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.

Tutorial: Uploading to Createspace’s Cover Creator

createspace logoToday I’ll show you how to upload your custom book cover using Createspace’s Cover Creator. First, you will have to have a design already made. If you’re using MS Publisher, we’ve got a tutorial for making your own book cover here. The same principles apply for print covers – just choose the size you need and landscape mode. If you don’t already have a design, take a look at the screen captures in this tutorial; they will give you a pretty good idea of what you’ll need to do before you start creating your awesome book cover. This tutorial will of course work for any size cover, but today, we’re working with one that is 6×9. Not sure what cover print book you should use? Laurie Boris asked readers what size book was best in this article.

Before we get started, here are a few hints for you: Continue reading “Tutorial: Uploading to Createspace’s Cover Creator”

My Brilliant Book Marketing Scheme

skittles an authors book marketing schemeWallowing in obscurity can be frustrating. Well, not so much the obscurity part, but the poverty part that goes with it. I don’t have a big enough following to get Kindle Scout’s attention like Martin Crosbie did. I don’t have the energy or the time to put out a zillion books a year like Lynne Cantwell or Melissa Pearl. But what I do have is a defective, devious brain that can calculate and scheme and come up with an out-of-the-box marketing plan. Yes, I know RJ Crayton recently warned against these kinds of longshots. But really – this one will work – I just know it. Continue reading “My Brilliant Book Marketing Scheme”

How Indies Unlimited Works – 2015

Indies Unlimited LogoOver the short time since its inception, Indies Unlimited has become one of the most heavily trafficked websites for people interested in indie writing, publishing, marketing, and reading. We’re honored that so many people are saying such great things about us.

With the word spreading, this means we encounter a lot of new folks who have never seen anything quite like Indies Unlimited and who don’t know quite what to make of it.

We thought it might be nice to provide a sort of guided tour, so people could get a better handle on what our site is about, what we do, and what we don’t do. Continue reading “How Indies Unlimited Works – 2015”

Happy Blogaversary Indies Unlimited

Indies Unlimited happy-birthday-irkutsk-958825_640Four years ago tomorrow, the Evil Mastermind launched Indies Unlimited. Since then, we’ve had over 1.5 MILLION page views, been named as one of Six Great Blogs for Indie Authors in Publishers Weekly, and ranked as one of the top writing-related sites by Alexa.

We have evolved greatly since those early days, but never lost sight of providing free, high-quality content for independent publishers and readers. Just recently, IU announced that we would no longer accept paid advertising from authors. We’ve also added a KnowledgeBase and a wide variety of resource pages. We’re proud that readers and authors alike trust our content. We’re grateful to all of you for spreading the word about us.

Indies Unlimited is run by volunteers. Kudos to all the minions past and present for donating their time and energy to provide excellent articles, advice, and tutorials for our audience.

Thank you, everyone, for making Indies Unlimited a success and a community. It could not be one without the other. We look forward to another year filled with great things for all.