Indie Book Fest, Rome 2024

An Event for Independent Authors 

On Saturday 9th November I was at Palazzo Congressi in Via Cavour here in the centre of Rome for the Indie Book Fest. This was quite exciting as I'm always hearing about the awesome bookish events my book buddies get to attend in the UK, US and other countries but never usually get to go to any myself.

Rome, despite being a capital city, doesn't have many big book related events. There's the annual Più Libri, Più Liberi that I've attended multiple times in the past and a few others like the International Literature Festival.

The Indie Book Fest is the first one I've seen that covered book marketing. Other panels I've seen at other events were all either about industry trends in publishing or about writing or just promoting books with readings by the authors.

Needless to say, when I saw the Indie Book Fest advertised on Facebook I jumped at the chance to attend.

The Venue

As I said before, the event took place at Palazzo Congressi in Via Cavour which is located close to Termini (the main station here in Rome). This made it super easy to get to as I could just take the metro into the city centre.

I arrived at around 10 am and signed in. There was also a form to fill out for privacy as the event was filmed. 

There was a separate room with independently published books on display including this year's finalists for the Story Teller Award sponsored by Amazon KDP.

Next to that was the conference room. This is where the main part of the event, and the workshop panels took place.

At the front of the conference room there was a small stage upfront with three armchairs and two small tables. Behind those was a projector screen where they showed the slides during the presentations.

The Event

There was a little bit of confusion over the timing of events but in the end they kicked off with the welcome messages at 10:30 am

Amazon KDP and F.U.I.S

The F.U.I.S (a federation for authors) organises lots of events. About 60 events a year for their writers, plus awards and they have published anthologies (poetry).

How F.U.I.S helps authors

• offers legal consultation and advice
• events in person and online
• awards
• authors can suggest ideas for events to do
• gives space to authors to showcase books at events and promotion.
• Working with Amazon offers support to authors.
• Offers proofreading prepublication but need to include logo on book cover.
• All genres welcome.

Andrea from KDP France, Italy, Spain gave some great information during the panel. Here's a quick overview:

• Anyone can publish a book. Within 72 hours available online to buy worldwide. 
• Print on demand. No need for investment in advance. 
• Royalties 60% same for print but minus print costs. 
• Traditional and indie co-exist and complement each other. 
• Italy watches the UK and America to see the future of publishing here. France, Italy and Spain are slightly behind in terms of community for indie authors. Both culturally (Italians less open) and technically. 
• Out of the 100 top books 20 are indie (Italy)
• In Italy a lot of nonfiction 
• Quality is important. Amazon has no filter for quality control. The readers choose and give weight to each book. Buyers decide the success of a book. 
• If you just want to write the book you'll need a team for all the other roles needed. 
• KDP offers a lot of articles to help authors with all aspects of pre and post publication.
• Being an author can become a full-time career. 
• Unlimited makes it easier to try out an author. Book series earn more (pages read). 
• Amazon business for bookshops. Get books into bookshops. https://www.amazon.it/b?ie=UTF8&node=16914661031 

Amazon storyteller award. This year is the 5th edition in Italy. It started 12 years ago in Spain. It's open to all indie authors on KDP and free to enter. All entries need to be part of kindle unlimited.

It was created to celebrate authors that aren't given space by other awards. The winner gets €10,000 prize plus advertising package and audiobook production. 

Workshop Amazon Ads

Presenter: Pan EU account executive Leonardo Miranda

Here's a quick overview of what was discussed in the workshop:

• Devices, shopping, music and podcasts, entertainment, gaming 
• Amazon Ads. Audience based on buying stats and search. Google and Meta by interest.

1. Presence on Amazon

2. Audience 

3. Branding

Presence. Sponsored ads

Sponsored product. Target keyword or product. Brings traffic to product page. 

Sponsored brand. Top of search results. Takes up half screen. Include video. Take to brand store.

Sponsored display. On Amazon but also on other sites. Proactive without search.

4% buy straight away

6-7 days from search to buy

14 pages seen before buy

80% use Amazon to discover new brands

Brand funnel :

Awareness - impressions

Consideration - details page visits, new to brand sales, click through rate

Purchase - orders, sales, ROAS

Audience

In market.

Buyer experience in the last 30 days. Based on algorithm data.

