Category: Book Fairs

2012 Anniversary Special

Yes, it’s been a whole, entire year since the Evil Mastermind launched Indies Unlimited. You just may be wondering exactly how this all came to be. Well, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Aw, never mind. Just watch the video. It will tell you everything you need to know.

Stay tuned for more cool things coming soon from Indies Unlimited. We’ve got big plans. We’ll be announcing some of them in the next couple of weeks, so don’t go anywhere. And, thanks for joining us here. Without you…well, we’re glad you’re here. Thanks for helping to make Indies Unlimited’s first year a big success.

What to Like about Like-Fests

young buck by KSBrooks
Like-fests are fun and leave your breath minty fresh.

Each Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. Pacific time, we here at Indies Unlimited host a “like-fest.” Sometimes it will be for Amazon.com author or book pages, Facebook pages, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Goodreads or other social networking platforms. One thing is certain – every Wednesday a large community of authors, readers and reviewers stop by and a good time is had by all.

This past Wednesday, we ran an Amazon.com like-fest. The turn-out was great and we had lots of new participants and books. An interesting question was posed to me by an author: Maybe you can explain something to me about this amazon.com Building Your Empire-Fest. Why should I care about other writers following me or liking me on Amazon? I’m trying to get readers to read my work, not other writers.

Valid question. It’s debatable what technical purpose “likes” serve. There have been rumors that Amazon.com “pushes” books up in the search results if they have over a certain number of likes. I have not been able to corroborate this from an actual source, so as far as I know, it’s still a rumor. Continue reading “What to Like about Like-Fests”

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Brown Bear by K. S. Brooks
I’m listening!

Got some good news to share? Take advantage of one of our announcement features.

Announcement Features are short blurbs in which you share notices of a new release, an award, a great review by a recognized review site or publication, an upcoming multi-city book tour, etc. They may include a picture, if appropriate, and links as desired. You can see examples of the Announcement Features HERE and HERE. Authors submitting an announcement feature will have that book showcased in the IU store for one year. Book announcement features require a purchase link for Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble or some other mainstream outlet. Please include at least one of these links with your query.

The array of free features includes announcements, video trailers, guest posts, “sneak-peek” book excerpts, Freebie Fridays, Story Time features, our weekly flash fiction competitions, and author interviews. The submissions guidelines are explained in detail on the Submissions Page. Authors who participate in these features will also have their books showcased in the IU store for one year.

We also offer a wide choice of affordable promotional packages for authors and service providers.

Please Don’t Feed the Animals

Please do not feed the animalsWhen you read that sign at the zoo, you don’t feed the animals, right? It’s in everyone’s best interest, right? Well here’s our sign:

PLEASE FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES

Here at Indies Unlimited, we’re run by volunteers. We’re here to help authors and to provide an innovative platform where readers can communicate directly with them. How great is that? Help us to help you by following some very simple guidelines.

#1 – Please use the query form. Include a purchase link to your book so we can check it out. Please do not yell at us that you cannot include attachments. We’re not ready for your attachments yet.

#2 – Please do not hunt down our personal email addresses so you may send us unsolicited attachments. When we’re ready for your attachments, we’ll ask. Please use the query form and be patient.

#3 – Please do not embed links in emails or documents. It’s okay if it’s an ugly, long link – we like them that way because we have to copy and paste them. If we have to click on them and open another window, etc. etc., it takes longer – and we like to know what we’re clicking on.

#4 – Please do not embed images in emails or documents. We’ll have to convert them and then crop them and all this other stuff. Or, we’ll use a tiny image of your book cover from an online site that won’t look as nice. The third option is that we’ll just put your feature to the bottom of the pile because we don’t have time to deal with it.

#5 – Please make sure your attachments are not over 500kb. We cannot accept your 10 mb video trailer or your 6 mb book cover. We have a limit on our mailbox accounts. If humongous attachments actually make it through to our inboxes, those emails will be deleted and you will be notified to resend in an acceptable size. And your feature will probably go to the bottom of the pile.

Remember, we’re here to help you. Please make that a pleasant experience for us all. You can find the submissions guidelines here.