Month: August 2017

From the Mail Room: How Do I Know Which Book Promo Sites Are Legit?

mail-room-author-emails-office-899351_960_720A reader sent in this question:

I was wondering if you could please help me. My 5 free days with Amazon KDP Select is up, so I’m still way within the 90 enrollment period.

There seems to be many ‘book promotion’ sites, where the bought Kindle can be advertised through their website, tweets, etc. However, most of these do not specify that it is a one-off fee. My hesitation is submitting my book details to lots of them which are affordable, but having extra taken out of my account on a monthly basis, when as far as I’m concerned, it has only been a one-off payment.

Are such book promotion places generally legitimate? I have used the Facebook campaign ads, but so far with no real success. I’m trying to decide what my next step should be.

Many thanks.

Here’s the answer from our awesome team of authors: Continue reading “From the Mail Room: How Do I Know Which Book Promo Sites Are Legit?”

Mickey Wright Wins Flash Fiction Challenge

Mickey Wright is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In the case of a tie, the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.) Without further ado, here’s the winning story:

Continue reading “Mickey Wright Wins Flash Fiction Challenge”

Flash Fiction Writing Prompt: Twins

cypress trees orlando 1998 flash fiction writing prompt copyright KS Brooks
Photo copyright K. S. Brooks. Do not use without attribution.

Use the photograph above as the inspiration for your flash fiction story. Write whatever comes to mind (no sexual, political, or religious stories, jokes, or commentary, please) and after you PROOFREAD it, submit it as your entry in the comments section below. There will be no written prompt.

Welcome to the Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. In 250 words or less, write a story incorporating the elements in the picture at left. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced.

Please keep language and subject matter to a PG-13 level. Continue reading “Flash Fiction Writing Prompt: Twins”

Don’t Write “Instinctively”

for writers INSTINCTIVELYI may have mentioned in my post a couple of months ago that inept critics, academics and bloggers may create awareness of a certain usage simply to give themselves something to write about. That was me in my curmudgeonly mode. Now I hope to redeem myself by committing a like deed for positive reasons: creating awareness because I see overuse and misuse of a word.

And to show how much time good writers spend on choosing their words (or how obsessive certain people get about word choice), I’m going to spend this whole article on the usage of one word: instinctively.

Show and Tell

The first argument against using any adverb is when it is being used to prop up a dull verb. Showing an action or emotion is more effective than telling about it. Continue reading “Don’t Write “Instinctively””