Author: K.S. Brooks

K.S. Brooks is an award-winning novelist, photographer, and photo-journalist, author of over 30 titles, and executive director and administrator of Indies Unlimited. Brooks is currently a photo-journalist and chief copy editor for two NE Washington newspapers.  She teaches self-publishing and writing topics for the Community Colleges of Spokane, and served on the Indie Author Day advisory board. For more about K.S. Brooks, visit her website and her Amazon author page.

Press Release Tutorial

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about press releases recently – probably because just this week I distributed nearly 300 of them. Frankly, I’m surprised by the number of authors and entrepreneurs who are not taking advantage of this FREE opportunity. Sure, your time is worth something, but all it takes is a little legwork (and a lot of clicking). Once you’ve gotten your distribution lists together, it’s just a matter of sending emails.

First of all, you need to write a short and interesting release. You can see my latest here which announces the release of Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm. Notice it’s merely four short paragraphs: the introduction which includes all the pertinent information (title, release dates, author name, genre); a brief description of the book’s contents; a hopefully compelling quote from the author (or a reviewer or celebrity); and the closer with links to get more information. Also, the information after the ### should be about the author and anything that links him/her to the publication. Don’t forget to include contact information. Fore more tips on how to write your news release – check out Lynne Cantwell’s article here. Continue reading “Press Release Tutorial”

The Definition of Winning

The Secret Scribe proofreads his flash fiction entry.
The Secret Scribe proofreads his flash fiction entry.

The flash fiction challenge is probably my favorite feature here at Indies Unlimited. Each Saturday morning, we post an invitation – open to anyone – to write a story in 250 words or less based on a photograph and written prompt . Entrants have four days to get their story submitted.The contest is free, and voting gets good exposure for all the qualified entrants. The story voted reader favorite receives its own spotlight post and inclusion in the anthology at year-end. But you probably already know this.

The Indies Unlimited 2012 Flash Fiction Anthology is a big hit. We gave away lots of free copies, and it’s priced at only 99 cents in hopes of gaining new readers for the winning authors. So why don’t more people enter?

“I only want to enter if I think I can win. I’ll wait to see who else submits a story and then maybe I’ll give it a shot.”

I’ve got two words for that: SAY WHAT?!

I’m going to tell you a secret. Continue reading “The Definition of Winning”

Your Books’ Buy Links Simplified

Purchase links can be hideous, long, octopi-like disasters.

What happens on sites like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and others, is that the path you take to get to the link becomes attached – part of the “history” of the link. The next thing you know, you have something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Postcards-Mr-Pish-Cross-Country-ebook/dp/B0072YXQGC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370798259&sr=1-1&keywords=postcards+from+mr.+pish+by+k.+s.+brooks. Ugly, for certain. What this tells anyone who takes the time to look at it is – the person providing the link didn’t have a dedicated link saved or bookmarked somewhere, so they searched on Amazon.com using the keywords “postcards from mr. pish by K. S. Brooks” to get to the book they wanted. Sure, sometimes doing a search is faster than pulling up a bookmark, but the results do not look professional. The only part of that link that you actually need to give someone is: http://www.amazon.com/Postcards-Mr-Pish-Cross-Country-ebook/dp/B0072YXQGC/. Much better, right? Continue reading “Your Books’ Buy Links Simplified”

Linking Books to Author Central

The last guy who told me I was wrong.

Oh my. I wish I had a dollar for each time I told someone their book wasn’t claimed to their author central page and they replied “Yes it is.”

Guess what? NO IT’S NOT.

Just because you have an Amazon.com Author Central page and your book is showing up on it does NOT mean it’s properly linked. Honestly, I don’t sit around making this stuff up because I’m bored.

A book which is properly claimed to an author central page will have a little drop-down arrow next to the author’s name. I’ve circled it in magenta and drawn an arrow to it in the photo below. Continue reading “Linking Books to Author Central”