Month: June 2012

Knowing your competition… by Ken La Salle

Author Ken La Salle
Author and Playwright Ken La Salle

There’s an ironic exchange in the great film, My Dinner with Andre, in which Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn talk about the demise of theater. I say it’s ironic because this movie was made more than 30 years ago and if they thought live theater was in the crapper back then, well… they had no idea what they were talking about!

Any playwright worth their salt is probably aware of a theater that is going through hard times or one that shut down because it couldn’t raise money. And yet, year after year, I run into playwrights who act as though it has nothing to do with them.

I believe they think they are somehow removed from the economic reality of theater, which is simply not true. I believe they do this because they simply do not understand who their competition is, who they’re playing against. It would be like an NBA player, LeBron James let’s say, feeling he was doing a fine job if he could beat the kids at the local elementary school. Continue reading “Knowing your competition… by Ken La Salle”

Week 26 Flash Fiction Challenge Poll

The time has arrived for IU readers to begin voting in this week’s Flash Fiction Competition.

On behalf of the IU staff, I want to thank all the entrants for doing such a great job with the writing prompt and the merciless constraints of the exercise.

You may review the entries here. Please spread the word and encourage your friends to vote by using the share buttons at the bottom of the post!

The poll will be open until 5:00 PM (Pacific Daylight Time) Thursday

Choose your favorite entry from the week 26 flash fiction challenge:

  • Brian Beam (29%, 10 Votes)
  • Laurie Boris (26%, 9 Votes)
  • Cynthia Rogan (18%, 6 Votes)
  • Erik Hanberg (12%, 4 Votes)
  • Kristina Jackson (6%, 2 Votes)
  • R E Sheahan (6%, 2 Votes)
  • E. L. Dawson (3%, 1 Votes)
  • Rosalind Smih-Nazilli (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 34

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Wasafiri New Writing Prize

WasafiriThe 2012 Wasafiri New Writing Prize is now open to anyone worldwide who has not published a complete book. They are looking for creative submissions in one of three categories: Poetry, Fiction or Life Writing.

£300 will be awarded to the winner of each category and their work will be published in Wasafiri.

Entry fee: £6.00 if entering one category, £10 for two and £15 for all three.

Deadline – 5pm GMT on 27 July 2012.

For more information, please visit their website.

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Indies Unlimited is pleased to provide this contest information for the convenience of our readers. We do not, however, endorse this or any contest/competition. Entrants should always research a competition prior to entering.

Professionalism in Indie Publishing –– The Value of a Collective by Liza Perrat

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines professionalism as: the conduct, aims or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. So, how does this relate to an authors’ collective?

For years, self-published novels evoked to me images of poorly-written, shoddily put-together books. Unprofessional products. Something I certainly did not want for the months, or years, of slaving over a novel.

Several years ago I was fortunate to join an online writing group, and thanks to the keen editorial eyes and unfailing support of the members, my writing improved. After endless revisions, I finally had a story I believed was fit for the public eye, and happily packed it off to my agent. But she was not able to arouse the slightest interest from any of the big traditional publishing houses. So, what next? If I wanted to get my book to readers, self-publishing seemed my only viable option. But I wanted a professional-looking book, in content, design and marketing –– a task that, alone, seemed beyond my reach.

At that point, two writers from the online group in a similar situation approached me. We discussed our fears: homemade covers, poor typesetting, unprofessional presentation and inappropriate marketing. Not to mention the sense of isolation. None of us wanted this; we wanted to create books that would be indistinguishable from those professionally produced. After months of planning and discussion, sharing everything between three seemed far less formidable, and the authors’ collective, Triskele Books was born. Continue reading “Professionalism in Indie Publishing –– The Value of a Collective by Liza Perrat”