Author Christoph Fischer’s blog http://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

has become a daily must-check for me. Not only does he bring an amazing array of wonderful new Indie writers and their books to his fans’ attention, but he selflessly shares tips and contacts for what we Indie writers yearn most: New ways of getting our books out to potential readers.

Here is Christoph’s Interview with Charlie Bray, founder of the Indie Tribe, a promotional website for Indie authors.

* * *

The Indie Tribe

by writerchristophfischer

Many of you have asked me recently about the Indie Tribe and how I made it into their charts. I don’t know about the charts, but I can explain a little about the Tribe.

I joined the Indie Tribe back in January. It is simply an online group of independent writers to promote our books. This website features books published by the members on a regular basis and offers links to blogs and websites, a news flash service and other promotional tools for free. It is also a great source of information for readers and writers and features writers tips and guest blogs regularly.

On top of that is a range of commercially available options. I have taken out the Gold Membership for £45, which gives me an independent review of the book an author interview, guest blog and a review of my website.
Book showcases, a book store and a full editing service are also offered.

For any author who has a number of books to promote, the Indietribe’s Multi Book Promotion offers extreme value for money at a one-off £45 fee. Every book is showcased, including future ones, and every book is included in Indietribe’s Book Store. The writer also enjoys an enhanced link to his website or blog.

http://www.theindietribe.com/multi-book-promotion/

I have been looking online for good publicity tools ever since I published my book in November and I have to say that this seems a very reasonable offer, given the amount of time the man behind the scenes puts into it. So apologies for advertising but here is the man, Charlie Bray, himself, to talk about how the tribe came to be and how he is doing thus far.

Hello Charlie, thanks for joining me on my blog. So first things first: When did you have the idea for the Indietribe and how did you bring it to life? Were there many other people involved or is it a complete one man operation?

Having joined the ever-growing tribe of wannabe authors who write a book, upload it themselves to Amazon as an eBook, I suffered the pain of realising that sales don’t necessarily follow. I quickly realised that thousands of others share that pain, and decided to do something about it. I launched http://www.theindietribe.com myself, and operate it alone. Having said that, it would be nothing without members and their contributions keep the plate spinning.

How much of your time does your work for the tribe take up?

Around ten hours a day, seven days a week. Retirement from the day job enables me to do this, but my own writing and, of course, my wife suffer.It is quite a commitment you put in there for others. How do you motivate yourself to keep going?
It’s very much a labour of love. I love books, I love fellow authors, well, the vast majority anyway.
Most of all I feel passionate about the indie movement and will always do all I can to support it.

How large is your audience and where are your main followers?

Indietribe currently has over 1,000 members and we have around 1,500 Twitter followers and a loyal following on Facebook, Goodreads and Linkedin, which is great since I only launched in September.
Members tend to pass the word around to other indie authors and our membership is on an upward spiral.

What is your background in publishing/ writing?

I’ve been writing short stories and magazine features since the 70s and published and contributed to my own art and frame trade magazine, Art & Frame Buyer for many years.

What do you enjoy most about the work for the tribe?

The feeling of satisfaction from seeing members’ sell more books by being part of the tribe. Our weekly Top 10 is a result of hundreds of click-throughs to Amazon each month.

What is the least enjoyable part?

Struggling to meet self-inflicted deadlines and occasional abuse from the odd member who is getting everything for free anyway.

Where can you be contacted?

Through the contact page on http://www.theindietribe.com

Can readers follow the tribe?

Yes, quite easily. They can join for free on this link:http://www.theindietribe.com/contact-2/They can follow the tribe by clicking the RSS button on the home page of my site, or by subscribing to our email newsletter on the same page. I am keen to attract as many readers as possible to the Indietribe. They are our life-blood. They can use this link: http://www.theindietribe.com

How often do you publish the features / interviews and reviews?

Normally a new post appears around three or four times per week so there is always something fresh to see.

Where do you post the reviews?