Retargeting

Up to 365 days of purchase

Seen product not bought 

Similar books

Lifestyle

Kindle lovers, top 5% spenders, interest

Branding

DSP. Demand Side Platform

Traffic outside of Amazon (website) as well as on Amazon. Third party publishers. 

Prime video ads. Full screen. Sound on. Non skippable. Pre or mid roll 

Targeting opt. 

Launch and Promotion of book

The last workshop was by author Ester Sofia Ricci. She was amazing!

Here's a quick overview of what was discussed:

• Publishing sea.
• Important to have your own space where you have freedom to post as you wish.
• Even if not a follower might see content regularly. 
• Every author is a brand.
• A professional brand is important esp. for indie authors. Communicates quality. 
• Books don't have a use by date.

Final thoughts

Rating Systems for Book Reviews

Star Rating Systems for Books

When it comes to book review systems and star ratings things aren't always clean cut. Different people have their own systems when reviewing books. Even the top sites aren't aligned when it comes to what each star rating actually means.

Star Rating Systems of Goodreads and Amazon

Goodreads:

• 1 star - didn't like it
• 2 stars – it was OK
• 3 stars – liked it
• 4 stars – really liked it
• 5 stars – it was amazing

Amazon:

• 1 star - hate it
• 2 stars - didn’t like it
• 3 stars - it was OK
• 4 stars - liked it
• 5 stars - loved it

The meaning of a 3 star rating has often caused a lot of discussion in the book blogging community. Some consider it a bad rating whilst others view it as a positive rating. The big reason behind this is because a 3 star rating on Goodreads is good, but on Amazon it's not.

Other reviewers have opted to use different rating systems altogether. An example of this is the C.A.W.P.I.L.E rating system. This rates books on a scale of 1 to 10 across different categories. 

So what is a good review?

There is no right or wrong way to review a book. Everyone will have their own personal opinion about each book they read and as a book is rarely for everyone, it's normal to see a mixture of star ratings for the same book. Some will love it, some will hate it, and some will just think it was OK.  All are valid reviews and equally worthy.

As the scope of a review is to help potential buyers decide whether the book is for them or not, a good review is one that is well balanced and gives information that will help them make that decision. 

A 3 star review that explains the pro's and con's of the book could actually do more to convince a potential buyer than a 5 star rating that just says they loved it. 

It's also worth noting that one person's reason for not liking a book could be another persons reason for picking it up. 

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How to decide on a star rating

When reviewing a book how do you pick which star rating to give it? On what criteria is your rating based? Emotional attachment or technical aspects?

Do you weigh up the writing style, character development, grammar, etc...? Is formatting something that could cost the book a star? Or is your rating based purely on how the book made you feel?

Are Ratings Necessary?

Given how many different rating systems there are for reviews, are ratings really necessary?

Personally I like them. It helps when checking which books were the best/worst over the course of the year (perfect for this time of year as many book bloggers look back to give an overview of their reading throughout the year). 

Star ratings might be particularly useful when you can't remember the details about every book. Ratings make it easy to find which rated highest.

Star ratings are also good for those who don't have time/ don't want to read a full review. It gives them an overall screenshot view of how readers felt about the book. If a book only has 1 and 2 stars it's likely they'll give it a miss. A book with a mixture of ratings all over 3 stars is more likely to catch their interest and make them consider it. 

How I rate my books

For my reviews I follow the Goodreads system and consider 3 stars a good review. 

It's actually very rare for me to give a book a rating lower than 3 stars. This is because over the years I've gained a clear idea about the sorts of books I enjoy and so tend to only select books I'm pretty sure I'm going to like. I'm definitely more picky about the books I read now than I used to be. 

When it comes to deciding what rating to give I generally go with my gut feeling on finishing the book. Was it a page turner? How did I feel about the characters? Was it easy reading? Did I like how it dealt with certain themes or topics? I'll consider all this and more but the most important thing for me is emotional attachment. How invested was I in the book?

Before concluding this discussion about giving reading recommendations and star rating systems there is one last thing we should look at...

Books You Did Not Finish 

When it comes to DNF books people have different views and systems for them. 

Some, myself included, will just leave the book and not rate it. At most it may get put on a list on Goodreads filed under DNF. 

Other book bloggers review and rate the books they DNF. They rate the part they read and, obviously, ratings for these books tend to be low.

Both are fine. Again it's a personal choice.

I my case I very rarely DNF a book. Some books I've read that didn't start out all that great really picked up later on and turned into good reads. 

