Category: Guest Posts

Format Diversity Can Lead to Higher Sales

Author Shaun McLaughlin

We indie authors work hard to coax readers to buy our books. When even a trickle of sales of an ebook is cause for euphoria, it astounds me that so many authors ignore 38% of the American ebook market and the majority of the Canadian market.

I am a regular visitor to IU. It’s a great site for trailers, sneak peeks, and advice. My only disappointment is the near exclusivity of Kindle as an ebook format. Most of the freebies offered on Fridays are Kindle ebooks. Twice, when I decided to buy a book after watching a trailer on IU, the Kindle-only format stopped me. Sure, I can read a Kindle book via a special app on my laptop, but that is not where I do my pleasure reading. Continue reading “Format Diversity Can Lead to Higher Sales”

Dragons and Cowboys and Jason Bourne, Oh My!

Virginia McKevitt

That got your attention didn’t it, but the topic really is about crossing genres; can you, should you and if you do, can you pull it off. This coming from a fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance, action, eh, novelist (try slinging that out there when someone ask you what your book is about).

Someone once told me fantasy has rules. I agree, its magic, you can do anything: pigs can fly, cows can talk, a kiss can wake a princess, but wizards always have to carry a staff. No I’m serious. I was told never to break that rule. It has to do with quantum physics and pole shifts. Serious stuff that could change our world as we know it. Continue reading “Dragons and Cowboys and Jason Bourne, Oh My!”

Is StoryBundle the Answer for You?

Author Pete Morin

If, like me, you are an indie author looking for ways to get your novel read, you have probably figured out by now that marketing and promotional opportunities are like grunion swarming to spawn on the California coast during a full moon. Plentiful and hard to catch.

The problem is, it is impossible to determine with any certainty which ones work. How do you find out? What works for one novel may not work for another. Each fiction genre seems to have its own gestalt.

If you are a reader looking for exceptional indie novels, you’re probably frazzled by the teeming number of self-published titles that clutter every nook and cranny of the internet, all shouting, “you won’t be able to put me down!” How do fans of indie fiction separate the wheat from the chaff? Continue reading “Is StoryBundle the Answer for You?”

Healthy Practices to Care for Yourself and Your Writing Muse

Isla McKetta

Your body and mind are the vessels your writing flows through. If you don’t take care of yourself, you risk emptying those vessels of creativity—the worst symptom of which is the dreaded writer’s block. The key to a successful and continuous writing career is to feed your muse by practicing a health writing/life balance along the way.

Here are some ways to fuel your writing self when you start to feel empty: Continue reading “Healthy Practices to Care for Yourself and Your Writing Muse”