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.

NaNoWriMo Triple Double-Dog-Dare Challenge

Mr. Pish Typing
I’d better find someone to help me type. I’m going to have very tired fingers.

Well, my observance of National NO Writing Month ended one day into November. I was planning a steadfast boycott of writing this month, per my post here. My plan, however, was foiled by the one thing I can’t say no to: a double-dog-dare.

Yes, that’s right. I was double-dog-dared to write not one, not two, but three books during the month of November. Because, really, everyone else is writing ONE book. Who cares? Let’s make this a real challenge and up that ante. Three books – written, edited, formatted, and published. You think I can do it? Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Triple Double-Dog-Dare Challenge”

Author Tools: Blogger LinkUp

Being an indie author can be liberating – but it can also be isolating. Maybe you belong to groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads and more. In an attempt to get the word out to more people, you write guest posts for each other’s blogs – but in the end, you’re really “socializing” in the same circles. How do you expand that?

Author and entrepreneur Cathy Stucker started Blogger LinkUp for exactly this purpose – “to help bloggers get exposure for their content and find content for their blogs.” How does it work, you ask? Well, let me tell you, and yes, it’s free. Continue reading “Author Tools: Blogger LinkUp”

Tutorial Tuesday: Get Your Books on Shelfari

Shelfari LogoOh no, another book site? you groan. Yes, Mabel, another book site. This one’s powered by Amazon.com, the world’s largest book store. Do you think it might be a good idea to get your books on there? I do.

Sure, you can take the time and set up your reading lists like on Goodreads, but you don’t have to.

First off, “register” or set up your account at Shelfari.com. And just to make it easier for you, they’ll offer to use your Amazon.com login information. Pretty convenient. Then create your profile. They’ll ask you if you want to find people to follow – you can just click skip at the bottom left-hand side of the page. Continue reading “Tutorial Tuesday: Get Your Books on Shelfari”

No Writing Allowed

KSBrooks at Mesa Verde
Or you could just go somewhere with no internet and no electricity.

Let’s face it, writing a book is hard work. You might even break a sweat, or pop a cog in your brain. Who wants to do that? So, enter November – NaNoWriMo – National No Writing Month. This is one month where we authors, writers and scribes can legitimately rest our brains from the toils of our literary efforts. I know, I know, it won’t be easy – so here are some tips to keep yourself from writing that book without losing your edge.

#1 – Committees and meetings are an excellent way to prevent progress on any level. So, form a committee for your book! Find a bunch of people who also write and invite them to your own Yahoo!, Facebook, or Goodreads group. If you can actually get them to pay attention to anything you have to say in between announcements of their free eBooks and basic spamming, you might get some input. That input will probably spark a discussion. That discussion will most likely get sidetracked onto the subject of kittens or television shows. See? It works. Continue reading “No Writing Allowed”