IWSG July - The Banes of Indie Life

 This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for July 2026.

Alex's awesome co-hosts this month are: 

Rebecca Douglass, 

Ronel Janse van Vuuren, 

Cathrina Constantine, 

and Jacqui Murray!

Please stop by their blogs and say thank you. 

💻💻💻💻💻

July question - Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

Increased discoverability

I despise dependency on Amazon’s algorithms. Every time I figure it out, it changes. I want search engines to reward quality and backlist titles, rather than just rapid-release trends and ad spend.

And if an ad glitch messes up my sales, at least restore my rank when it's fixed.

Bring back the gatekeepers... sort of

I don't want to go back to the Big 5 system, obviously, but I hope retailers can figure out a way to stop the flood of AI slop (books written by AI and published without being edited for quality). Anyone can publish crap, but AI has turbo-charged it.

Bring back book reviews

I don't like the star-rating-only change at Amazon. I wish they would go back to requiring people to write a review.

Data hoarding

I would like better data from The Zon. (Ex: Are those KU page reads the result of a few customers reading the entire book or many reading part of it and stopping?)

Brick & mortar

I want a better bridge between indies and brick-and-mortar stores, distribution models that make it financially feasible for local bookstores to stock self-published books.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

I'll end on a high note...

One positive change has been the development of software (PWA, Atticus, etc.) that gives us tools to edit and format our own books. It cuts costs while still allowing us to publish a quality product. And the control freak in me loves it! LOL

Have a fun, safe 4th!

Celebrating 250 years of freedom!

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IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly blog hop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. 

We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list.