Month: November 2013

Hashtags 501 (The Graduate-Level Course)

The other day, the EM asked me a whole bunch of questions about Twitter hashtags. I guess it was because I always use the two or three I know, so he thought I knew what I was doing.

I don’t, but I know someone who does. So I kicked his questions to Kriss Morton, who blogs as the Cabin Goddess and who, together with Kai Wilson, runs the Finishing Fairies publicist service and an author promotion group on Facebook called I Dance with Books.

Within minutes, I had more info about Twitter hashtags than I ever knew existed. So here you go: Hashtags 501, the graduate-level course. Continue reading “Hashtags 501 (The Graduate-Level Course)”

Thriving After A Poor Review

Rutgers graduate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz gets trashed. I loved “Oscar Wao.”

It is late in the evening and you are about to make a mistake that will cause you to toss and turn all night. Sleep will elude you as you see the words dancing in front of your eyes, taunting you with their black and white judgment. There, defiling your Amazon author page, is a one-star review. Blood pounds in your veins as you read. You are naked, revealed to the world as a pretender, a poser, certainly not a writer. Your head drops to your desk, and you slip slowly into madness.

If this hasn’t happened to you yet, then you either haven’t been writing long enough or you lead a charmed existence. The one-star review is a rite of passage. No matter how great the writer, no matter how brilliant the masterpiece, someone will feel that the book was disappointing. Or they will hate it and advise others to skip it. Continue reading “Thriving After A Poor Review”

The YOUR BOOK HERE Contest

Featuring your book on Indies UnlimitedWould you like to see your own book featured prominently on Indies Unlimited? Of course you would. Who wouldn’t?

Maybe you’re not rolling around in loose change from under the couch cushions and can’t come up with the $15 it costs for a featured book spot.

Here is the good news: You could win a FEATURED BOOK PROMO right here on Indies Unlimited! That’s right, a feature that is normally available only to those lucky few with the kind of walking around money that can buy a bucket of chicken at KFC could be yours for free!

The internet is where it’s happening these days, and Indies Unlimited is one of the hottest spots out there. Why, if your book hasn’t been featured here, people might wonder if you even have a book. We feel ya! That’s why we’re giving away one coveted Featured Book Promo (like this one) to one lucky IU reader. Here’s all you have to do to enter:

REQUIRED ENTRY: post in the comments section below one brief sentence telling why you love Indies Unlimited. Make sure to include a link to the book you want to have featured if you win the giveaway! (We still need to make sure it fits IU criteria!)

Additional Entry: Subscribe to Indies Unlimited, then post in the comments that you’ve subscribed. (You can subscribe here. Your subscription must be confirmed to be considered.)

Additional Entry: “Like” us on Facebook here, then come on back and post in the comments that you’ve done so.

Additional Entry: “Follow” us on Twitter here, then come on back and post in the comments that you’ve done so.

This way, you have FOUR – can you believe? – four chances to win that awesome ad spot! If you already like, follow, or are subscribed to us, that’s okay – just let us know in the comments below and that counts as an entry.

Fine print/contest rules: you have until 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, November 17, 2013 to get your entries posted in the comments below. Staff members/minions of Indies Unlimited are not eligible to enter. Books must fit the Indies Unlimited criteria as posted all over the damn site (no erotica, politics, or religious books, etc., etc.). Limit four entries per contestant. Contestants must have reached puberty to be considered. Void in states, countries, and anywhere else this is prohibited. Drawing will be done by the high-tech method of putting names in a container and pulling one out, so the more entries the better. Don’t annoy us by asking dumb questions, or your entries could be lost – by accident of course. Did we mention void where prohibited? Make sure to be nice and thank us for this awesome opportunity. We work for free, you know.

NaNo or NoWay?

November means National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo). You will notice a sharp decline in posted pictures of kittens and puppies, and see an increase of posts that say nothing more than “1400 words today! Woot!”

This is because a lot of writers are concentrating all their energy into this annual effort to crank out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I am not and have not been a participant in NaNo, but there are authors on staff here who are regular participants. There are others who do not see the point, or even think NaNo is actually a blight on humanity. NaNo seems to be one of those love it or hate it things. Continue reading “NaNo or NoWay?”