Challenging the Indie Author stereotypes

Author: MG Hunt
Published: Thu 14 Aug 2025
Episode Link: https://mghunt.substack.com/p/challenging-the-indie-author-stereotypes

My friends, do I have a fabulous episode for you all! Fellow indie author Jess McFarlane sat down with me to discuss the range of stereotypical opinions that exist with indie publishing.

To many of us, traditional publishing is considered or perceived to be the ‘gold standard’ for literature. But the rise of indie authors and the growing accessibility in self-publishing is steadily changing the current preconceptions of the community.

In this episode, author Jess McFarlane and I discuss the stereotypes around self-publishing and being an author. We touch on topics such as author wellbeing, finding your community, marketing, and topical debates in the indie author sphere.

Of course, we also get into Jess’s upcoming literary release Man of Bears (scheduled for 16th September 2025). It is the sequel to Woman of Wolves, and book to in the medieval Irish historical fiction series, Arasgain Rule.

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of mental health topics, depression, anxiety, self-harm and other similar themes.

Topics discussed with timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:21 Reacting to assumptions about self-publishing

15:10 The mental load of being an indie author

19:01 Discussing Audra Winter

26:46 Ratings and opinions

32:02 Reflecting on how far you’ve come

41:15 Reacting to @authortuesdayyjames Threads post

48:18 Man Of Bears and Jess’s future work

58:44 Including spice

1:06:00 Looking to the future