Guest post
by L. Avery Brown
I’m new to IU and have enjoyed reading essays on topics that deal directly with issues IA folks like myself deal with on a daily basis. I also love ‘Freebie Fridays’. It’s an awesome, no strings attached way for IAs to get some much needed exposure.
So a few Fridays ago I decided to put one of my freebies on IU hoping I could get a few more eyes to look at it and maybe even get some feedback. So, I sent my information in and waited for a reply letting me know my freebie link would be available for IU members. Unfortunately, I got a message back from Stephen saying IU wouldn’t be able to post my freebie because the ‘home’ site (BookRix.com – BR) for my book wasn’t one with which they were familiar.
He suggested that if I posted my freebie on Amazon.com, IU would be pleased to list it. He also pointed me to a blog post from Writer Beware about BR that didn’t shine the best light on BookRix.com. In fact, it made my favorite little place sound like it was a shady sort of place. But when I realized the article was written back in October of 2008 –literally a week after BookRix.com launched— I thought to myself ‘Myself, you must do something about this! You need to plead a case for BookRix.com to IU so they’ll feel comfortable telling their members to visit the site.’
So here’s my plea:
At BookRix.com I’ve found a wonderful writing home filled with folks I’m proud to call friends. What’s more, a LOT has changed at BR since that first week – it’s not a site simply to get feedback from other authors … even though that is, as it always has been, a HUGE part of its appeal.
At BookRix.com, IAs can create books in the easy to use editor. They can get their work edited by professional editors (usually for a very small fee) OR most times, folks will help edit a piece for free just because they believe in the work. (That’s pretty awesome!) Members of BR can also put out a call to any of the hundreds of fabulous graphic artists on the site to help them create stunning book covers. And I do mean S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G, too! Again, most of the time the talented artists who create the covers do it for … free or for a super low cost. Again, that’s pretty darn cool.
But wait, there’s more…you see, the best part of the whole shebang is that when an IA is ready to ‘put their work on the market’ – the nifty editor BR uses will quickly and easily convert the digital info into the various digital platforms required by sites like Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobo (and several others) so that the title can then be sold on ALL of the sites.
Wait! Did I say that was the best thing?
No. The best – best thing is the fact that membership, book preparation, book formatting, etc…is FREE. What’s more, BR members can also join any of the various groups on the site that strike their fancy as being helpful to them. There are 100s of groups, too. There’s bound to be a group or groups an IA would love! My favorite group is ‘Serious Writers’. I’m a moderator there and the folks I work with on a daily basis are hands down, some of the nicest, most talented people you could imagine.
Are you wondering ‘is there a catch’? After all lots of time free doesn’t mean really free. But this is one time when free honestly means F-R-E-E from point A to point Z (and all the letters in between!)
And you just can’t beat free, can you?. Just like you can’t beat ‘Freebie Fridays’ here at IU which is why I’m hoping now that IU knows a bit more about BR, they’ll let folks like myself and the 500,000+ BR members (who have over 125,000 completed titles) just like me post their freebie books with links to BookRix.com/
Not only would IU be helping grow interest in a bevy of new talent, but it would introduce more people to BookRix.com and the wonderful folks who are members.
Oh, and you do NOT have to be a member to simply read books on BR. All in all it’s a great site – and one that deserves a little time in the sun alongside all those ‘biggie sites’ like the amazons, B&Ns, Kobos, etc…
Thank you for the information! I like to learn about sites like these, and had not heard of BookRix.com before.
Thank you so very kindly for running this. All my BR buddies are ecstatic that we’re getting some much needed PR because there are some absolutely AWESOME writers there. Young, old. Experience, not so experienced. And yet, we work as a community – helping one another grow our craft. And we’ve come to learn that one never really stops learning the ins and outs of writing!
Again, much thanks!
Cheers to ya!
Avery
Thank you for educating us.