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When it comes to giving reading suggestions and recommendations what system do you use? How do you rate books you've read?

Free Reads Every Day!

Book Advent Calendar Day 2

Grab your free copy here

A Christmas read set in an English village, how could I not choose this book for today? I always get nostalgic for England this time of year so this seemed like the perfect choice to cuddle up with. 

About the book: 

Welcome to Thornwaite, a quaint village tucked up in England’s beautiful but rainy Lake District… where homecomings happen and surprises are in store for the four Holley sisters…
Anna Holley, the third of four sisters, has always felt a little bit forgotten. A family tragedy when she was a child had her retreating deep into shyness, and social anxiety kept her on the fringes of the cozy chaos of the busy vicarage.
After several years away from home, Anna returns for Christmas... and an important announcement from her father. As much as she once loved the village, coming back is hard and puts Anna's social capabilities to the test.
Avoiding her sisters’ bossy questions, she heads out to the local pub one night, and meets a handsome stranger nursing a pint. Somehow, unburdened by expectations, Simon seems like the perfect person to spill all her secrets to—including a hopeless, long-held crush on her sister’s boyfriend. Confident she’ll never see him again, Anna returns home… only to discover the next day that Simon is actually her father’s new curate!
Anna is beyond mortified, but Simon won’t let her retreat into her usual shyness—and for once Anna is forced to confront the past, and all the fears and feelings she’d tried so long to hide. But with his own heartache that needs to heal, can Simon help Anna to make this the most magical Christmas either of them have known?

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Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Free Reads Every Day!

Book Advent Calendar Day 1

Grab your free copy here

I was super happy to find this book among the free titles on Amazon this morning as I've enjoyed numerous other titles in this series. If you like cosy mysteries, this series is well worth checking out. 

About the book:

*** USA Today Bestseller ***
Murder hits a little too close to home for bakery owner Lexy Baker when a grim discovery is made in her homicide detective husband, Jack's, basement.
With Jack as the main suspect, Lexy has to turn up the heat and find the real killer while still trying to whip up the perfect meringue cookie recipe for the Brook Ridge Falls Desserts Contest. Normally, she would enlist the aid of her amateur detective grandmother, Nans. Except ...
Nans has a secret and is uncustomarily disinterested in investigating. Not to be daunted, Lexy turns to her iPad-toting posse of grandma sleuths who help her sift through the clues in an investigation that keeps dishing up the most unlikely suspects.
When a surprising twist causes Lexy to suspect those closest to her, it makes her wonder if some things from the past aren't better left alone.

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A small request

Here's a look at the review from Goodreads:

This is a great character introduction for our protagonist, Matt. The story sets up his character well, revealing his inner and external conflicts. This is a great set up for future character development which I am greatly anticipating. 

Matt is a flawed protagonist, which I love. Since his dad's dies he's been depressed which in turn result in him arguing with his Mum, and losing friends. This loss inn friends resulted in bullying which resulted in his social anxiety/fear. I feel like a lot of authors want to start with a perfect character, someone who starts out selfless and brave. However, due to Matt's loss of his dad and bullying, Matt acts somewhat selfish and cowardly. Which I feel is very realistic, and though those traits are unlikable, Matt is very likable due to how relatable and sympathetic he is. Also, while many stories try to layer bad things to happen to the protagonist to make them more sympathetic, Matt's problems all result from each other making his dilemma feel natural, as opposed to force in an attempt to gain sympathy. Also, Matt's personality perfectly fits with his past and current situation, he is a product off his environment and has the same fears an actual victim of bullying would have. 

Overall Matt and his situation is really well done, and feels very realistic. His dilemma isn't unrealistically huge to add drama; it is true to life and relatable; which isn't common. Also, though I keep saying relatable this story in no way feels like it's trying to hard to be relatable as much as it's just being honest about life. I have read books that try to hard to be relatable, and they're cringy.

Now normally I talk more about the plot in a review, but to be honest this episode is mainly just a set up of Matt and his conflict, and though at the end the pendant is introduced the true time travel element doesn't come into play until the next episode. And though this episode felt more like and introduction, I predict the later episodes with feel more like short stories in different time periods with his character development and the mystery of the pendant weaving them together. I definitely plan on reading them because, I am already invested in Matt's character, and I love history and each episode is supposed to be a different time period, which sounds awesome!