Art is never in short supply in Denton. It’s not difficult to stumble upon a local band performing or an artist selling their paintings. But, an upcoming event will shine a light on a different kind of artist.
On March 9, local independent bookstore Patchouli Joe’s will be hosting its first annual Independent Author Festival. The event will feature about 23 independent authors from the North Texas area that write in a variety of genres.
“It's really hard to get books distributed widely when you self publish,” Patchouli Joe’s co-owner Joe Mayes said. “Think about a publishing company, where they have broad coverage. Even if they just trickle a few books down to 100 bookstores or 1,000 bookstores, that's a lot of copies out there in circulation. If you're one person trying to push your books out, it's a lot harder to do.
"So really, the whole point of us doing this was just to provide an opportunity to as many independent authors as possible.”
The bookstore has already hosted smaller events to celebrate independent and local authors, including author readings, book launches and even an indie author book fair. However, this event will be on a larger scale. It will be hosted in the outdoor space behind the bookstore and feature not only authors, but also food trucks and bookish vendors. The event will also host two local publishers, Books & Smith and Motina.
Mayes said he wanted to host this event because there are only so many independently published books that can be sold in the store, so this event will allow independent authors to promote their work even if their books are not sold at Patchouli Joe’s.
This is the case for David Hopkins, author of the epic fantasy novel The Dryad’s Crown.
“I think this [event] is going to give people in Denton an opportunity to check out books that they might not normally see,” Hopkins said.
He also said that he has noticed greater author diversity in the world of independent publishing.
“While I do love traditional publishing, what you see with a lot of independent authors is a greater emphasis on diversity,” Hopkins said. “And that there's a lot of authors, whether it be authors of color, or LGBT+ authors, who are overlooked in the industry, for whatever reason.
"It's not surprising to say that they flourish in a place where they can be independently published.”
Another factor that currently has a major effect on authors and the publishing industry as a whole is "BookTok" — content, creators and larger community on TikTok and social media that focus on reading. As with many communities on TikTok, BookTok has its own trends.
Many books have gained popularity on BookTok, such as fantasy novel Fourth Wing, romance novel Red, White and Royal Blue and mythology retelling Song of Achilles. Some authors that have become prominent on BookTok include Sarah J. Maas, Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover.
Although BookTok is a great place to find book recommendations and connect with fellow readers online, it also has a tendency to become oversaturated with videos about a select few books.
“I love BookTok as much as the next bookish person does,” Hopkins said. “But what you find is, the videos that tend to do the best are videos that focus on a select number of, sort of, pre-approved popular books that there is already an established interest in.”
Another indie author, Sean Fletcher, also commented on the limited number of books that seem to gain prominence on BookTok.
“When [a book] is shared so many times, you kind of can’t see anything but that,” Fletcher said. “There’s so many other amazing stories that are out there, [traditional or] indie, that just kind of get tossed by the wayside.”
Fletcher is the author of the Savage Wild series, a young adult fantasy series. At first, he attempted to get his book published through a traditional publisher, but he said that he enjoys the creative freedom that comes with independent publishing.
“I’d love to get some of my books [traditionally published] because I can get into more book stores and I can [participate in] more conventions,” Fletcher said. “But [because I’m] independently published, I have more control over what I do. So the good thing is you have control over everything but the bad thing is you have to do everything.”
Both authors said that they spread awareness for their books by doing online promotions. Fletcher said that he will soon be using TikTok to promote his work, but Hopkins already uses it, and shared a few tips for authors who want to break into the BookTok world.
“BookTok is a great marketing tool, but it only works if you have something to talk about beyond your book,” Hopkins said.
He said that he is interested in William Shakespeare and talks about his work on the platform, which has gotten a good response online.
He also said that TikTok is best for promoting books that are already selling well because it can strengthen that success.
“It expands possibilities,” Hopkins said. “It doesn’t always create possibilities.”
However, the Independent Author Festival will create opportunities for North Texas authors. Joe Mayes’ wife and co-owner of Patchouli Joe’s co-owner Diane Mayes said selling books in-person is important for independent authors that may not be able to sell books in many other places.
“There are a lot of people in the community that really want to read these local authors,” Diane said. “And so it gives customers a chance to see all the books that are out there. And sometimes these independent authors get huge followings by just being able to sell their books.”
Building a local community for book lovers is a priority for both Diane and Joe Mayes. This festival is just one of many events hosted at their store that helps this goal.
“Denton is an arts town,” Joe said. “Writing is one of the arts. These are North Texas community artists, most of them from Denton, that are going to be celebrated and hopefully sell some books.”