Month: January 2015

When Is a Serial Just a Tease?

To be continuedThe serial has had a long and distinguished career in the annals of publishing. Its heyday, arguably, was the 19th century. That’s when a host of factors – a more literate public, improved printing techniques, and better distribution – came together to create a market for popular weekly and monthly publications. Editors had to fill the paper or magazine somehow, and often turned to writers of fiction, who would then write a segment of a continuing story for each new edition. A surprising number of books that we consider classics today first appeared in installments, among them Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers, Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Amazon instituted a program in 2012 that was intended to bring back the serial novel. With Kindle Serials, readers pay upfront for the whole book, and installments are delivered to the customers’ devices as they become available. (Don’t bother looking for information on submissions; they’re not taking any right now.) Continue reading “When Is a Serial Just a Tease?”

Thrifty Thursday: Such eBook Deals!

Thrifty Thursday eBooks Such a Deal!OMG! Has Bernie got some deals for you! You’d better act fast, though, these super hot free and 99 cent eBook deals on Thrifty Thursday won’t last forever!

Readers: look in the comment section below. If you see one you like, click over and buy it. How easy is that? (If you don’t see the book covers, adjust your browser’s adblock settings.)

Authors: if you have a book priced at 99¢ or less (that’s right, post your free eBooks here, too!), follow the instructions below and post it right in the comment section. Got more than one bargain book? Go ahead and post them all if you like, but only one book and ONE link per comment please!

We will convert your link to a clickable book cover. Do not attempt to insert an image in comments on your own. Just put the following information in the comment section:

1. Book title
2. Author name
3. A one sentence blurb (~140 characters – longer descriptions will be deleted)
4. ONE link to download the book (only secure retail sites – Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, Apple/iStore, or Sony)
5. Whether your book is free or 99 cents (and for how long/what dates)

Then let your friends and fans know your book is available here today. Use the share buttons below, or copy the link in the address bar above and share the news on your favorite social media platforms. The more, the merrier, right?

So let’s give it a try, shall we? Please make sure to follow the RULES above. Now, go ahead and tell the world about your cheap read. IU is a safe-for-work site. PLEASE do not post links to erotica, religious, or political titles.

(Post your FREE eBooks here, too!)

[Note: if the book cover images below do not display properly, please check your AdBlock settings.]

Which “Forever Hold You Peace” Flash Fiction Story Gets Your Vote?

Vote5It’s that time again…time to choose your favorite flash fiction story of the week! The judges have made their choices – their picks for the top entries are included below. Confused? Check out our rule change for 2015. The judges have spoken, and now it’s your turn. It’s super easy – choose your favorite and cast your vote below for this week’s Flash Fiction champion.

Remember, the winning entries will all be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology.

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

Voting polls close Thursday at 5 PM Pacific time.

Which "Forever Hold Your Peace" entry should win honors this week?

  • Sara Stark (26%, 16 Votes)
  • AV Carden (23%, 14 Votes)
  • A. L. Kaplan (15%, 9 Votes)
  • Jacqueline Hopkins (11%, 7 Votes)
  • B. P. Crouse (8%, 5 Votes)
  • Jon Jefferson (8%, 5 Votes)
  • D L Brown (3%, 2 Votes)
  • Timothy Wan (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Andrew Lewis (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Travis Keys (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Nathan Rokus (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 61

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions are not relevant to the prompts and/or exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll. ONE VOTE PER PERSON, please. Duplicate votes will be deleted. The results displayed above are unofficial until verified by administration.

The Added Value of Editing

Editor Heather EbbsGuest Post
by Heather Ebbs

Have you ever looked in a mirror a few hours after arriving at a social gathering and discovered a blob of barbeque sauce on your chin, a shirt turned inside out or an unclean nose? Your degree of horror equals the intimacy of the blemish (the nose being worse than the sauce) times the number of people who have seen it. “Why,” you wonder, “didn’t someone tell me about it before the whole world saw?”

Your editor would have told you.

Indie authors can be reluctant to spend money on the services of an editor, despite the tremendous amount of time and energy you have already expended on your book. Your book and the ideas behind it deserve to be presented at their best. Continue reading “The Added Value of Editing”