We were lucky to catch up with Steven Mckinnon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission – and I suspect it’s the same for most indie authors – is to break down the barriers between authors and readers. To circumvent gatekeeping. To bring fresh stories to life… And to have fun doing it.

I write primarily genre fiction (more specifically, Epic Fantasy), with a focus on action, snarky characters and found family. I think characters and settings in Fantasy encapsulate many relevant themes across many different subgenres and styles. Sometimes it’s a reflection of the injustices of our own world. Sometimes it’s a cozy mystery that happens to have orcs, drwarves and elves among its cast. Fantasy is the imagination running wild, and all the fun that comes with it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an indie author and I write action-packed Fantasy stories. I dislike the term “self-published” author because I rely on the services of beta readers, advance review copy readers, cover artists and editors – it’s very much a team effort!

I chose this path because the indie scene is a better fit for my stories. Trad publishing is great but it’s slow to react to trends and readers often need to wait several years for their favourite author’s next book. Indie publishing gives writers the freedom to publish much more quickly.

The thing I’m most proud of is connecting with readers; it might sound cliche but fans often do become friends!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Like most business, social media is key to building an audience, but these days, I think audiences are numb to ads that they’re not interested in, Burnout is real – most of my Facebook feed is ads and sponsored posts that I have no interest in, and I’m reluctant to even log on now.

Yet it’s also a goldmine to connect with readers. My philosophy is not to approach readers as customers, but as friends I haven’t met yet. I advertise my newsletter via social media; in exchange for an email address, I give away a free Fantasy book and sample chapters etc. It’s a good way get the word out there and build your own audience; Amazon could turn around tomorrow and charge indie authors 10k to upload a new book, but with your own website and your own mailing list, your readers are *yours*.

I’m also a big believer in giving more than I get; I introduce myself to the subscribers and show them where to pick up their freebies, then a few days later I check in with them to make sure all the links etc. are working. I wait a week or so to offer them the chance to join my ARC (Advance Review Copy) team. Members of this group get all my books for free, prior to publication, in exchange for a review. If a reader isn’t able to leave a review, that’s fine; we all lead busy lives and I’m not going to kick them off the team because they’ve not had time to read an entire book!

Will sales come from the mailing list subscribers? Sure, but that’s not what the relationship is there for. It’s there to make connections.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Seeing stories brought to life. Every author dreams of the moment when they get to hold their books in their hands. There’s nothing quite like it. Even seeing a fully edited and formatted book on my Kindle is great – it’s *almost* tangible and second only to flicking through pages of the real thing!

The other element I find most rewarding is getting cover art. Any artist I’ve worked with has been incredibly talented. The artwork of your book is what catches a reader’s eye; the description is what sells it, but it’s the cover that piques interest in the first place. It’s also the only part of the book that is at once *yours* but created by someone else, so you can sing its praises to high heaven without looking conceited!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stevenmckinnon.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenmckinnonauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shrmckinnon
• Twitter: https://x.com/SHRMcKinnon

Image Credits

Order of the Shadow Dragon cover art by Trif Book Design
Symphony of the Wind cover art by James Egan at BookFly Design
Wrath of Storms cover art by James Egan at BookFly Design
Choir of the Damned cover art by James Egan at BookFly Design