Why should I choose Indie Reads?

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At Indie Reads, we are committed to providing a unique and entertaining platform for exploring new books and discovering new indie and self-published authors. We want to provide a platform that returns value to the reader, beyond just being “another indie bookstore.” This FAQ will help you learn more about Indie Reads and what we’ve done for YOU, the reader, to provide the most value possible.

 

How do I sign up for Indie Reads?

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You can create an account here

You can sign up for a monthly subscription, either Free or Basic ($5/month) here

 

What is Indie Reads Free?

Indie Reads Free is a monthly subscription that provides the following perks, at no cost to you. All you have to do is sign up!

1. Exclusive content delivered to your email – books, poems, short stories, special edition cover art and more

2. Exclusive deals and discounts in the bookstore only for subscribers

3. 100 rewards points (see below for details)

 

What is Indie Reads Basic?

Indie Reads Basic is a monthly subscription with a cost of $5/month. The goal of Indie Reads Basic is to keep monthly subscriber fees low, but value high. If you sign up for Basic you will receive the following perks:

1. Everything included in Indie Reads Free

2. 200 rewards points per month (see details below)

3. Exclusive content only available to paid subscribers

4. Early-bird pricing and special sales

We are also continually working to increase the value of this subscription, and have new features planned. You will be the first to know when these new features roll out.

 

What is the Loyalty Program (Rewards Points)?

The Loyalty Program rewards frequent users of the Indie Reads website with points that can be redeemed for discounts in the bookstore. These discounts can be applied to any item in the store, with varying rates depending on the product type. We will go into more detail below.

 

How do I earn rewards points?

There are several ways to earn rewards points. The easiest way to earn is to sign up for Indie Reads Free (100 pts) or Indie Reads Basic (200 pts/month). Other ways to earn are summarized in this table:

 

Way to Earn              Rate

Store Purchases            $1 spent = 5 points

 

Social Media promo

of Indie Reads Author    5 points, once per day

 

Leave a book review      25 points, once per day

 

Birthday                         100 pts

 

You can track your rewards points progress here

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This is also where you will submit proof of your social media promos or book reviews (if the review is on an external site). Finally, this is where you can apply coupons that you have earned, which we will explain in the next section.

 

How do I redeem rewards points for books?

There are two main ways to redeem rewards points.

1. Apply points directly at checkout. These points can be applied to any item in the store. The rate for direct points redemption is $1 OFF for each 100 pts redeemed. Minimum redemption is 100 pts, but above that you can choose any amount. For example: 123 pts would be a discount of $1.23

2. Redeem rewards points for coupons in your My Rewards page. We have a few coupons available.

   1. 100 pts = $5 OFF any ebook

   2. 500 pts = $6 OFF any physical book

   3. 1000 pts = $12 OFF any physical book

 

Why don’t you have a large selection of books?

At Indie Reads, we are looking to grow organically and sustainably, keeping costs low so that authors can receive the highest royalties and you can receive the most value. However, this means that our book selection will grow more slowly than other distributors.

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Another issue that is out of our control is that many authors have chosen to enroll their books in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, either because they felt it would increase their sales, or because they did not realize it was an exclusive program. Because KU demands exclusive rights, we cannot sell these authors books directly on our site.

What are we doing about it? – we’ve started to offer ebook credit redemption for Amazon-listed books that are under $2. In other words, you can submit a request for 100 pt redemption, and you will receive an Amazon ebook gift code, which you can then redeem for the book of interest. This lets us expand the offerings in our store significantly, and improves the value of the Indie Reads subscription for you.

 

What items do you have besides books?

We have several items, all of which are eligible for Rewards Points redemption:

genre-themed grab bags: https://www.indiereads.org/category/themed-grab-bags

Experiences: https://www.indiereads.org/category/experiences

3D prints: https://www.indiereads.org/product-page/3d-prints

And we are always looking to add new things to the store. Stay tuned!

 

Can I be a Beta Reader/ARC Reviewer for Indie Reads?

Yes! You can sign up for that here

 

I see you have a lot books that aren’t for sale in your bookstore, but instead link to Amazon or some other site. What’s that about?

As mentioned above, many authors books are still in KU, so we cannot sell them directly on our store. For other authors, they simply have chosen not to partner with Indie Reads directly, but would like to use the platform to expand their potential audience. We have chosen to list their books in our store, with external links to Amazon or their site of choice. These items are not available for Rewards Points redemption (with the exception of Amazon books under $2, as stated previously).

 

Besides buying books, how else can I help out?

1. Tell others about us, personal contacts are best – friends, relatives, direct communication. Social media promotion is always appreciated. Consider setting up an interview with us.

2. Sign up as a beta reader/ARC reviewer. Leave reviews on our site.

3. You can donate to the royalty fund here, which reimburses authors for royalties taken from them by large distributors like Amazon and B&N: https://www.indiereads.org/royalty-fund

4. Follow us on social media and interact with us:

• Instagram

• Tiktok

 

What is your policy on the use of AI-generated art?

At Indie Reads we highly encourage our authors to use art that is made without AI. This can include commissioned art, personal art, and stock photos. With that said, we will not refuse an author’s book if it contains AI-generated cover art, but we request that they tell us, so that we can tag the book for transparency so that you, our readers, can make an informed decision. We will NOT accept AI-generated books/writing and any author found violating this policy will be removed from the platform.

 

If you have any questions not answered here, please contact Evan Peck at empeck@indiereadssparc.com

 

Thank you and enjoy using Indie Reads!