Celebrating Independent Authors
The surviving members of our crack engineering team (inspired to greatness by the gruesome spectacle of the IU “early retirement” plan) have been hard at work around the clock to solve the problem with the polling software.
Now we shall test this new poll-taking thingamabob and see what is what.
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by K.S. Brooks and Stephen Hise
We indie authors need all the help we can get to spread the word about our writing. We don’t have an army of agents and publicists at our disposal. We don’t have a big publishing house pushing our books onto the front shelves of every remaining brick and mortar store in the world.
Still, we don’t have to bear the burden alone – we have each other. We use social media to build networks and connections. We learn from each other and we teach each other. We help each other.
I established Indies Unlimited for the express purpose of helping indie authors. We provide a number of different types of features that can showcase you and your writing (e.g., interviews, guest posts, sneak-peeks, video book trailers, etc.). We also get a ton of page views here, and that number is trending consistently upward. The exposure you get here can be very beneficial to you.
You want help and Indies Unlimited wants to help you. This should be easy. Some people make it difficult. Below are some things that will facilitate that process – and keep us from wanting to kill you. Continue reading “Help us help you”
Be honest, book promotion is a thorn in your side. You know you have to do it, but you’d much rather be writing your next book. It’s time consuming, often expensive, and can give you that uncomfortable “I’m selling” feeling. Promoting online reduces the time and expense somewhat, but still requires creation of an ongoing stream of content (blogs, interviews, reviews). You’re compelled to build snazzy websites and attract fans and followers through regular social media engagement. It’s exhausting.
Efficient, effective promotion is key. Creating this type of promotion, however, means taking off your author’s hat and thinking like a reader. The minute you do this, the burden of book promotion melts away and you start contemplating book discovery. Browsing, sampling, exploring – the kind of experience bookstores create so well. I’m a big believer in the power of blogs, but consider this: the primary content readers encounter at a bookstore is books. They can randomly sample any page and easily peruse a book’s cover art, summary, author bio, introduction, acknowledgements and endorsements. They’re all built into the book. Continue reading “Forget Promotion! Think like a Reader by Kathy Meis”
The Writers Place new poetry contest is accepting submissions. Early submissions must be electronically submitted not later than 1st of February. Final deadline for submissions is February 15th for an additional fee of $5.00 per script.
Standard Submission Fees: for up to 3 poems: $10.00; and multiple submissions (more than 3, not more than 6 poems or 10 pages): $15.00
First-Place winner will receive a $75 cash award and certificate of achievement. All winners shall be published in The Writers Place Poetry Review. Continue reading “The Writers Place Poetry Contest”