Book Reviews for Sale: Tomoson

Tomoson LogoHere at IU, we do our best to stay up-to-date on sites that are helpful to indies, whether that’s advice on writing, lessons learned on self-publishing, or ways to market and promote books. Keeping our finger on the pulse is difficult, however, just because the digital world changes so rapidly. Since we’re not dealing with brick and mortar stores anymore, businesses can (and do) change their operating procedures at the drop of a hat. We’ve seen it over and over: a site starts out giving free information, but then suddenly a paywall goes up and you have to ante up to get the good stuff. Or a site offers free promotions, but then switches to a paid process. We all know it costs money to keep a business going, so moving to a paid service is not surprising. But like everything else online, the important thing to consider is: are you getting value for your money? Continue reading “Book Reviews for Sale: Tomoson”

How an Author Can Start a Love Affair with an Illustrator

kathy rowe's comic-con bannerNo, this is not an R- or X-rated post on how to fall in love with an artist; it’s a few tips you can use if you’re looking for an illustrator. Let’s face it, artwork isn’t cheap, especially when it comes to books and even more so with covers, comics, and graphic novels. The cost of a decent cover can set you back $500 or more for a known artist. And you might want to stick your head in the sand when it comes to comics or graphic novels — those can run into the thousands of dollars.

So, what can you do? Continue reading “How an Author Can Start a Love Affair with an Illustrator”

Storytelling: Possibly a Key Part of Human Brain Development

from ape to writerIn Melissa Bowersock’s article, Conflict: The Heart of Storytelling, she wrote, “Storytelling is as old as human DNA. As old as language. As old as Joe Neanderthal sitting around the fire at the mouth of his cave, telling the group what happened that day. ‘Me went hunting, threw rock at rabbit, killed it, brought it back. Good day. Ug.'”

As old as language. There are many theories about how language developed. As recently as April 2015, researchers at MIT said language developed rapidly. Human speech wasn’t a series of mumbles and grunts. Rather, humans combined two kinds of communication, one from birds and the other from monkeys. Continue reading “Storytelling: Possibly a Key Part of Human Brain Development”