So much has changed this weekend
There have been a lot of massive changes, and I want to tell you all about them!
Last week ended in chaos. Between a massive change in the directory website and numerous personal issues, I am finally rested enough to bring in a lengthy update. There will be no social media stats post this week, as last week was a mess, and those numbers don’t reflect anything good. So buckle up and get ready for this massive update. Don’t forget to give a click to your favorite place in the world, the Indie Book Directory!
What Changed:
In November, I decided I needed to fix a lot of the entries, update some stuff, and genuinely fluff up the entries so we can add more for potential readers. Adding things like series length, book type (novella, novel, anthology), and a few others! After getting everything set up and recruiting some volunteers to help, we set out to get things moved over. Hours in and out of 2,300 entries, we had finished 212. Yikes.
It was at that point that I had a conversation with someone I trust a lot and decided we needed to do an overhaul. Not something I wanted to do, but something to make it fair to authors and readers who utilize our site. I chose to close out the old form, redo a new one, and ask authors to resubmit their books to the site.
Some people weren’t too happy, others were grateful for a chance to add more information and fill out the submission form again. And honestly, I was a nervous wreck about it all for a few hours, then life happened.
As some may know, I have a recurring injury that won’t heal and has progressively been getting worse. Without being annoying and telling too much, I will say I live in the US and have shitty health insurance. This made me slow all the way down. I took the weekend off and am finally back to resting. But the work is not over! I am here to make sure I really cover all the bases on what’s changing.
I added a lot to the submission form. This was a change that needed to happen. Even if people are mad, bettering the way we reach readers is so important. I want nothing but the best to be shown. You put in the hard work to write a book, and I am putting in the work to make sure it’s showcased in the best way possible.
New Features:
A big thing I wanted to add was being able to see and support more authors who are a part of marginalized communities. This felt so very important, and I am glad that re-doing this form allowed me a chance to add this in and make sure we are able to support these authors even more.
Multiple purchase link options. I have it now set up where you can select if you sell directly, and add your website name. With the chaos going on with the publishing process, I know a lot of people prefer to sell directly if they can. It was brought to my attention to offer something like this, and here it is! Later this month, I will also have a page dedicated to those who sell directly.
There are two other purchase link options as well, one including Amazon and one for another source like Barnes & Noble. All purchase link options are optional when filling out the form. This makes it easy for you to put in what you have and just skip what you don’t need!
We added book types! An easy way to list the length of your book without putting in a page number. You get the option between Novella, Novel, and Anthology! Super simple and easy for readers to filter and find the length of their next read.
Alongside the book type, we put in a series length option. Standalone, Duology, Trilogy, Book Series (4+ books), is now a part of the form! Being able to add in your series length will help readers filter through and get what they are looking for.
The last piece I am really excited about is the book cover upload. Instead of a URL, you just upload your picture directly to the site. Easy peasy and leaves a lot less of a hassle for everyone!
Overall, these features have been asked for, and finally, I get the chance to deliver! While it comes at the expense of people re-uploading their books, I do believe this is helpful and will better the site.
What if I uploaded before the changes?
I have decided that no books will be deleted from the directory. However, if you only used the old Google Form to upload your books, they will move to a separate page on 12/17/2025. They will still be searchable and available to readers, but they will just not have the updated information added. Sadly, this is a passion project that takes a lot of time to run already. To go through every entry individually and search out the information would take me around an hour per book. With over 2,300 books, this would take me quite a long time to complete.
As I said, the books won’t be deleted, but I do suggest re-uploading your books using the new form! It is available on the site now, and your books will be immediately added to the directory. This isn’t required, though. Your old entry will stay, and if you decide to re-upload, both will be searchable on the site.
On 12/17/2025, all previously uploaded books will be searchable only through the More Books category. This is to keep from confusion on why books can’t be found by the newer information.
What else am I up to?
While this weekend has been challenging, I have had some time to think about what’s next and what I want to add. While I won’t be talking about directory-specific updates, I have a few other things coming up.
I have taken down all of our Ko-Fi items for the time being, including the featured books. Any current commissions are being fully finished out before they are marked as complete. But I am not accepting new ones at this time. There will be an update coming in the new year for this.
Alongside that is the Author Spotlights, I have a few scheduled to come out this month to work through the backlog. I will have an update when we are accepting new ones after the new year.
Lastly, I will be opening up a subscriber chat here on Substack, so stay tuned to come chat, network, and see a bit more about what things we will be doing within the community!