How interesting—I had no idea. I’ll look into it. Thanks
Hey lady, Thank you for sharing a very needed post. Sometimes we become like the fly in the spider’s web. We are then very limited to our horizons. It is always wonderful to hear of opportunities for IA’s to meet with their peers on new avenues. I for one will be will visiting and taking part in this new (at least to me) site. Kudos Ms. Brown
Thanks for the info, L. Avery–I’d never heard of BookRix. It’s on my radar now, so I’ll hop on over and check it out!
Thanks, it’s a site I hadn’t heard of before either. Will check it out now.
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. 🙂 I, too, will check it out!
Thanks for posting. I’ll have to check out Bookrix. A community where indie authors can find useful (formatting, editing) services, is always worth checking out.
I have a bookrix account and so far, I have enjoyed using the site.
Hi L Avery – I had never heard of BookRix.com until I read your work. I checked out the site, curious about another avenue available. I noticed there were a lot of German remarks posted to some of the books. Is this site a popular storefront in that European market?
Thank you for explaining the services available. You are a great advocate.
Thanks. I just signed up.
Why yes, BR does have a huge European community. In fact about a year ago I believe one of the sites German officers hit the coveted 5000 book sales Mark. And other authors both American and German and all countries in between have been trying to beat that number. & Have come very close in fact I believe a few of them may have even surpassed it.
So yes, bookrix com is a great way to get noticed with in the European Community. And they have a wonderful German to English translation program and vice versa.
I guess I’m going to be the cynic here. L. Avery Brown wrote a wonderfully appealing post. I clicked over to BookRix and spent twenty minutes. Not a single title/cover I clicked on took me to POS on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I did get a messages ‘dead end.’ I did come upon a whole raft of comments about a work/short story–none of which were literate. My impression is: If one uses BookRix free pub services, BookRix expects to distribute the books for 30% of sales. I could not discover if an author could change the price of a book for promotion, etc. No editorial services–those apparently are ‘help’ comments. Just saying….
I guarantee if you go to my profile page and click on any book labeled ‘when a southern woman rambles’ it’ll say this book is available at Amazon, B&N and Kobo. Click whichever link you’d like – you’ll Be redirected.
Also check out Patrick Sean Lee (Felixthecat is his BR user name). Look for Wendy Reakes or Valerie Byron Fee – you WILL be redirected. There are over 125k books on the site. You have to go to the ones that are for sale. If you got a 404 message that means the book is under revision.
Also go to Amazon and you’ll find that BR has it’s own site through it. Check out the BR Facebook page too. Try here – and you’ll find oodles of books linked to Amazon / BR http://www.amazon.com/bookrix
Hard to argue with Amazon about their own page.
Before you put down a site – examine it thoroughly. You could be missing out on something great.
Oh and there ARE editing services at
BR. I know because I am one of the editors! Check out Serious Writers, too.
This post says as much about IU as it says about BR. In some senses these guys at BR represent an element of competition for IU, as I see it. I am much impressed with the folks at IU for being so open to LAB/BR. Basically, Avery’s “Guest Post” is an advert for BR. How does that benefit IU? (Not that I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth.) Knowing why IU was open to BR would help someone like me get a better grasp of this sprawl we call Indie Publishing. I’d also add that Avery writes great copy. She quite an evangelist.
Thanks, but we do what we do here to benefit indie authors. We don’t see ourselves in competition with anyone in the indie community. If we can provide information about other resources, we do so. 🙂
Avery, I publish with CreateSpace and Amazon, for now. Would publishing at BookRix represent a potential conflict?
Sorry – I’ve been informed that my rambling ways are a bit too much for IU! (She says with a handkerchief delicately placed to her eye to keep her tears from falling dramatically to the ground) — Ummm, yes, my personal site isn’t called ‘When a Southern Woman Rambles’ for nothing! 🙂
So…if you’d like more info…just drop by http://www.bookrix.com/support/view.html#NO72
Yes, I suppose that was a bit easier. But still it’s hard to fight the urge to be ever-so-dramatic!