Tag: author

Book Marketing, book reviews, indie author, indie books, Romance Author

Is It Worth Sending Free Books to Influencers?

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As a small-ish indie author, there’s always this annoying little question lurking in the back of your mind.

Should I send out free copies of my book, even though my budget is already clinging on for dear life? Or should I just let nature take its course and hope the right readers find it?

The temptation is always there. You see other authors go viral after one amazing influencer review, and suddenly it feels like maybe that could be you too. One post. One reel. One reader screaming about your book in the right corner of the internet.

But the risk is there too.

Because sometimes, you send your books out and nothing happens. No review. No post. No mention. No movement. Just your precious little book disappearing into the void while your bank account looks at you like, “Really?”

“And let’s be honest, it is hard out here for indie authors.“

Books that are back in stock.
Books that are back in stock.

Since AI entered the creative space, the market has been flooded with low-quality books, which makes it even harder for genuine authors to be noticed in the sea of new titles. Sometimes it feels like swimming against the current, or walking through the wind with leaves smacking you in the face from every direction.

Ads are not always an option either. Especially when you’ve already exhausted your budget on editing, formatting, cover design, proofs, paperbacks, ISBNs, and all the other things people forget about when they say, “Self-publishing is free.”

“It is not.”

Signed copies and book bundles

And God forbid you want character art, bookmarks, PR boxes, or merch to help attract future readers and make your book feel special.

So then the question becomes: is sending your precious baby to book influencers actually worth it?

Honestly? If you send it to the right ones, yes. But that is the key part. The right ones.

I see a lot of authors make the mistake of sending their books to reviewers who do not even read their genre. Or they send books to creators they do not follow, do not interact with, and have never supported, then hope that person is going to suddenly rave about their work.

“Don’t be that author! I mean it!“

Book influencers are readers first. If someone has built their account around cosy fantasy, why are you sending them dark romance? If someone only reviews traditional publishing titles or the same trendy books everyone else is posting about, they may not be the right fit for your indie release. That does not make them bad. It just means their account is probably built around what performs well for them.

“And that is where follower count can be misleading.“

A huge following does not automatically mean a creator is the best choice for your book. Sometimes those big accounts are drowning in book mail. You can see it in the constant unboxings. Stack after stack after stack. And as much as it looks impressive, you have to be realistic. Are they actually going to have time to read your book? Or is it likely to become one more title in a very pretty pile?

No shade to bigger reviewers, because many of them work hard and genuinely love books. But smaller reviewer accounts are often the ones who will actually read your book, talk about it properly, and shout from the rooftops if they love it.

They might not have fifty thousand followers, but they might have a small, loyal audience who trusts them. They might actually read indie books. They might interact with authors. They might understand how much it means when you send them something you created with your whole chest and your very traumatised bank balance.

That matters.

So, is it worth it when your budget is so low that it is basically in hell?

There is no guarantee.

Sending out a book will never promise you sales, reviews, or visibility. But there are definitely creators out there who will honour the fact that you sent them your baby. Readers who understand the indie struggle. Reviewers who genuinely want to support smaller authors. People who do not just want the most hyped book of the month, but are excited to discover something new.

Those are the readers worth looking for. Not necessarily the biggest accounts. The right accounts.

So before you send your book, do your homework. Watch how they review. Check what genres they actually enjoy. See if they support indie authors. Look at whether their followers engage with them properly, not just whether the number at the top of their profile looks impressive.

Because when you are working with a tiny budget, every copy matters.

Send your book with intention, not desperation.

And remember, your book is not less valuable because you are indie. It deserves to be placed in the hands of people who might actually love it.

What’s your opinion on the topic? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences below!

xoxo Ava

Fantasy romance, indie books, paranormal romance, romance books, Stuff Your Kindle Day

Signed Books, Freebies & Stuff Your Kindle Day

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I’ve got a few little updates to share, and honestly, if your TBR is already hanging on by a thread, I’m not here to help.

I’m Finally on Beventi

I’m so excited to say that I’m finally on Beventi. You can now shop signed book bundles, special editions, and bookish extras all in one place, which feels very exciting and a little bit dangerous for both me and your bank account.

I’ll be sharing some pictures below so you can have a proper little look, and I’ve added the store link too, so you can browse everything for yourself.

