Month: January 2014

Pitching to the New Gatekeepers, Part 1

gateNot that long ago, K.P. Ambroziak wrote a guest post for Indies Unlimited entitled, ‘A New Gatekeeper Rising’. That post triggered an interesting discussion about reviews and gatekeepers, however it was the author’s comments about review numbers that really caught my attention. Apparently, BookBub will not accept books for [paid] promotion unless they have a certain number of reviews – i.e. have a track record of popularity with readers.

As Indies, we all know the importance of getting a goodly number of reviews for our books; nothing looks so unloved, and unread, as a book with only a few reviews, or, -shock horror- no reviews at all. Like it or not, Amazon has conditioned us to see reviews as ad hoc indicators of popularity, and being herd animals, we associate popularity with quality.

Whether popularity really does work that way is a moot question, and not one I’m brave enough to tackle here. Nonetheless, I think we can all accept that, as a marketing strategy, popularity begets sales. After all, Amazon doesn’t publish all those best-seller lists for nothing. Each list is a bright, shiny life-raft for customers drowning in the sheer volume of ‘things’ on offer at Amazon.

For us Indies, getting onto one of those life-rafts is tantamount to being given the keys to marketing heaven.

The question then is, how do we squirm our way out of the sea, and onto a life-raft? Is BookBub right? Are reviews the answer? Continue reading “Pitching to the New Gatekeepers, Part 1”

January Video Trailer of the Month

AwardIt’s time to check out the great book trailer videos we ran this month during the month of January on Indies Unlimited. All month long, video trailer elves have been making movies just for you! Well, or something like that. Now, you have the opportunity to let them know which one you liked best by voting for Trailer of the Month. Take a look and pick your favorite. No cash. No prizes. It’s all for the glory! Check ’em out for yourself by clicking the links!

The contestants this month are:

Death Misses

Dead Burn

Mystery of the Attic

Mary Elizabeth the Spotless Cow

Which video was your favorite from January 2014?

View Results

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Flash Fiction Challenge: Sentry

Photo by K.S. Brooks
Photo by K.S. Brooks

Devil watched as the raggedy band of humans maneuvered through the narrow confines of the canyon below.

He could smell the death clinging to them. He knew they had not found the water and they were walking farther from it every minute.

In another mile or so, it would be too late. They would be at the mercy of the Black Canyon Pack. But Devil was not like the rest of the pack. He did not think it wise to make prey of humans.

Continue reading “Flash Fiction Challenge: Sentry”

The Trading Post

Indie authors are responsible for every aspect of production. For us, it doesn’t stop with typing “THE END” and sending the manuscript off to some intern.

The cover design, book description, interior formatting, proofing, and editing are our responsibilities as well. We have to either do it ourselves, pay someone to do it for us, or trade services with someone who has an area of expertise we lack.

Many of us operate on shoestring budgets and would like to have a little something left over to put toward marketing. Trading services is a popular and cost-effective means for meeting everyone’s needs.

The challenge is finding an internet watering hole with a gene pool deep enough to give you a good chance of finding what you want and maybe even giving you a few different choices. We think the talent runs pretty deep in the Indies Unlimited community, so we’d like to offer up this spot for indies who would like to connect with each other to exchange services. This is for straight-up trading, not selling services, and not review-swapping.

If you are interested in connecting with others to exchange services, place the following information in the comment section:

1. The services you provide that you would be willing to trade;

2. The services you need in exchange; and

3. ONE of two ways to contact you: either a Facebook address if you want a FB private message, OR a Twitter handle if you want a Twitter direct message. DO NOT put an e-mail address, phone number, street or postal address in the comments (for your own protection against spammers, scammers, and other jackanapes)

DISCLAIMER: This post is provided as a public service. Indies Unlimited does not guarantee or warranty any service or service providers. Any agreement or arrangements made are at the sole liability and discretion of the parties involved. The individual parties to any agreements or exchanges are responsible for performing their own due diligence.