors in place, I moved on to the illustrators.

Our team has undergone slight changes over the years, but its work has remained unchanged. They can take an author’s idea and create the most amazing illustrations that bring their stories to life. I have added more services to assist our authors with their publishing goals over the years.

When you first start out, it’s like being a deer in headlights.

You have so much information coming from all different directions, and it’s up to you to figure out what works for you. Keep in mind that there are a lot of scam artists around, so be sure to do your research and avoid getting taken advantage of.

I honestly believe that the mistakes we made in the early days have actually helped us identify many potential issues before our clients publish, allowing them to avoid similar mistakes.

I do know that budget is always the first thing many of us think about as self-published authors, but always remember that once you publish, you can’t remove bad reviews. They stay forever, so in the excitement of releasing your book, just make sure it’s as professional as possible. If you have only a few reviews, the negative ones will be visible to potential customers, reducing your chances of making a sale.

Until next time, keep writing and keep dreaming.

Chrissy

Self-publishing services for Canadian authors looking to work with a Canadian self-publishing company!

If you are writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, or Amazon KDP keyword and category research, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We also offer children’s book illustrations and formatting services.

For Canadian authors still considering whether or not Amazon KDP is the best self-publishing platform for them, check out The Complete Guide to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for Canadian Authors, where we cover everything you’ll need to know about getting started on Amazon KDP for the first time.

Our experienced and professional self-publishing team is standing by to assist you with your self-publishing dreams.

If you have been considering self-publishing your book on IngramSpark, check out the Complete Guide to IngramSpark Publishing for Canadian Authors, where we cover account setup, title uploading, royalties, pricing, and much more!

For authors considering using Apple Books to self-publish their ebooks, The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing on Apple Books for Authors covers everything you’ll need to know about Apple Books, including account setup, royalties, distribution, uploading titles, and much more!