Month: November 2017

Which “Slicker” Flash Fiction Story Gets Your Vote?

Vote5It’s that time again…time to choose your favorite flash fiction story of the week! It’s all up to you now – only one can win Flash Fiction Readers’ Choice Champion honors. It’s super easy – choose your favorite and cast your vote below.

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. Attention Authors: It is okay if you ask people to vote for you!

Voting polls close Thursday at 5 PM Pacific time. If the poll doesn’t close on time, any votes received after 5 pm will be removed.

REMINDER – entries over the 250 limit are disqualified.

Which "Slicker" flash fiction entry deserves your vote?

  • Theodore Jerome Cohen (53%, 30 Votes)
  • Pharrel Katz (33%, 19 Votes)
  • Judith Garcia (4%, 2 Votes)
  • Steven Stucko (4%, 2 Votes)
  • Diane Selby (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Kevin P Michaels (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Ann Zimmerman (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Lou Silvestri (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Annette Rey (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Nathan Rokus (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Allan Baehm (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Joe Wocoski (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Paula Evans (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 57

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions exceed the 250 word limit will be disqualified even if they win. ONE VOTE PER PERSON, please. Duplicate votes will be deleted. The results displayed above are unofficial until verified by administration.

The Case for Legible Titles: Book Covers in Thumbnail

illegible titlesAs you are aware, the most common issue we see with books during the vetting process is an unclear or confusing book description. The second most common issue: unreadable titles on book covers in thumbnail size.

Who cares? Right? It’s just a tiny book cover. No one expects to read it in that size.

Um, wrong.

Just last week, our Lynne Cantwell wrote about the Marketing Rule of 7 – that it takes at least seven instances of someone seeing your book before they actually purchase it. Well – what if those seven instances are in thumbnail size? Do you think they will remember to purchase a book when they can’t read the title? Moreover, will they even notice it to begin with? Probably not. Don’t waste a chance to get in front of someone and make an impression.

Here at Indies Unlimited, thumbnails are generally 120×177 pixels, which on my laptop ends up being around 1.75 inches high by just under 1.25 wide. There is no specific industry standard for thumbnails, (on WordPress it’s 150×150) and the size varies from site to site. Then, add to it people viewing sites on their tablets and cell phones – and you can end up with some mighty small thumbnails. Can you read your title under those circumstances? You may want to check. Continue reading “The Case for Legible Titles: Book Covers in Thumbnail”

Selling eBooks at Book Fairs

physical ebook1
Click to enlarge images.

Most of us, I think, participate in as many book fairs in our local area as we can. I’ve written before about how to make the most of a book fair appearance, but recently I’ve forayed into new (to me) territory. I decided to have some eBooks on hand to sell.

How the heck do you sell an eBook in person?

I considered a few things. First of all, I wanted a physical product to hand to a customer. Taking their money and then just emailing something or sending it over in any number of wireless ways just seemed… less personal. I wanted a real product that was stylish, easy to understand and upload, and of course a great book. I thought about using inexpensive thumb drives, but even the cheapest ones added more overhead than I cared to absorb, so I finally settled on mini-DVD discs. These come in spindles at about $0.50 each. My total package (see photo above) includes: Continue reading “Selling eBooks at Book Fairs”

Diane Selby Wins Flash Fiction Challenge

Diane Selby 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 “Diane Selby Wins Flash Fiction Challenge”