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About Go
Indie
Go Indie is dedicated to
promoting independent publishers, authors, and bookstores. Help us spread the word
about indie publishing and be among the first to discover the best
indie publishing has to offer! In the recording industry, indie is
in and the
major labels are out. In the film industry, indie movies are some of the most celebrated and talked about. In
the years to come, the same will be true for indie publishing.
There will soon be over 100,000 indie authors, and their voices
deserve a platform for success. We aim to provide a part of this platform for
success, or at the very least a unique forum for indie voices.
Go Indie officially launched
in May 2007 and the response was overwhelming. By the end of
2007, we received 4,827 submissions and 184 requests from those who
want to be contributors to our project. This huge response was a
welcome surprise and it reinforced our perception of the strong need
for what we are developing.
As many indie authors,
publishers and bookstore representatives know, many in the industry
answered the call to help achieve improved synergy amongst
independents. Everyone involved with Go Indie was deeply gratified
to see the changes, and for some, to be a part of this process. The
introduction of new indie programs is what everyone wanted.
Certainly, the biggest change is the retooling of BookSense as
IndieBound. With the launch of IndieBound and other indie-focused
programs, much of what we at Go Indie hoped for became a reality.
A Note from Our Founder
September 6, 2010
Hello,
When there’s a need, the industry tends to fill it. Not necessarily
in a timely manner or in a manner everyone agrees on. This happened with IndieBound, the indie books program that’s doing quite
successfully what we’d’ve liked to do at Go Indie in our early days.
After participating in the program for a few years and waiting for
its evolution, some of our original members are coming back.
Together we’re looking once more at the future. We believe there’s
much work to be done beyond IndieBound. Why? Well, there’s a whole
world of publishing beyond the mainstream corporate publishers that
remain a primary focus of IndieBound.
Personally, I truly believe there’s a place in the marketplace for
big, small, and indie publishing, and I’d like to see more indie and
less corporate in IndieBound. It’s doubtful, however, that that will
happen. The independent bookstores have their indie outlet in
IndieBound, so I’m leading the Go Indie team back to our earliest
beginnings and our plan for being a platform, a voice in the
community, for independent authors, independent publishers, and
independent books.
Once again, we’re exploring the idea of launching
The Journal of
Independent Authors, Publishers and Booksellers--an English-language
publication supporting independent authors, publishers, and
booksellers in North America. As ever, this would be an entirely
non-profit endeavor. I don't know where this road will take us, but
it will be a fun journey.
Sincerely,
William R. Stanek
August 1, 2008
Hello,
I ask all independents to
lend support to IndieBound. IndieBound promises to create an indie
community around indie publishers, authors, and bookstores. This
fills the gaps and provides the previously missing links. IndieBound
makes the following bold declaration:
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for
individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to
homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers
that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain
independent.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not
created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff,
and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among
these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the
present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we
will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more
unconstrained state. To prove this, let’s bring each other along and
submit our own experiences to an unchained world.
We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our
convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and
darn well ought to be, Free Thinkers and Independent Souls. That we
are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out
soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities,
we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we all
declare that we are IndieBound!
My mission is to band together with like-minded folks across the
country to celebrate our independent natures, our free-thinking
retailers and our unique communities.
Personally, I can’t think of
a better program for the indie community than IndieBound. I support
it as do all other Go Indie contributors. I look forward to seeing
IndieBound grow and hope you will support it as well.
Sincerely,
William R. Stanek
May 30, 2007
Hello,
My name is William Robert Stanek. I am the
author of 70 books for young people and adults. I helped
found and provide the funding for Go Indie™
and the upcoming Robert Stanek Foundation™.
Key goals of these initiatives are to provide resources for
and support for independent publishers, independent authors,
independent bookstores, and communities across North
America.
Through my various writings and charitable
efforts over the past two decades, I have:
Supported communities across North America.
Supported schools and libraries across North
America.
Helped provide hope to struggling independents.
Helped give indie publishers and authors voices in
their communities.
I hope you will help me build a better
tomorrow by supporting my efforts to make a difference. I
ask you to please join our contributor team or write to us
to see how you can contribute in other ways. You can learn
more about me by
clicking this link.
Sincerely,
William R. Stanek
Author +
Publisher Resources
Go Indie is
just getting started. Author + Publisher Resources @ Go Indie is a
destination page to learn about important resources for authors and
publishers.