About Silverfoot

There are a lot of authors just like me, people with stories to tell. And writing a book is a labor intensive process that doesn’t end when you finish your first draft. You think it’s perfect just as it is—and then your editor starts sending you notes. You re-edit and arrive at a final draft, and then the next set of decisions appear. E-book only, e-book plus paperback, hardcover? What platform? What about interior design and font choices? Book cover? What about effective blurbs, keywords, and pitches? Will you try getting an agent? Can you find a publishing house that will publish your book? What about web pages and social media? Wordmarks, logos, personal branding? And all that comes before any meaningful marketing can even start. 

Once you’ve made the decision to publish, it doesn’t take long to figure out that trying to go with a traditional publisher means giving up a lot of control of your work (and also a lot of the profitability), if you can even find a publisher willing to consider your work. The choice to be an independent artist instead of choosing traditional publishing is a big one, and one of the first critical decision an author needs to make.  

I made that big decision when I first decided to publish my own work, to keep control. I decided to remain independent and to not rely on any publishing house. I also realized that without a publisher, I’d be responsible for almost all of the above mentioned challenges. I’m retired, so I embraced these new challenges and I’ve had a lot of fun exploring the publishing/book marketing world. I’m still learning. 

Amazon makes it pretty easy to just pop your work out there for anyone to find and enjoy. The problem is simple; it’s too easy and there is a sea of titles out there competing for attention, so most indie books get lost because not every author can take the journey that I did. Most of the authors I connect with don’t want to take on the publishing/marketing world; they’ve got lives to live, and bills to pay. 

I first envisioned Silverfoot Press as a way to create an imprint for my own books and to widen my distribution and marketing channels, but I also foresaw that I’d meet other artists like me that I could help out by sharing what I’ve learned. We may be indies, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help each other along. I’m already driving down this road, but I’ve got room for plenty of others to join me. Together we can achieve a synergy that lets us emerge from the obscurity of Amazon’s ocean of titles. Feel free to contact me if you are ready to make this journey with me. 

Get in touch with the Silverfoot team.