Beventi store

You Can Also Find Me on Vinted

If Vinted is more your thing, I’m on there too with the same products, so you can shop whichever way suits you best. Signed books, bundles, and bookish extras are all there waiting for you, and I’ll leave the store link below for that as well.

vinted store

Stuff Your Kindle Day is Coming

Stuff Your Kindle Day is coming on the 28th, hosted by RomanceBookLovers.com, and this is honestly one of my favourite bookish days because it’s basically the perfect excuse to download far too many books in one go and act like that was always the plan(it was lol).

There are going to be loads of amazing FREE books across romance and all its delicious little subgenres, so whether you love dark romance, contemporary, spicy reads, or something a bit more magical, there’s going to be plenty to get stuck into.

I’ll be sharing two graphics below with just a few of the books you’ll be able to choose from, including Liora, especially if paranormal and fantasy romance is your thing. So if you like your romance with magic, emotion, and a bit of danger, definitely keep an eye out for that one.

Basically, make sure you’ve got room on your Kindle, because your download finger is about to get some work.

Your Free Thank You Gift

And if you haven’t downloaded After Hours yet, don’t forget that it’s my little thank-you gift to my subscribers. Just a little extra spice from me to you for being here and supporting my books.

I’ve included the link below so you can grab your free copy nice and easily.

Grab your free copy of after hours

Thank you for being here, for supporting indie authors, and for being part of my little bookish world. It really does mean so much to me.

xoxo Ava Rouge

indie author, indie books, Romance Author

When a Review Stops Being Just a Review

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It’s funny how life works out. It was only recently that AI witch hunts came up in my writers’ group, and we were talking about how far it had all gone in such a short space of time. How quickly suspicion had started replacing proof. I did not expect to be on the receiving end of that conversation so soon.

And yet, here we are.

When I read a recent review of Beast of Her Heart, it felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. It was a gut punch. The nausea came first, then the panic, then the tears. Not because it was 3 stars. Readers are entitled to their opinions. Not every book will land for every person, and I have never expected otherwise. What hit me was not the rating. It was the accusation.

This was not simply a reader saying the story did not work for them. This was a public written accusation that my book was GenAI-written, based on an assumption about chapter length and the overall feel of the writing. That accusation was made without proof.

What makes it even harder to process is that it is not even accurate. Beast of Her Heart has twenty-five chapters, and only one or two of them are around 1,500 words. I am a mood writer. I do not follow rigid chapter rules. I finish a chapter when it feels right. Sometimes that is 900 words. Sometimes it is 3,000. Sometimes it lands somewhere in the middle. The story decides that, not a formula.

So no, this was not a case of me forcing every chapter into some neat, uniform pattern. That is simply not how I write. Which, if I am honest, makes it difficult for me not to question whether every chapter was even properly read before such a serious claim was made.

And that is why this hit so deeply. I do not care about a 3-star review in itself. Every reader has the right to connect with a book or not connect with it. That is normal. That is part of being an author. But this felt like something else entirely. It was not really a discussion of the story. It was an allegation about how the book was created.

We are living in a time where AI suspicion is everywhere, and people are becoming far too comfortable making serious claims without proof. For a huge author with a massive platform, maybe that kind of accusation can be weathered more easily. For a small indie author with a small reader base, it can do real harm. Reader opinion carries weight. Reader trust matters. One public accusation can shape how other people see your work before they have even opened the book.

That is where this stops feeling like just another review and starts feeling much bigger.

I do not think people always realise how fragile things can be for indie authors. One comment might look small to the person writing it, but the impact can be far from small to the person receiving it. A review does not just sit there in isolation. It becomes part of the public face of the book. It influences how readers approach it, whether they trust it, whether they give it a chance at all. When that review moves beyond personal opinion and into an accusation made without proof, the damage can be real.

“Accusations fit on a bumper sticker; the truth takes longer.” — Michael Hayden

What hurts most is thinking about the actual work that went into this story. The late nights. The rewrites. The deleted chapters. The moments where I scrapped whole sections and started again because something did not feel right. The times I sat with a scene knowing it was not there yet, even if I could not explain why, and kept going until it was. That is the reality of how I write.

I do not have paper trails or sticky notes all over my house that I can hold up for visual effect. I write in a Word document that is always accessible to my alpha reader in real time. My beta readers can also access it while I am writing. That is my process. It may not look romantic or theatrical, but it is real, and it is mine.

And that leaves me with a question I do not really have a clean answer for. How exactly is an author supposed to defend themselves against accusations like this? What proof is enough? What process is acceptable enough? At what point did writing cleanly, using proper punctuation, or ending a chapter where it naturally lands become grounds for suspicion?

