Month: December 2013

Flash Fiction Vote: Chill Out and Vote

Getting cold outside. Might as well stay inside and vote in the flash fiction challenge. It’s time for IU readers to choose  this week’s winner.

Check out this week’s entries here. Vote for your favorite, then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

All our winners will be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology. Participate in this week’s voting, then  share the link to let everyone know the vote is on.

Polls close tomorrow at 5 PM.

 

Who penned the best flash fiction entry this week?

  • Jon Jefferson (50%, 14 Votes)
  • Kathy Steinemann (32%, 9 Votes)
  • Annette Hatton (14%, 4 Votes)
  • John Shirley (4%, 1 Votes)
  • Richard Gregorcyk (0%, 0 Votes)
  • William C. Busch (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 28

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll.

A Screed on Copyright

Let’s imagine I’ve bought a CD and ripped it to my computer to get MP3s of each track. (You kids can imagine I bought the album from Amazon and downloaded it straight to my computer, if that makes it easier to picture.) Then I copy one of the MP3s to my smartphone and set it as the ringtone for when the Evil Mastermind calls. I copy them all to my Kindle Fire and my MP3 player, each of which I’ll use to play the songs in different situations. I also leave them on my desktop computer where I’ll listen to them at times like now when I’m working at my desk.

Next I post a review on my blog where I quote a few lines (maybe a full paragraph) from your book and post it a few days later (okay, maybe weeks) to Amazon. It’s a five star review and you especially like one line (the one where I call it “the best book ever written”). You add a quote of that line (with proper attribution) to the book description on Amazon (and every other retailer), in large red letters across the top of every page on your website, and tweet it every hour on the hour with a bit.ly link to the book’s Amazon page.

Have either of us done anything wrong here? We’ve both copied something for which we don’t have the copyright. We didn’t ask for or obtain permission from the copyright holder. Continue reading “A Screed on Copyright”

The Editor’s Fedora (Part 1 of 2)

Guest post
by David Antrobus
[This is part 1 of a 2 part post. See part two here.]

As an independent writer myself, and a passionate believer in the indie ethic, I also have to acknowledge one of its major downsides: a real or perceived shoddiness in the final product of self-published authors. Which is where I now switch hats and replace the bohemian beret of the writer with a more conservative form of headgear: the editor’s fedora, if you like. And no, I don’t actually wear hats; it’s a metaphor. Keep up.

But look. When it comes to editing, I have noticed a surprising amount of cluelessness out there in indie land. So, in the interests of demystifying it somewhat, I came up with this post. Let’s state some obvious stuff first. Continue reading “The Editor’s Fedora (Part 1 of 2)”

Mistakes Were Made: Confessions of an Indie Writer

I ran a promotion during the last week of November, and it blew my mind how much help I received from readers, supporters, and of course, my author friends. I felt as though I’d decided to move house, and didn’t tell anybody, yet all kinds of friends showed up to help me anyway. I’ve been lucky. I’ve had that kind of help right from the beginning of my career as a self-published author. There are things I’ve done solo too, though, and there are mistakes I’ve made along the way. Some of them have been significant, and in the interest of continuing to pay it forward, here are my confessions. I mean, here are some mistakes I’ve made. Continue reading “Mistakes Were Made: Confessions of an Indie Writer”