Exciting things can happen when a bunch of Indie Romance authors get together. What do I mean by a bunch?
Well, this past Tuesday the Indie Romance Ink yahoo loop got its one-thousandth member!
The group was started just under a year ago by Carly Carson and Cate Rowan as a place where indie romance authors could share and learn from each other.
In August 2010 Cate, who has published two award-winning fantasy romance novels in her Alaia Chronicles series as well as a short story and novelette, had just published her first novel and was interested in forming a smallish support group for indie authors.
Cate: “LOL, you can see how well the ‘small’ turned out!” 
Around the same time, Carly had attended RWA Nationals.
Carly: “They did not have a single workshop, panel, or anything about indie publishing, and I realized more than ever that indie writers would need some way to share knowledge and support.”
Carly has her feet on both sides of the publishing aisle, as do some of the other writers in IRInk. She’s hadtwo books published by Red Sage but has Indie pubbed her novella Baby, It’s Cold Outside, plus two short stories.
The IRInk loop is amazing! On any given day there are questions, answers and discussions about everything from formatting to promo sites, to Amazon quirks, craft issues or even whether or not you’re hiding your erotic romance pseudonym from your family!
Like WG2E, IRInk is a place where Indie authors give generously of themselves to help each other along in this wild and unpredictable publishing climate.
Self-promotion is not allowed. There is an extension loop for members to request and give promo support. There is also an extension loop for the planning of the BookLovers’ Buffet sales.
Speaking of which . . .
Last fall I learned about the IRInk from a comment exchange with Theresa Ragan. I joined just in time to put my first Indie-pubbed book into a big 99 cent sale held over the holidays of December 2011. This was the birth of the BookLovers’ Buffet, originally begun by author Tawny Stokes, a spunky dynamo with a gift for mobilizing others. Now it looks like the IRInk’s Book Lovers’ Buffet sale is going to be a twice yearly event!
The Vacation Getaway edition of the Book Lovers’ Buffet opened its virtual doors on June 8 and will run through June 22. Many people worked to make this happen, but the gorgeous website was designed by author and fellow WANA-ite Jennette Marie Powell. And author Lori Dillon has taken on the enormous job of running the contests. Yep, there are prizes, too!
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: Before you rush over to fill up at the Buffet (you won’t gain a pound, I promise!) – tell us about something you’ve recently learned or shared with a fellow Indie author.
The Best of WG2E Indie Authors Joining Forces Wishes — Alicia Street
Alicia Street is the author of Kiss Me, Dancer, Snow Dance and Aphrodisiac. Alicia is proud to be a part of the WG2E and RG2E family.
Thanks for the tip, Alicia. I’m going right over to Yahoo to join, and then to the buffet to load up on books! I recently started a Facebook page for my former students (I’ve been teaching writing for 5 years and now I also teach how to self-publish) so that I can share all sorts of info with them and they can share with each other. Groups of writers who help each other are amazing!
Great, Merry! And working with you on WG2E’s Beach Book Blast was awesome. You’re a great team player!
IRInk has been such a wonderful resource. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I have 8 books up now and all of them would still be gathering dust, either in a drawer or in my mind somewhere, if not for IRInk. Cate and Carly had a wonderful idea and I’m so grateful that they shared it with the rest of us.
Hi, Cynthia! I’m grateful, too. I’ve learned so much there.
Alicia, thanks for reminding me about the buffet. I haven’t been able to feast on books for the long school year. The only reading I’ve been doing were students’ essays, but now that the year is over, I plan to load up and devour….. and write. Reading other authors does give me inspiration.
Have a great summer.
Ana
You’ll find plenty to choose from, Ana. And I also read for writing as well as pleasure. Always like to see how another author treats a theme or situation I’m working on.
Thanks for the post about the Booklovers’ Buffet, Alicia. I wanted to say that IRI has been a success due to the generosity of the members in sharing their knowledge. I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned, and the support is awesome. I’d like to thank E. Ayers and Jennette Marie Powell for making that Buffet banner, which I love.
Hi, Carly! I agree – one of the things I love best about Indie-pubbed authors is how willingly we all share and try to help each other. That’s also what WG2E is all about.
And, yes, the banner E. Ayers and Jennette Marie Powell made is gorgeous!
