Author: Nicole Schroeder

Nicole Schroeder is a storyteller at heart. As the editor in chief of Indie Author Magazine, she brings nearly a decade of journalism and editorial experience to the publication, delighting in any opportunity to tell true stories and help others do the same. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism and minors in English and Spanish. Her previous work includes editorial roles at local publications, and she’s helped edit and produce numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including a Holocaust survivor’s memoir, alongside independent publishers. Her own creative writing has been published in national literary magazines. When she’s not at her writing desk, Nicole is usually in the saddle, cuddling her guinea pigs, or spending time with family. She loves any excuse to talk about Marvel movies and considers National Novel Writing Month its own holiday.

Editor’s Letter: Let’s Connect

You'll be happier at work when you make some friends there. Two colleagues having lunch in

In American Sign Language, to sign the word “friend,” you hook your two pointer fingers together, then flip both hands over and repeat the action. When I was learning sign language in college, the website we used as a reference said to imagine your fingers were hugging. Instead, I like to think of things connecting. […]

From The Editor’s Desk

I’ve never considered myself particularly technology capable.  Sure, having grown up awash in new devices and an expanding internet, I’m probably more adept than I give myself credit for. But you can also guarantee I’ll need to ask for help from my more computer-savvy friends to set up a website. Over the years, Scrivener and […]

Checks and Balances

When the Royalties Roll in, Here’s How Indie Authors Can Budget for the Future Nicole Schroeder June 2022 was a record-setting month for the United States economy—and not in the way anyone was hoping. A combination of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and continuing supply-chain shortages, drove the country’s inflation rate […]

Editor’s Letter: Back to School

A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon shopping for school supplies with my younger sister. She’ll be a freshman in college this year, attending the same university I did, and while I’m helping her prepare—showing her around campus, explaining how the bus system works and where to buy textbooks—I can’t help but feel nostalgic. […]

Book Influencers Help Turn a New Page in Publishing

Nicole Schroeder Nestled in her New England home, independent bookseller Kaitee Yaeko Tredway spends time each week arranging stacks of books and displaying them against a variety of backgrounds. She snaps several photos and writes out creative captions to pair with each, then decides when they’ll publish. Sometimes she makes an appearance in front of […]

Editor’s Letter: Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself

As indie authors, we are constantly introducing ourselves: to other writers, to editors, to cover designers, and especially—ideally—to new readers. For a profession that can sometimes feel a bit lonely, we’re rarely going it alone, which makes our first impressions important … and all the more daunting.  Speaking of introductions, some of you might recognize […]

From the Mouths of Babes: How to Write Kids Dialogue

Let’s face it: Kids are a lot of work. No one would argue that point in the real world—no one who’s spent time around them, anyhow. And little ones can be just as much of a handful on the page. Especially when it comes to dialogue, making young characters believable can leave a thin margin […]

Indie Authors Weigh In on Whether Some Books Should Have Trigger Warnings

Author Mariel Pomeroy left a cautionary message for readers of her debut novel that is hard to miss. It’s printed on its own page in the front of the book just after the copyright. She also included it in the book’s product description and in her social media posts advertising the novel. A general statement […]

How Nick Thacker Is Rewriting the Publishing Rulebook

The Thriller Writer Says Traditional Publishing Is Broken. He’s Got Plans to Fix It. When someone called Nick Thacker’s novels “airplane books” early on in his career, he took the term and ran with it.  The description was meant to be an insult—as in his books were the kind you buy at an airport to […]

Writing with Chronic Illness: One Author’s Advice for Finding Balance

Five years ago, author L.J. Stanton’s future took a dramatic shift. An equestrian for much of her life, she’d earned an equine sciences degree in college and was training horses and teaching riding lessons for a living. Then she was diagnosed with two genetic disorders: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). “I […]