I also genuinely hope my work was not put through some AI checker without my knowledge or consent, because that opens another uncomfortable conversation entirely. The fact that authors even have to think about things like that now says a lot about the climate we are in.

This whole thing feels messy. It feels like something that can escalate far too easily in a world where people can say almost anything online with very little thought for the consequences. And those consequences do exist. They land on real people. They land on writers who already pour more of themselves into their work than most readers will ever fully see.

I do not have some grand comeback for that. I wish I did.

What I do know is this. I will keep writing to the best of my ability. I will keep finishing chapters where they feel right, whether that happens at 1,500 words or not. I will keep using proper punctuation. I will keep being transparent with my readers, and I will keep doing the work. That is all I can do.

I just hope people remember that behind every book, especially in the indie world, there is a real person. A person putting in real time, real effort, and real heart. And public accusations made without proof do not just disappear into the void. They land somewhere. They land on the writer.

Award-Winning Author, Award-Winning Series, Book Marketing, indie author, indie books, paranormal romance, Romance Author, romance books, shifter romance

New Year, New Me? An Indie Author’s Honest Look at Writing, Burnout, and Business

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Every January, we all seem to make the same promises to ourselves. Eat better. Be more organised. Read more books. Start fresh. Reinvent ourselves. For me, this year’s version of that promise looks a little different.

I want to get better at book marketing.

That sentence alone feels heavier than it should. Not because I don’t care, but because over the last few months of 2025, I genuinely questioned whether I should keep writing at all. Not because I’m out of ideas. I have more stories in my head than I’ll probably ever have time to write. And not because I’ve fallen out of love with it. Writing has never been “just a hobby” for me.

The truth is simpler and harder to admit.

Writing has cost me a lot over the last five years. Time. Money. Energy. Emotional bandwidth. And the return has not matched the investment.

I was told early on that if I wanted to maximise sales as a new author, I needed to write a series. So I did…

I wrote multiple books, built worlds, developed characters, and stayed consistent. What I didn’t learn was how to actually get those books into readers’ hands.

I assumed that posting on social media would be enough. That visibility would somehow translate into sales if I just showed up often enough.

It didn’t. And watching the numbers barely move, month after month, chipped away at my confidence in ways I didn’t expect.

I got discouraged. Quietly. Internally. I didn’t announce it. I didn’t rage-quit. I just started shrinking back, wondering whether the sensible thing would be to put the pen down and walk away.

But here’s the part I had to be brutally honest with myself about. My low numbers are not because my stories are bad.

Bad stories don’t win awards. They don’t resonate with readers who do find them. They don’t get kind messages from people who stayed up too late turning pages. The problem isn’t the work. The problem is that I don’t know how to get people to read it.

And no amount of aesthetic Instagram posts has fixed that.

What I’ve realised recently is that I’ve been avoiding something inevitable. Something uncomfortable. Something a lot of creatives struggle with.

Treating my writing like a business.

I know how that sentence lands. Art isn’t supposed to be a product. Stories are personal. They come from somewhere real. And the idea of packaging creativity into funnels, strategies, and marketing plans can feel soul-destroying.

But here’s the reality I can’t ignore anymore.

If I want writing to be my career, I have to stop treating it like a passion project that magically pays off one day. Wanting to live off your art means learning how the industry works. It means understanding visibility, positioning, marketing, and yes, sales.

Avoiding that doesn’t make me more authentic. It just keeps me invisible.

So maybe this isn’t a “new year, new me” moment after all. Perhaps it’s a “same me, but braver” one.

“In 2026, I’m choosing to put my imposter syndrome aside. I’m choosing to step out of the shadows and learn the parts of this journey I’ve been avoiding. Not because I want to turn my stories into soulless products, but because I want to give them a fair chance to reach the readers they were written for. This year, I’m treating my writing as the career I’ve always wanted it to be.”

Award-Winning Author, Erotic Thriller, indie books, Thrillers

RED: Where Reality Fractures – A Dark Erotic Psychological Thriller Exploring Feminine Rage

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RED is the book that took me somewhere darker than I’d ever gone before.

This is not a romance. This is a dark erotic psychological thriller rooted in feminine rage, obsession, and the slow unravelling of reality itself. It inhabits the uncomfortable space where desire, power, control, and vulnerability intersect.

“This was a good short read that had you questioning at every turn. It wasn’t what I expected, but I enjoyed that about it.”

