Category: Staff Articles

Writing advice and insights from the staff of Indies Unlimited.

How to Write an Interesting Bio Blurb

[This is a satirical article. If you want instruction on how to write a professional biography from someone  who actually cares, try this article. – The Administrators.]

One of the things an author is expected to do from time-to-time is to produce at least a short biographical blurb. These may be used for an interview, a book jacket, or even an event program in which you are a presenter. It seems a simple enough task to write a paragraph about oneself, and simpler still for a real writer.

Yet, simple though it seems, many writers have difficulty writing a bio blurb that does not have the side effect of producing heavy drowsiness. This is because most of us are boring. We write fiction (in some small part) because real life just doesn’t measure up—we feel the pressing need to create a more interesting world, even if it is imaginary. Continue reading “How to Write an Interesting Bio Blurb”

Reinventing the wheel

Image courtesy blindingstars.com

Writing in 2012 is nothing like it was in 2000. And it was different during other periods, too. Take 1910 to the post WWII days: it was nothing like it was in the 1960s. Writing provides dips and bumps in the landscape, forcing writers into different turns and bends.

What do I mean exactly? Well – writers have always written, and they have always either kept to, or broken, the conventions of the day. Conventions have not always been the same ones we observe now, because language evolves and morphs through use. Custom and usage twists custom and usage out of the present shape into the next unpredictable one. You notice this if you carefully observe the speech and patterns of newsreaders. And goodness me – you certainly notice it in novels. Continue reading “Reinventing the wheel”

Pirates, Karma, And My Unlikely Rise To #1

Author Martin Crosbie
Bestselling Author Martin Crosbie

There’s been a lot of controversy over the Amazon KDP Select Program. As authors, the question is: Is there any value in giving your work away for free? Well, I tried it, and this is what happened to me.

In the last three weeks I’ve experienced more personal accomplishments than I ever could have imagined. First of all, “My Temporary Life,” became available as a free download in an Amazon promotion. The idea is that folks download it for free and with the momentum that builds, when it becomes a paid download, it sells. Well, IT WORKED! It became the most downloaded eBook in North America for one day, a few Sundays ago.

“My Temporary Life,” built up momentum like a rocket taking off. By the second day, it was second overall in free downloads. On the third day, well you know what happened, because you heard me. Yep, doesn’t matter where you were, you probably heard me. We hit #1 overall. Continue reading “Pirates, Karma, And My Unlikely Rise To #1”

Helping you become a #1 Bestselling Author

Bestselling Author … Bestselling Novel … sounds good doesn’t it? A few weeks ago, I posted about reviews and their impact on ratings and readers. You can see that post here. Today, I want to discuss the elusive BESTSELLER.

When you have achieved bestseller status, it is yours for life. No one can take it away. Conveniently, Amazon changes the rankings hourly. Now, many of you might look at that as a negative but all you need is for your book to hit #1 just one time, and even if it drops out after an hour, you’ve just achieved “bestseller” status.

As with anything in our indie publishing world, you have to know the system before you play the game. First, when you uploaded and published your book, you picked five categories. These have nothing to do with how Amazon ranks your book—they’re used in keyword searches for someone browsing topics. Continue reading “Helping you become a #1 Bestselling Author”