Author: Melinda Clayton

Melinda Clayton is the author of the Cedar Hollow series, as well as a self-publishing guide. Clayton has published numerous articles and short stories in various print and online magazines. She has an Ed.D. in Special Education Administration and is a licensed psychotherapist in the states of Florida and Colorado. Lear more about Melinda at her Amazon author page

If it says free, can’t I use it?

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CC Logo Shirt, by CreativeCommoners, available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/creativecommons/2900307100/ under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. More licensing information here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Blog posts, websites, book covers, bookmarks, trailers. For writers, we sure do use a lot of photographs.

If you’re like me, your photography skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily, there are some inexpensive (even free) options available, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can download and use willy-nilly.

More often than not, there are some requirements we must meet in order to use even free photographs. Otherwise, we might find ourselves on the wrong side of a copyright infringement suit.

Creative Commons is my favorite place to search, because they make it easy to find free photos, artwork, music, and audio. They have very specific requirements for use, however. Let’s walk through the process. Continue reading “If it says free, can’t I use it?”

Thrilled to Join Indies Unlimited

melinda typingMarch 5, 2013: I remember it well. That was the date I officially started stalking Indies Unlimited. I was already familiar with the site and had periodically checked in, but that was the day IU got its own folder in my email account.

I had spent a great deal of the previous winter struggling with the decision to terminate contracts with my publisher and join the world of self-publishing. By spring, I knew that was the path I needed to take, but how? Kindle, Smashwords, Lightning Source, CreateSpace: It was all so confusing. Ultimately, I did the first thing I always do when starting a new venture: I made a list.

Then I did the second thing I always do when starting a new venture: I researched, Googling everything from, “What’s the difference between Lightning Source and CreateSpace?” to “What the heck is a Smashwords Meatgrinder?”

Indies Unlimited came up in the search results time and time again. Continue reading “Thrilled to Join Indies Unlimited”

CreateSpace Headers: The Basics

Author photoGuest Post
by Melinda Clayton

Ask any self-published author about his or her experience with CreateSpace templates and you’re likely to hear something along the lines of, “I can never get my headers right.”

While CreateSpace provides fantastic templates, headers can be finicky. After spending one marathon weekend formatting three novels at once, I learned a few things I’m happy to share. Continue reading “CreateSpace Headers: The Basics”