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.

Amazon.com Monetize! Tutorial

K. S. Brooks Ironing Money
Monetize your links & next thing you know, you’ll be laundering money!

In my first post about utilizing the tools given to us by Amazon.com, I covered setting up your Author Central page. No matter how many books you have available, you should take advantage of this. The tutorial is here. I’ve also shown you how to set up your own book store using Amazon’s engine. That tutorial is here.

Now that you’ve gotten yourself set up, the next step in this grand scheme should be monetizing links. Yes, this applies to you. You have a blog, right? A web site? A web presence? Anything you post anywhere with a link to your book or author page on Amazon.com should be monetized. Why not make a commission on your own books? And better yet, if you’re providing another author the platform to promote their work, why not see some commission off any sales you generate for them? Honestly – if you post a link to my book on YOUR blog or web site – THANK YOU. Go nuts…post them all! And go right ahead and monetize them. You deserve a commission for doing me that favor. Capiche?

Amazon makes this ridiculously easy to do. You can use your existing account to set up your “Amazon Affiliates/Associates” account, which you should have already set up in order to make your book store. If you haven’t done that yet, please use the link above to the book store tutorial and follow the instructions there. Amazon gives you the ability to set these accounts up for the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and more. We are only going to cover the US today – but in essence, the techniques are the same. Continue reading “Amazon.com Monetize! Tutorial”

A Fresh Set of Eyes

Author K. S. BrooksI’m a very literal person. Literally. I get straight to the point, with no hidden agenda or subtle hinting. So why does that change when I write?

This past Sunday, our own Evil Mastermind Stephen Hise wrote about how writing is indeed communicating, and how to prevent a failure to communicate. You may read his post here. He makes excellent points, of course (that’s why he’s the big boss and all that good stuff). But sometimes, you need a fresh set of eyes to ascertain you are in fact getting your point across.

I use two editors – one for grammar, sentence structure, and other technical issues like word repetition, word misuse, spelling, punctuation and story flaws. I use another editor to dig out what I’m trying to say when I think I’m saying it, but I’m really not. She’s my translator…my mind-reader: the person who knows how my mind works and what I’m thinking. She knows what I want to put down on the page. And she has no problem telling me when I haven’t done that. Sometimes it’s ouchy, but that’s okay because she’s my best friend.

I’m lucky to have someone I’ve known since sixth grade as a friend. Frankly, finding someone to put up with me for the past twenty years (shut up – I really am only 36 years-old…for the past 12 years, anyway) is nothing short of a miracle. She is the type of friend who can be brutally honest. I may not always care for the delivery of her critique since I prefer it wrapped in silky smooth Swiss chocolate…but I know she knows what she’s talking about. And it always makes my story, my book, and my writing better. Continue reading “A Fresh Set of Eyes”

Twitter Tutorial Tuesday – Don’t Be a Mystery

Author K. S. Brooks
Author K. S. Brooks

Yeah yeah, I know.  You’re on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, LibraryThing, Google+, LinkedIn, eHarmony and who knows what else.  If you’re like me, you’re wondering if these things are helping at all in the promotion of your book(s).

Sometimes it’s not about where you are, but “how” you are using those tools.  Here’s a tip on how you can use Twitter just a little bit better – and it’s something you only have to do once!

Now you’re saying “It’s 140 characters. Who cares?” Well, honestly, think about it – you probably get those emails all the time which say: “so and so is now following you on Twitter”. All it says under the person’s cryptic handle is “likes cake”. Sure, I like cake too, but who is this person? Do they write? Are they a reader? A publisher? A reviewer? Do I want to follow them back? Is that what people think when YOU follow THEM?

Stay with me here. This is very quick and very easy. All we’re going to do is “spruce up” your profile. It’s really about making yourself more accessible – and giving people the opportunity to find out more about you in a quick and convenient fashion. Continue reading “Twitter Tutorial Tuesday – Don’t Be a Mystery”

Author Warren Murphy Announces His New Title “Fifty Shades of Stupid”

Fifty Shades of StupidWarren Murphy, whose books and stories have sold fifty million copies worldwide, has just released a new title: Fifty Shades of Stupid.

Fifty Shades of Stupid is Murphy’s response to E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, and is written under the pseudonym “Poupon Grey.” The book was released on May 24, 2012 by Destroyer Books and already has five-star reviews:

“… 50 Shades of Stupid is a hilarious analysis of the momporn phenom known as 50 shades of Grey. I found myself laughing out loud the whole time I read this short but trenchant gem. Highly recommended!”

“There are a lot of “50 Shades” parodies out there now. This is not one of them. Instead, this is … more of a review. It provides 20 points about how the book is dumb, and 30 examples of the book’s worst writing. If you know someone who likes the book, this could be used as a conversational guide to engage in them in debate, and/or to show them the error of their ways. It highlights the book’s most laughable atrocities in a funny, conversational way. In any case, it’s definitely worth the 99 cents.”

“Well, this 99 cents was worth it, about 99 belly laughs at a penny apiece. I am now satisfied that i have caught up to today’s cultural phenomenon without having to read the original…”

Fifty Shades of Stupid is available for Kindle on Amazon.com.

Warren Murphy is author of over 200 books, including the Trace series and the long-running satiric adventure, The Destroyer. He has written for the movies and television: Lethal Weapon 2, The Eiger Sanction, Remo Williams, and Murphy’s Law. For more information on Warren, visit his Amazon.com Author Page or his website.