RED contains explicit scenes that deliberately blur the lines between consent and coercion. That tension is not accidental. It is part of the story’s psychological core. Readers must check the trigger warnings before diving in. This book is intense, provocative, and not designed to be safe or soothing.

Early readers describe RED as unsettling, addictive, and mentally invasive. It plays with perception, unreliable truths, and the dangerous pull of wanting something you know you shouldn’t. It asks uncomfortable questions about agency, manipulation, and how easily control can be disguised as choice.

“My first exposure to this author and she packs a hell of a punch. I went in blind based on the cover and was so pleased I did. The twists, the backstory, the easy flow of the book that made it a quick but intense read. I was trying to figure out the plot for the first 2/3 of the book and didn’t see the end coming. Devious, vengeful, humorous and a splash of spice. Delicious.”

This story leans heavily into feminine rage. Not the loud, explosive kind, but the quiet, simmering kind that grows teeth. The kind that watches, waits, and strikes when the moment is right. RED is about power being taken, power being given away, and the cost of both.

The book was released on 31 October, and there could not have been a more fitting date. It is dark, erotic, and psychologically sharp, meant to leave you unsettled long after the final page.

Writing RED showed me that my stories do not have to live in one genre, one tone, or one emotional register. I will always write romance, but RED exists alongside it as proof that I can explore darker territory when a story demands it.

“If you like a smutty paranormal romance in a novella sizing you will like this. Interesting characters, and an unravelling of the mysterious which kept me interested.”

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with explicit content, morally grey dynamics, fractured realities, and a strong undercurrent of feminine rage, RED may be for you.

Please read the trigger warnings!
Enter with your eyes open.

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Award-Winning Author, Book Marketing, indie author, indie books, Romance Author

INDIE BOOK MARKETING – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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When I started writing back in 2020, I had no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that I wanted to write the story that was brewing in my head. During the lockdowns, I was presented with more free time — aka more time to read… again. It didn’t take long for my love for literature to rekindle, not that the flame ever died… small children can just take up most of your time, but I digress.

During that time, I came across a type of literature I didn’t normally read. I was more of a thriller, religious sci-fi, epic fantasy girl — and then I fell in love with romance. The spicier kind. That’s when my characters really started to form in my mind. Fast-forward to now, I’m a romance author with multiple titles under my belt (some even recognised in the literary world), but one thing has remained the same since I started this journey… BOOK MARKETING struggles.

I don’t know how to market or promote my books to save my life. That would be fine and dandy if I were writing as a hobby. Although I appreciate every copy sold and every review I’ve received, at this point, writing really is a very expensive hobby. Like many other indie authors, I’m using the platforms that are supposed to showcase my work in the most budget-friendly way — but I haven’t cracked the code of “going viral”. Don’t get me twisted, this is not a pity post. I’m not here crying over my inadequacy or social-media illiteracy… I did and still do put in the work to understand the algorithm. But as for getting visibility — I just don’t know what to do or how to do it.

“Writing is expensive when no one sees you.”

One thing I am confident in is my stories. I’m not cocky, but I know I’ve got something good going on here… if only people would see it. And yes, I hear what seasoned authors say: “invest in Facebook ads, run Amazon ads…” but the issue? I can’t. I don’t have the budget. Not generating enough sales, page reads… revenue. Because let’s be honest — KU doesn’t always pay off, and we need to sell hundreds of eBooks just to cover the basic costs of our publishing process (no, sorry… publishing is not free, even if the platform uploads your book for free). People are also more likely to invest in physical copies only after they’ve read something of yours they already like… and with the cost of living doing what it’s doing? Yeah.

“We need to understand that we are all in this together. There’s no reader without the author, and there’s no author without the reader.”

So where does that leave us as creatives? We’re paying for everything — editors, cover design(Yes, pre-made covers are cheaper), formatting (be that software or a person) — and sometimes there’s just nothing left for anything else. So what do we do as indie authors who have depleted our finances and still haven’t cracked the code to going viral? Do we keep going and accept that our stories might only ever be read by a few (and risk not being able to afford the quality editing and art we know those stories deserve), or do we give up and live with the voices of our never-written characters?

It really is a cold world out there. I haven’t decided yet… maybe because I haven’t hit rock bottom and still have a few coins — and a bit of hope — to spare. But here’s what I do know: there are so many writers out there with incredible stories who will disappear into the ether not because they’re not talented — but because they just don’t know how to market. If that’s you… Don’t bow out just yet. Keep writing. Keep showing up, even if it feels exhausting, even if it feels like no one cares. Keep learning. Keep experimenting. Because maybe we don’t need to go viral — maybe all we need is for the right couple of readers to find us… the rest can grow from there. And who knows — that whisper could still become a roar.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are based on my personal experience as an independent author. I am not sponsored by — nor affiliated with — Amazon, Facebook, or any of the platforms referenced, and individual results may vary.

