Author: Stephen Hise

Stephen Hise is the Evil Mastermind and founder of Indies Unlimited. Hise is an independent author and an avid supporter of the indie author movement. Learn more about Stephen at his website or his Amazon author page.

How to Write a Blog Article

writing a blog articleWriting a good blog article is a fairly simple thing. If properly constructed, a well-written post will invite traffic from search engines and promote commentary. It may seem strange that people who can write a novel of 100,000 words can struggle so much over a mere 750 word post. In truth, it is no more surprising than discovering a decent sprinter might beat a champion marathon runner in a 100 yard dash. Writing a good blog article requires a different skill-set than writing a good novel. All that is required for success is an understanding of how to apply those skills within the framework of article writing.

Let’s cover some of the basic considerations in crafting an effective blog article: form, focus, and strategy.

Continue reading “How to Write a Blog Article”

Announcing the Indies Unlimited Excellence Awards for 2013

We are pleased to announce the Indies Unlimited Readers’ Choice Excellence Awards. This is our way of providing recognition to those in the indie community who have given valuable assistance, resources, information, or other support to improve the quality and visibility of indie authors.

This is the first year of what we hope will become an annual tradition. In our first outing, awards will be given in three categories:

Best Book Review Site
We feel book review sites are critical to book discovery. Having a lot of great reviews on your book’s page is nice, but book review sites introduce your book to their followers, giving you a better shot at finding new readers. These sites and reviewers deserve our thanks.

Best Writers’ Resource Site
From writing tips to marketing strategy, there are sites out there that help you get it done. Lots of oases dot the indie savannah. Where are your favorite watering holes? Which sites add value to your day and help make you a better writer?

Best Writers’ Watchdog Site
The web is alive with predators, ready to pounce on unsuspecting and hopeful indies. Fake awards, bad contracts, and overall exploitation are rampant. Thankfully, there are a number of warning and advisory sites out there that throw light into the dark corners, alerting us to scams, shams, and flim-flams. Which sites do you count on to keep you safe?

Obviously, as the sponsor of these awards, Indies Unlimited is excluded from the process. Oh well, it is more blessed to give than to receive. *sniff*

Nominations for each category will be opened with a special announcement post in January. Rules for nominations and voting will be posted at that time. Just so nobody gets too excited, there are no cars or money at stake here. The finalists and winners will receive handsome, hand-crafted digital plaques commemorating their victory. It is not merely the plaque, but the votes of confidence and thanks behind it that give the award its proper meaning. We hope you are as excited about the awards as we are, and we look forward to your enthusiastic participation.

New Publishing Should Not Emulate Old Publishing

The independent publishing movement is maturing at an astonishing rate. Everything is still evolving and changing daily, but anyone who is paying attention can see we look a whole lot different than when we started.

Indie books are getting better. The product is more finished and professional than a few years ago. Covers are better. Writing is better. There are more success stories each year. The communities are stronger, and we are fighting our way through the learning curve.

Part of what holds us back is the impulse to emulate the old model of publishing to achieve the old standard of success. On some level, we know that big ink was never what it pretended to be. Too much has come out about how the dead tree empires twisted and manipulated sales figures to include pre-orders of books that were ultimately returned after “bestseller” status was achieved. We know about the hollow victories claimed by pay-to-play award winners, and the phony review buzz.  In spite of all their moaning about worthless, unreadable drek, we know big ink cares little about literary virtue where profit is concerned.

On some level, we yearn for what never really was. We want what we thought big publishing was. Some of us want it so badly, we try to create indie versions of it. The problem is, it doesn’t work and it never can. Continue reading “New Publishing Should Not Emulate Old Publishing”

The First Thanksgiving

Gather around, children, and I will tell you the real story of the first Thanksgiving. You won’t find this one in any history books. Probably. If you do, you should get your money back.

A long time ago, before Columbus directed such notable films as Home Alone and Adventures in Babysitting, he set sail to the New World on his three ships, the Mayflower, the Titanic and the Andrea Dorian Gray. He had hoped to discover a shorter route to Hollywood. Instead, he landed on the eastern coast of what is now referred to as the rest of the United States.

Running low on supplies and facing a mutiny from his screenwriters, he established a colony. In this strange new land, the settlers were faced with many challenges: wardrobe shortages, poor quality catering, and witches.

Fearing a harsh winter and an increasing tax burden, Columbus sent his two bravest and most expendable scouts, Lewis and Clark, on a Westward trek to find the fabled city of cornchips, El Dorito. Of course, you know this expedition as the Donner Party, which was named after the lead reindeer pulling their toboggan.

Lacking even rudimentary GPS, Lewis and Clark quickly wandered off course and ended up in Louisiana, where they made a purchase. History does not record the exact details of this “Louisiana Purchase,” but what we do know is that neither explorer returned with any Mardi Gras beads. Draw your own conclusions.

It looked like all hope was lost for the settlement. They had no funds left with which to pay their cable bills, and had to resort to witch trials as a form of entertainment. This activity quickly got out of hand and eventually became what we know today as reality television.

Finally taking pity on the plight of these newcomers, the Cleveland Indians helped the colonists relocate to Ohio. To show their thanks, Columbus and his crew introduced the game of football to the New World.

Every November since, we have set aside a day to give thanks for the invention of football, celebrating with a feast and a nap. The traditional entree is turkey. This bird got its name from an epithet critics used to describe some of Columbus’ less successful films.

And THAT is the real story of the birth of a great American tradition. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!