Unveiling IndieHold’s Mission & Values
Table of Contents
The Writer was weeks away from the release of her next book, and she was frustrated, to say the least. Taking to social media, she vented about how hard it was to run a successful author business when you were at the mercy of retailers and algorithms.
There were too many platforms to join, too many subscriptions to pay for, and way too many logins to remember. Meanwhile, certain influential retailers demanded high cuts of book sale profits.
And then there was the rise of AI as the cherry on top.
I just want a system that’s affordable, consistent, and keeps everything in one place, the Writer lamented. Why hasn’t someone made this for authors yet?
Where Our Story Begins
In South Carolina, Tim Goode (any/all) followed along with the online discourse. Making a living as an author had always been a challenge, but the digital age had created its own unique hoops for writers to jump through. Especially, they noted, for indie writers and debut authors.
Was an affordable, author-first system possible? And could it be done in a way that would give writers an inclusive, respectful community where they could grow?
Timothy Goode had been drawn to books from a young age. They would scour the shelves of the Putnam County Public Library for all the fantasy and science fiction they could find. Growing up in West Virginia also came with its own unique challenges, especially for a Queer kid growing up in an Evangelical Christian family in West Virginia. Books provided Tim a chance for expression and self-identity.
Now, as an adult, Tim had opened his own private counseling practice, GoodeCounsel, in South Carolina, where they focused on helping people process trauma around gender identity, deconstructing faith, and the specific needs of the LGBTQIA+ community. They were also no stranger to the challenges of building and running his own website, growing his practice through social media and email marketing, and making a living without compromising his values.
There were ways to make a platform more cohesive and less reliant on the retailers and corporations that monopolized the internet. And they thought they might know how.
They just needed some help. Someone to keep them on task.
Someone like their partner, Sarah.
Finding Our Purpose
Sarah Goode (she/her) has always loved reading. Ever since she was a kid growing up in Louisiana, earning personal pan pizzas for reading, Sarah has loved how books enable her to experience new things and see life from multiple perspectives.
When Tim first told Sarah about IndieHold, she recognized its importance. Some of the biggest challenges indie and debut authors face come not from writing but from managing the business itself. “If we can help authors with some of the administrative tasks,” she said, “then hopefully we can help more writers get their work and their voices out there where they can be heard.”
Sarah was in. “Art should be supported and encouraged,” she said. “Writing is so vulnerable, but the risk of sharing that vulnerability can bring such beauty, joy, and life to others.”
Now there were two. But they could use one more on the IndieHold team.
The Missing Piece
While Tim and Sarah started mapping out what IndieHold would eventually become, Emily Harris Greene (she/her) was outlining her second novel in northern Virginia.
Originally from Richmond, VA, Emily had spent most of her life living in Central Asia. Like Sarah and Tim, books had been a source of comfort and encouragement for her in a world where she sometimes didn’t have the language to express herself.
Having met the Goodes at university in Missouri, Emily had kept up with their lives over social media, iMessage, and even a FaceTime book club during the Covid lockdown era. Meanwhile, Emily made her career as a copywriter, digital marketer, and SEO specialist. She had experience working for everyone from small businesses to nonprofits to corporations.
But in the fall of 2025, the rise of AI had come for her, and her last job was made redundant. Thus, she had returned to her first love, writing. And already she was eyeing the self-publishing route. Perhaps she could use her digital marketing experience to her advantage as a self-published author–at least to sell a couple of books to someone other than her mom.
And then in March 2026, Tim reached out.
The IndieHold Solution
By this time, the Writer’s launch date had arrived … with another side of publishing disaster. “Spend years writing a book, just for a major distributor to ruin everything,” the Writer shared.
“Things like this happen to indie authors, too,” Tim told Sarah and Emily. “But when you’re indie, you don’t always have the support to fix the issues, and your whole launch can derail. In fact, a lot of indie authors are moving towards direct sales just so the big retailers can’t get their hands on creative work. And we can help them do that.”
Sarah was on board, but Emily was skeptical. What Tim was proposing–an author platform that could manage direct sales, email lists, social media scheduling, and paid ads, all in one place–seemed complicated. Even in the corporate world, companies often have to rely on multiple vendors to achieve a cohesive marketing strategy. But for every one of her questions, Tim was able to offer an IndieHold solution.
“This could work,” Tim said, “If you help us market it?”
When it comes to supporting the creative community over capitalist corporations, Emily is very passionate.
“I’m in,” she said.
And thus, IndieHold was born.
IndieHold’s Mission & Values
What do we want indie authors and creatives to understand about IndieHold? That we mean it when we say:
IndieHold is an author-first platform. Our clients' feedback shapes IndieHold from the inside out.
IndieHold is an affordable author platform. We have no interest in making this more difficult for indie authors. We offer fixed pricing, and we always will.
IndieHold is an inclusive author platform. It doesn’t matter what your background is: this is a safe platform where you and others can have a voice. Let the corporations platform the authoritarians and fascists. We believe in making art, not wealth.
IndieHold is not just a platform but a community. IndieHold clients will have exclusive access to the IndieHold Writer Community, where authors can strategize together, support each other, and learn from each other.
What's Next for IndieHold?
At the time of this writing, IndieHold is asking interested self-published authors, new writers, and the creatively curious to join our Waitlist.
This isn't a commitment; we just want to share IndieHold’s mission and vision with you further. Those who sign up for our Waitlist will be notified first when we open Early Access on July 1, 2026: our initial first wave of 10 IndieHold clients who will have access to all of IndieHold Basic at Founder’s pricing (a full 51% off).
If you’re interested and want to learn more about Early Access, sign up for our waitlist, and we’ll reach out by email to learn more about you, your needs as an indie author, and to offer you a free demo session.
If you want to keep an eye on us and what we’re doing here for now:
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Let's create!
- Tim, Sarah, & Emily
