What Exactly is BookStack? - An Introduction.
An overview into what BookStack is, our core values, and what we offer.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, nay— It’s BookStack, a dedicated publication and catalog committed to helping readers discover new reads. But, what does that actually mean? And what is our mission or core values? I’ll be talking about all of it right here. Or if you’re looking for our content directory, click the link below:
Table of Contents:
Our History So Far.
Our Mission and Values.
How to use our Directory.
Other Services we Offer.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Our History So Far.
Established back in March of 2025, The BookStack Catalog (BookStack) was designed with indie discoverability in mind. We begun as a platform and directory run right here on Substack, using anchor links and blog pages to cobble together a searchable book catalog. This spanned across things like Author Profiles, Book Listings, Spotlights, and Reviews.
Initially, there was a fee to getting books listed, but everything was cross-promoted on the blog and social media. Since then, we’ve removed the fees for book listings as they were simply redundant to our mission.
Though our blog posts have remained here on Substack, the directory itself has been moved twice. First over to Squarespace, and now onward to Softr— evolving the experience of navigating and utilizing the directory.
As BookStack continues to grow, we’ve been able to introduce new sections to the catalog, too! Since the move to Softr, sections for ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), and an upcoming releases page have been added. We hope these will only further enhance what BookStack does and has to offer.
Our Mission and Values.
BookStack is about supporting indie voices, and helping readers discover their next read. Our goal is to uplift others in the community, creating awareness and encouraging growth.
We also believe everyone has the potential to write a great book, regardless of whether their work is self or traditionally published. And that anyone can write without the utilization of generative-AI, which in our opinion hinders creative growth. So, we do not work with those who use Gen-AI in their work, or promotional materials.
On top of this, BookStack is run by an individual who is queer, non-binary, and autistic. We take pride in ensuring a safe platform for queer and marginalized communities. Henceforth, we refuse to work with or support anyone discriminating against or hating others on the basis of their gender, sexuality, race, age, and identity.
How to Use Our Directory.
Whether you’re a reader or writer, BookStack is a place for you. So, let’s go over how you can get the most out of the directory.
To get started: Head over to our website and you’ll be immediately greeted by our book directory and four distinct buttons. Scroll down to look at books, or click a button designated with the category you’re looking for.
ARCs: Great for finding something free to read in exchange for your support (Leaving a review of the book). This page is refreshed regularly as new sign-ups begin or end.
Authors: Interested in learning more about the authors in our community, or where to find them? Then you might want to check out this page.
Preorders: This takes you to our curated upcoming releases page. New or upcoming releases are promoted here each month, alongside our Indie Release Radar.
Services: This is actually for other authors, but you can check it out to learn more about the services we offer.
And in each section with a search bar, you can search by name, genre, tropes, vibes, and more. There are also filters for books by genres and age group.
For Authors: It’s good to familiarize yourself with each page we offer, but you probably want to know more about how you can utilize the directory— including getting books listed.
Books & Upcoming Releases: To get your books and upcoming releases listed, this would be the form for you. If you’re getting yours listed for the first time, you’ll also be prompted to fill out our Author Profile form.
ARCS: This form allows you to get your ARCs posted to our resource board. Upon posting, your ARC will remain up until the sign-ups date has ended. This is to help maintain fresh circulation of new ARC opportunities.
After you’ve submitted your books or ARCs, the website should update automatically with your listing. However, I recommend refreshing the page a few times, as it can take a few refreshes for it to pop up.
Other Services We Offer.
I already mentioned the Services page on our website, but let’s go over it in more detail. We offer a few different services for authors to use, some free and some paid.
Free: We have a variety of free services, including spotlights, book reviews, and more. Here’s a brief look into each.
Spotlights: These are author interviews designed to help give readers a look into your work and mind as a writer. These are generally posted on Mondays at 9:30am PT, if I don’t have any Premium Spotlights due that week. All you do to sign up for this is to fill out the form.
Book Reviews: Essentially, this is you giving me a copy of your book in exchange for me to read and share my thoughts. I post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and social media such as Instagram, Threads, Substack, and Tiktok. I only accept ten books in my queue at any one time.
Guest Posts: Have an essay, review, interview, or other writing piece you want featured in our blog? Filling out our guest post submission form is the one way to ticket to this, and guest posts are usually posted every other Friday.
Paid: Currently we have two paid tier services, and each are dependent on how many slots we have available at any given time. To check their availability, visit our Ko-fi page for more info.
Premium Spotlights: These are author interviews tailored to the author’s needs, and expedited. Great for if you’re needing one for a book launch, sale, or other event. Right now these are $10 USD as they’re new and experimental for me, but the price will be changing in later in January.
Book Listing Features: While getting listed in our directory remains free, you can get a feature for $5 USD. This bumps your book to the top of the directory, gives it a special tag, and a special social media highlight. All good for thirty-days.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Unsure about something relating to our directory or publication? Check our FAQ, or if you don’t see your answer, feel free to send me a message here on Substack or email me at hallen@indiebookstack.com.
Does it cost anything to get listed on BookStack?
Nope it’s completely free to get your book or ARC listed in the directory. However, you can purchase a Featured Book Listing to support us and gain extra benefits for your listing!
What kinds of books are allowed to be listed?
Pretty much anything! We accept books of all genres and formats, including serialized or audio dramas. We even accept ARCs and Upcoming Releases too— so if your book isn’t out, or has a pre-order link, you can still get it listed.
As long as your work doesn’t contain generative-AI, and isn’t discriminatory, it is good to go!
Are books listed in the directory guaranteed to get sales?
Unfortunately no. However, we do a lot to help encourage sales and traffic to the directory. From promoting books listed onto our social media, and doing things like giveaways, we center our focus on helping indie authors where ever we can.
Do you collaborate with other writers and authors on projects or events?
Yes! When the opportunity arises we do collaborative projects with others who are interested. Currently we have teamed up with Bradley Ramsey for a segment in his podcast Saved as Draft to share updates on new and upcoming books.
We also occasionally team up with other authors to do special book giveaways, too. However, I haven’t announced any new giveaways as I haven’t sent out all of the prizes from the last one yet…1 Once I get caught up with that one, I’ll be looking towards the next one.
BookStack is a lot of things, and there’s stuff we probably didn’t cover here. So, if you want to stay updated on all things BookStack— including content like our essays, spotlights, indie news, and more. Consider hitting the subscribe button, or support us further by upgrading. We operate on a sliding scale, so you can give what you can. Thank you so much and see you next time!
Enjoy our content? Upgrade your sub today at your own rate: $5/month💜, $4/month💛, $3/month💚, $2/month💙, or $1/month❤️ . Thanks for reading!
Bad Hazel, BAD.