Month: January 2014

Author Research: Asking the Experts

medievil castleAs a writer, I always like to make sure my work sounds realistic. Yes, I am writing fiction and yes, I do take poetic license when I need to. I still want my work to be dramatic and exciting, but I also want my work to be realistic.

Fight scenes, medical incidents, specifics about the setting or the car the character is driving…getting the details right on those things can suddenly take your story from a place of make believe to a place of this could have actually happened. Now of course the reader knows it didn’t really happen, but if you can create a world where the details are realistic then you will avoid that moment where the reader makes a face and thinks, “As if!”

So, how do we get these details right? Continue reading “Author Research: Asking the Experts”

Today’s Kindle Audience is now a Discerning eReader

JackieWeger-BioHeadShotGuest Post
by Jackie Weger

With the innovation of the Kindle released by Amazon in 2007, writers rushed headlong into the digital market. Mainstream publishers looked askance at the both the eReader and independent author, so we indie authors pretty much had the innovation to ourselves.

For the first few years, readers were forgiving of our missteps in story construction, formatting, and spelling errors. Early reviews reflect that forgiveness. Readers and writers both had a kind of awe for the innovation. It was new. It was exciting. We were learning new ways to market our work and readers were getting used to enjoying books on a new electronic gadget. Readers did not expect electronic perfection. Continue reading “Today’s Kindle Audience is now a Discerning eReader”

NewsBites: a Mouthful of Chewy Goodness

NewsBitesIt is time once again for NewsBites – a highly irregular feature wherein we search high and low, far and wide, down the street and across the globe for the tastiest tidbits of news in the world of publishing. Sure, you can find better news and you can find faster news, but you won’t find snarkier news anywhere.

Here at Indies Unlimited, we use only the finest, hand-selected organic snark – not because we have to, but because we can. Here is what’s happening outside somewhere: Continue reading “NewsBites: a Mouthful of Chewy Goodness”

How to Check Your eBook Formatting before Pushing the Publish Button

push the button noweBook formatting catastrophes are avoidable – one just has to take the extra steps to check the files before pushing the publish button. I know, I know, you’re excited, and you want to get your book out into the world! But at what cost? Lenore Skomal told us about her eBook formatting calamity. That caused her a lot of heartache, possible loss of readers, and a lot of bad reviews. Don’t let that happen to you. Continue reading “How to Check Your eBook Formatting before Pushing the Publish Button”