Day: March 17, 2015

My Expensive But Not-So-Horrible Vanity Press Experience

Predatory Publisher Month at Indies UnlimitedIn contrast to some of the horror stories we’re hearing this month on #PublishingFoul, I thought it might be a good time to tell a somewhat mitigating story about the not-so-bad but still expensive lessons. The truth is, not every publishing horror story is awful. Along any continuum, you’re going to have a range of experiences, some worse, some better.

Back in the 90s, I had already had two books traditionally published, but the climate was rapidly changing. The bigger houses were getting very conservative and they were more and more unwilling to take a chance on an unknown or almost-unknown. If the author was not already a name, they weren’t biting.  Luckily for writers, there were plenty of small presses springing up across the country to take up the slack. Well, luckily for some, not so much for others, as we’ve seen. Continue reading “My Expensive But Not-So-Horrible Vanity Press Experience”

Publishing Scammer: Having A Heart in Your Name Doesn’t Mean You Have A Heart

Predatory Publisher Month at Indies UnlimitedGuest Post
by S.R. Claridge

There are scammers in all industries, but none so much as those in entertainment. The reason is because it is easy to prey upon people with dreams. Whether a musician, an actor, a songwriter, a singer, an artist or a writer, creative people are easy targets for the unethical of the world. They know that there is no financial or emotional limit to the investment we are willing to make in our dreams. They know that we seek acknowledgment for our work. They know that we need recognition. They know how to make us feel as if they believe in our talent and are good at manipulating the innocence of our hopes for success. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing and the damage they do is far more than just financial. Continue reading “Publishing Scammer: Having A Heart in Your Name Doesn’t Mean You Have A Heart”

An Inside Look at Indies Unlimited

Author K.S. Brooks
IU Admin & Award-Winning Author K.S. Brooks

As a newbie here at IU, I’ve developed a list of questions over the past few weeks. I had a virtual sit-down with the woman in charge to quench my curiosity about dealings with authors, feedback about their books, and how it feels to be constantly paying it forward. The answers surprised and disappointed me a little. I convinced Ms. Brooks to publish my findings as an interview, because I thought others might have the same questions, and might have drawn the same assumptions I had.

Kyle: IU gets hundreds of emails from authors. I know I only coordinate a small number of them, so that means you are doing the rest, which must take up a monumental amount of time. Why do you do this when you could be spending your time writing? Continue reading “An Inside Look at Indies Unlimited”