We recently connected with Joslyn Marks and have shared our conversation below.

Joslyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Indie Love was created to connect Independent Black Authors with their readers. These authors have published their work in the non-traditional sense. They are not signed to the big publishing houses, therefore they work extremely hard to get their work noticed. My focus has always been to get them the same notoriety that traditionally published authors receive. The difference is I provide a more intimate setting with a limited number of authors at a time.

Joslyn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Indie Love was created in 2015 and held its first event in 2016 at the Riverside EpiCenter in Austell, Ga. The idea was formed when I noticed that independent authors were setting up their own book signings and having to share their profits with the small and major bookstores. I wanted to create something that afforded them the opportunity to meet their readers/fan base as well as make a profit by selling their books directly to the reader. I wanted the reader to connect with their favorite author outside of the social media platforms. As an avid reader myself I noticed the events provided were two to three days and very expensive, they were also geared once again for the traditionally published author. I wanted to provide an inexpensive avenue not only for the reader but the author as well. For four years I did that and when the pandemic hit we pivoted to a virtual setting that was just as successful.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As everyone knows Covid-19 shut the world down in 2020, Indie Love was slated to celebrate its fifth year of bringing readers and authors together in New Orleans, Louisiana. Everyone was so excited and looking forward to celebrating the success of Indie Love, then the world shut down and we had to cancel. However I didn’t let that stop us, we did a quick pivot and did a two day virtual event. There was hope to do an in person event in 2021 however, I wasn’t comfortable with where things were at the time so we did a second year of virtual events. Both virtual events were very successful affording the authors and readers to still connect.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My ultimate goal is to support black independent authors in every way possible. I want to see their names on the USA Today’s top 150 weekly best sellers list, make it on Oprah’s book club list, Good Morning America’s book of the month and so many more. I use my platform to showcase and support these deserving authors, they are telling stories that black men and women can relate to, they provide an escape with their God given talent to weave a story together and I’m here to support and uplift the black literary community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.indielovee.com
• Instagram: Indielove2022
• Facebook: Indie Love
• Twitter: @indielove2016
• Youtube: Indie Love

Image Credits
Devin Marks, Teresa McMillian and Tina V. Young