Glad this caught my eye. It sounds like something I should be checking out. Something I’ve been focusing on lately based on an article I read by Deborah Riley-Magnus is finding not only target markets, but secondary markets.
Nice to meet you, J.L.! And keep an eye out for D.D.’s posts on targeting different markets. She’s the guru on that one!
Lovely post, Alicia! I’m a huge, huge fan of IRInk. Everyone is so helpful, so willing to share whatever knowledge they have, and not just with indie pubbing. It’s one of the best online communities I’ve ever joined!
I agree, Lucy! Nice to see you here.
Wonderful post, Alicia! As a member of both the WG2E community and the IRI community, I find that both are amazing while bring something very different to the plate. Everyday that I read this blog or view the posts on the IRI loop, I learn something new, and in the end, that’s what it’s all about – authors helping authors find new readers (as DD likes to say)!
Thanks, Kristine! Yes, WG2E and IRI serve slightly different, but complimentary aspects for Indie authors. I feel so lucky to have both!
Thanks for giving both Indie Romance and the book buffet some ink! I’m in both and didn’t realize how young, but powerful, IRInk is. Great group!!!
Thanks for coming by, Michele!
Thanks for the buffet tip Alicia! Always enjoy buffets. I heard about the Romance Ink Yahoo loop from Christine MacKenzie. She swears by it! I have got to join you all over there soon. I’ve just had too much on my plate already. So glad to know that you’re involved and that our very own Jennette Powell had her hand in the buffet. Did she leave anything for us? I better scoot and see if there’s anything left over there! LOL! Take care Alicia! I always enjoy your posts here at WG2E!
Hey, Karen! Yeah, it’s fun to see our WANA class alumni across cyber-town, isn’t it? Now, you go ahead and just eat up all you want over at the buffet, Girlfriend.
Hmm. I think I’m getting hungry.
From ISBN numbers to Smashwords formatting tips, from learning the ropes on Twitter to learning about a new email newsletter thing-a-ma-doogie, the amount of information I’ve been gleaning from fellow indie writers lately is simply crazy wonderful! Thanks for the post, Alicia!
So true, Tamara! I can’t begin to list all I’ve learned. And crazy wonderful describes it beautifully, because there’s a determined excitement to it all, but sometimes I just feel like my head is going to explode!
I’m with ya right now, Alicia!
Fun, too, though… like a whirlwind!
Excellent post, Alicia, and superfab cheers all-around to IRInk!
It’s the “community” aspect of The WG2E and that groups like IRInk emphasize and act on that truly makes our Indie Epub World the most wonderful of writer habitats!
I wish something like IRInk would have been around when I first started out writing romance (almost 13 years ago now). Instead, the harshness of the RWA World about did me in. Luckily, I started hangin’ with and helping fellow Indie Epubs, and I’ve never looked back since.
Note: To be fair, though, if I hadn’t had such horrible experiences with the TradiPub World and their supporting organizations, I wouldn’t have known that there had to be a better way that was more author and reader-friendly. So yep, because of the bad, we’ve all found the beyond good!!!
And indeed, as we say here at The WG2E:
“Nothin’ beats Writers Helping Writers Reach Readers!”
Thanks, D.D.! And I so totally agree. As usual, you’ve said it all, my dear friend!
So thrilled to be a part of IRInk and the Book Buffet. I love the organizing and brainstorming that takes place there. Mention wanting to do something and 10 ladies speak up to tell you how you can make it happen.
We also started group blogs to help cross-promote each other. I’m part of Authors of Main Street – a blog for cool to warm contemporary romances.
An amazing group. And good luck with the blog, Jill!
It was so much fun to see this post come through me WG2E RSS feed! Thanks for the mention, Alicia, and big thanks to our 1000+ members, who make our “little” group so amazing.
And many thanks to you and Carly for creating it.
Many thanks, Alicia, for featuring Carly and Indie Romance Ink and the Book Lovers Buffet today! I joined IRI late last year, and I’ve learned an enormous amount from the loop. All of that knowledge helped make my two indie releases this year go much more smoothly than they would have otherwise. I’m so grateful to Carly and Cate for running IRI, and many thanks to Jennette and Lori for all their amazing work with running the Book Buffet Sale. I’ve picked up a bunch of awesome books already and I’m going back for more tomorrow!