As we approach the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, we all begin to turn introspective and examine our lives. There are many things that I am thankful for in life and business, and one of them is indie authors.

As an indie author myself, I’ve found lots of small gratitudes over the years, as well as some big ones.  But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you 6 things that I am thankful for as an indie author, that I think we can all celebrate.

1. Control over cover design – Although I mention again and again the importance of getting your cover professionally designed, but as an indie author, you have the full veto power. Authors who publish traditionally (i.e. with major publishing houses), get less control over their covers, which takes away from the stamp of individuality and personality.
2. Control over pricing – You get to set the price of your book, and factor in your own hard costs. Traditionally published authors have very little say in this. If you need some ideas on book pricing strategy, here are some tips on how to price your book for optimal success.
3. Control over how your book marketing money/time is spent – we get so many authors who come to us saying they got a big budget package from their publisher and got nothing from it. Instead, as an indie author, YOU have all the power! And, if your book promotion budget is tight, here are 50 things you can do under $50 to promote your book.
4. Control over where your book is sold – Maybe you only want to be on Amazon, and that’s great! But if you want to be in certain stores, you can reach out directly to them to ask that they stock your book. Local stores, regional stores, and, the best part is, they don’t all have to be book stores! As an indie author, your publisher can’t tell you no! Plus traditional publishers may turn up their noses at sites like Smashwords.
5. Control over your success! A publisher doesn’t make you successful anymore, that’s a misconception from another era, a quality book and a lot of hard work do. In fact, I’ve written before on how a publisher can kill your success, and you can read about it here. Remember, as an indie author, the power really starts with you! Ready to get started with your book marketing? Here are some pitfalls you can avoid!
6. Amazon. Really, there’s not much more I can say about how Amazon has transformed self-publishing and book promotion for indie authors that hasn’t been said. With the advent of Kindle Direct Publishing and Createspace, indie authors have so many ways to publish and sell their books these days.

So with this in mind, I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving from our team here at AME. We have so much to be thankful for in this day and age, and you, as an indie author top the list.