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Kindle Unlimited: A Game-Changer or a Profit Killer for Indie Authors in 2025?

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After long consideration, I’ve decided not to re-enrol my books in Kindle Unlimited once my 90-day term is over. This isn’t a post to criticise other authors’ choices or to say KU doesn’t work, because for many, it works brilliantly.

I’m sharing my own experiences, what I’ve noticed, and why I’ve decided to take my books in a different direction.

For those who might not be familiar, KU pays authors based on the number of pages read by subscribers. The payout is generally in the range of about $0.004 to $0.005 per page. While this setup works well for longer works, I’ve found that shorter books – like novellas, short stories, and collections – tend to earn much less under this model, even when they require the same amount of creative energy to produce.

I also recently learned more about the Page Flip feature on Kindle devices. My understanding, based on information shared by other authors and my own observations, is that pages viewed through this function might not always be counted as ‘read’ for payout purposes.

I can’t say for certain how much this affects everyone, but I personally noticed a significant drop in my page reads from June onward, and it made me start paying closer attention to how my books were being consumed through KU.

There’s no denying KU can be an incredible tool for authors who already have an established, active readership. For me, though, it’s been challenging to see a sustainable return, especially when factoring in the time and costs that go into every book.

Indie authors often have to be our own marketing specialists, cover designers, social media managers, and content creators, all while trying to maintain the creative energy to write. When the numbers don’t cover expenses, it can quickly start to feel more like an expensive hobby than a viable business.

This isn’t about discouraging anyone from joining KU; it’s about encouraging authors to make an informed choice and readers to make a mindful one. Understand the payout model, be aware of features like Page Flip, and consider whether your genre, audience, and book length will work in your favour. For some authors, it’s absolutely worth it. For others, like me, it may not be the right fit.

If you want to read my books on KU, you still can. Some of them will be taken off this month, and others will remain available until October. Whether you choose to use KU or purchase my books directly, your support means the world to me either way.

xoxo Ava

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are my personal opinions and experiences as an independent author. They are not intended as factual statements about any individual, company, or service. Other authors may have different experiences. Writers are encouraged to research and form their own conclusions before making publishing decisions.

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Whispers of Destiny Wins Big – Every Book Just Took Home Gold

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This is one of those moments I need to write down, because honestly, I still don’t believe it’s real.

All three books in the Whispers of Destiny series just won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Romantic Fiction.
Not one. Not two. All. Three.

🖤 Liora: Lost In Heaven’s Touch
🖤 Inked Into Your Soul
🖤 Under Her Spell

I don’t know how to say this without sounding like I’m screaming, but… I’m screaming.

This wasn’t something I expected. I didn’t write these books chasing awards. I wrote them because they needed to be written. Because the characters wouldn’t leave me alone. Because I had something to say about love, pain, healing, magic, and all the chaos in between.

So for all three to be recognised like this? For a full indie series to take home three Gold Awards back-to-back? That’s wild to me. And emotional. Like, proper lump-in-the-throat emotional.

Because behind these books wasn’t some big publishing machine. Just me, a lot of passion, long nights, and plenty of imposter syndrome. But in all honesty, I wasn’t alone. In the background, I had my delulu bestie and co-author, Raven Emberwolf, as my alpha reader, my beta readers, who held nothing back, and my editor, who kept me grounded when self-doubt crept in. They reminded me that I can do this, even when I wasn’t so sure.

Liora started it all. I didn’t even know if anyone would read it.
Inked pushed me way out of my comfort zone.
Under Her Spell made me cry more than I would like to admit.

But each book came from somewhere real, and now they’ve each brought home their own gold.

To the team at Literary Titan: thank you. For taking a chance on an indie author. For reading between the lines. For seeing the heart behind the steam, the story under the sass.

And to every reader who’s been with me from the beginning, or even just picked up one book along the way, thank you. I write for the quiet readers. The late-night binge readers. The ones who see themselves in the broken parts of my characters. This win is for you, too.

I’m still processing it all, but I know this:
Whispers of Destiny might’ve started with a whisper, but it sure as hell showed up loud.

Three books.
Three golds.
One very grateful author.

Ava x