Posted by Maleeha Mir on 16 February 2026, in Event reports, News, Showcase

Photos by Phoebe Ireland, Words by Chris Russell

You can listen to the complete audio recording of this event via this link.

On a drizzly February evening at Soho’s Century Club, Byte the Book gathered a quartet of indie publishing gurus to answer one thorny question – what does it take to become a bestseller without the heft of the Big Five behind you? As the discussion unfolded, it became clear that while algorithms and online virality have a part to play, the true secret to success is in something that pre-dates smartphones, social media and even the novel itself: community. 

Our panel from left to right: Hannah Twigg, Rachel McLean, Justine Solomons, Matt Holland  and Ryan Cahill.

For epic fantasy author Ryan Cahill, community wasn’t a by-product of success – it was his strategy from day one. Five days after publishing his debut, he gave it away for free, and this resulted in close to 30,000 downloads and an instant surge of reviews. Friends and peers questioned his approach, concerned that he’d lose out on earnings, but Ryan stuck to his guns. “If all the money I make is in the first two weeks after launching a book,” he reflected, “I’m in the wrong industry. I’m trying to build a readership… I’ll make money later”. Over time, his maverick approach has been vindicated, with sales of his The Bound And The Broken series surpassing half a million and a global army of readers displaying a fanatical devotion to his work (one fan even laser-engraved a batch of wooden spoons in reference to a throwaway joke in Ryan’s debut novel, then shipped five hundred of them worldwide to delighted fellow readers). “From the independent author perspective,” he concluded, “you’ll never have anything stronger than a community”.

There are, of course, as many ways to build a community as there are writers, and crime author Rachel McLean was quick to extoll the virtues of the humble newsletter, specifically as an alternative to social platforms. “I hate social media,” she began, “it depresses me. Instead, I have a mailing list with 45,000 people on it”. Rachel aims for a chatty intimacy in her weekly emails, and this seems to have been instrumental to their success – she boasts an open rate of sixty per cent, well above the industry average. “The community I’m building is almost more like a community of two,” she explained, “where it’s me and the reader, and we get to know each other, and I tell them about me and what inspires me to write”.

On the topic of social networking, self-taught social media strategist Hannah Twigg – who pivoted into the literary arena from the beauty industry and now helps drive digital growth for high-profile clients such as Fearne Cotton and Jacqueline Wilson – praised Rachel’s bold, pragmatic approach, advising authors to choose the platform they actually enjoy rather than struggling to appear everywhere and risking burnout. “Pick a social platform that you’re passionate about and use anyway, and make content that you’d like to view yourself,” she summarised. “It’s recreating things that you already enjoy, rather than just trying to imitate what might be popular”. She also raised the familiar concept of a thousand true fans, pointing out that even a relatively modest follower count can form the basis of a viable income stream. “People see the big numbers, like 100,000 followers versus their 12,000 followers, and they worry,” she said. “But imagine 12,000 people in a room… that’s a lot of people. And sometimes smaller communities are much more active and engaged than big ones”.        

This theme of persistent, piecemeal growth resonated throughout the discussion. For indie players especially, readerships are built from the ground up, something which is certainly true of the community Matt Holland has built around his independent bookshop, The Broken Binding, and its offshoot publishing arm (which launches with the inaugural print release of Ryan Cahill’s hit debut novel, Of Blood And Fire). The business began on Matt’s mother’s kitchen table, and by interacting directly with readers online, Matt grew his brand organically, through community activities – conversations, collaborations, shared excitement – rather than hard-selling. Operating in the sci-fi, fantasy and horror space, he paid attention to what those specific genre readers want and concluded that emphasising collectability, the joy of a beautifully rendered book, was his path to success. This led to sprayed edges, tip-in signature pages and more, and Broken Binding has now sold in excess of a million books. 

Matt Holland shares the story behind founding The Broken Binding Publishing and reflects on the company’s rapid growth in recent years.

By the close of the discussion, it was obvious that while there’s no silver bullet for independent authors and publishers, the old adage that “you have to start somewhere” continues to ring true. Consistency of voice, branding and effort compounds over time, and in the indie space, the bestseller is rarely born from flavour-of-the-week virality – it is built patiently, stoically, through relationships that become strong enough to outlast any platform. And that may be the most encouraging message of all.

Thank you to CPI for sponsoring our event and to the Century Club for hosting us!

You can find many more photos from this panel from our online album 'Becoming a Bestseller: How Indie Authors and Publishers are Breaking Through Sponsored by CPI' here!

If you're not already a member of Byte The Book you can join us from £30 a month here.