Happy Amazon Shopping, Everyone!

snowflake holiday shopping timeAs the holiday season nears, people will be shopping for thoughtful gifts and little extras they may need to accommodate seasonal visitors. More often than ever before, people will do a lot of that shopping online, and Amazon.com will get the lion’s share of digital retail.

That’s no surprise. Not only does Amazon sell everything under the sun, but it has made customer satisfaction a priority with competitive pricing, rapid delivery, and no-hassle return policies.

Indies Unlimited is an Amazon affiliate, which means that if you order something from Amazon though any link you click here, they will pay us a few pennies for the referral. It costs you nothing more to get your shopping done and to support Indies Unlimited at the same time! So, here is a thought: If you are going to shop Amazon this holiday season anyway and you are already right here on Indies Unlimited, why not get to Amazon by clicking here?

We’re not trying to guilt you into anything. We won’t mention all the free content we’ve provided, the helpful tutorials, or free promotional opportunities we make available for authors. No, mentioning that stuff is not our style. Nor will we remind you that IU is run by volunteers who largely do all this out of a sense of responsibility to the indie author community. After all, our humility is a real point of pride. (ahem)

All we’re asking is that if you’re going to buy something from Amazon anyway (and who hasn’t?), that you get there though Indies Unlimited. That goes almost without saying for things like books and Kindles, but even if you decide to get Great Aunt Ida that case of baked beans she’s always wanted, Amazon will toss us a scrap if you go there through an IU link.

So, what do you say? Seems like a win-win proposition. After all, we don’t want to have to send BigAl to sidle up to you to say in his best gangster voice, “Nice shopping list you got there. I’d hate to see something bad happen to it.”

Indie Reads – October 2015

Indies Unlimited does not review books, but we do have a couple of renowned reviewers on staff. We thought a great way to celebrate indie writing would be to ask those reviewers for their top indie picks of the month. Here are this month’s top picks from our experts:


cargo by dv berkom 120x177Cargo by DV Berkom

“…another excellent, fast-paced, gripping and riveting adventure in Leine Basso’s life.”

Read the rest of the review by Cathy Speight.

Cargo is available through Amazon.com.


splintered souls 120x177Splintered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean

“…The plot moves fast, I had trouble putting the book down to sleep.”

Read the rest of the review by ?wazithinkin.

Splintered Souls is available through Amazon.com.


refracted by nicole storey 120x177Refracted by Nicole Storey

“It was hard to put the book down and I found myself reading until my eyes wouldn’t focus any longer. The climax… holy …”

Read the rest of the review by ?wazithinkin.

Refracted is available through Amazon.com.


The Hydra 120x177The Hydra by Graham Stull

“The human aspects of the story made it more believable and kept me enthralled from page one until THE END.”

Read the rest of the review by Pete Barber.

The Hydra is available on Amazon.com..


what happens in reno 120x177What Happens in Reno by Mike Monson

“…what an incredible ending it was. What Happens in Reno should hit the mark for noir and crime fiction fans.”

Read the rest of the review by BigAl.

What Happens in Reno is available at Amazon.com.


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.