Month: July 2018

The BookPatch: Deal or Scam?

bookpatch (002)It seems anymore that there are all sorts of Print On Demand (POD) and service publishers, all ranges, offering a combination of add-ons and services. We’ve had readers asking about TheBookPatch, a slightly different take on POD publishers, and decided to look closer to see what we could find out about it.

From their website, they certainly look enticing. They offer to print a 60-page 6”x9” book for just $2.88, and this price is for 1-49 copies. For more than that, the price drops incrementally until you reach 1000 copies, when the price is at its lowest at $2.01 each. Continue reading “The BookPatch: Deal or Scam?”

The Indie Quest: Visibility through eBook Distributors

Author Bruce FottlerGuest Post
by Bruce Fottler

There’s a proverbial sea of books for sale that usually leaves the average indie author drowning in obscurity. Gaining meaningful visibility has always been a daunting challenge, and it’s getting harder with each passing year.

Many indie authors have several published titles under their belts, having spent a lot of effort refining blurbs, covers, and developing marketing and distribution strategies. But despite these efforts, I often hear a familiar lament: Achieving visibility is difficult, maintaining it is even harder. And scaling it up? Ouch. Let’s not go there.

While there’s a multitude of marketing strategies and advertising options that various blogs have explored over the years, I’d like to focus on retail channel performance. Are retailers offering promotional opportunities, and have they helped to increase visibility for the average indie author?

Continue reading “The Indie Quest: Visibility through eBook Distributors”

Pat Mills Wins Flash Fiction Challenge

Pat Mills 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 “Pat Mills Wins Flash Fiction Challenge”

Flash Fiction Writing Prompt: The Kitten

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 above. 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: The Kitten”