Category: Staff Articles

Writing advice and insights from the staff of Indies Unlimited.

Following Your Passion

Author L.A. Lewandowski

I don’t want to introduce myself by being trite or speaking in clichés. But in reading the previous introductory posts of my fellow writers here on Indies Unlimited one thing is very apparent: we’ve all pursued writing as a passion or maybe even as the great love of our lives. And in the case of Indies Unlimited, I feel as if I’ve been given a Golden Ticket, a la Willy Wonka. Thank you Stephen Hise for the generous opportunity.

For me, the knowledge that I was a writer was not as innate as some of my contemporaries. I did have passions, starting with my desire to be a professional ballet dancer. Realizing I wasn’t good enough to feed myself caused a stunning bipolar reaction: why not become an attorney instead? That didn’t work out either. Law school is grueling not to mention expensive and I was already supporting myself and soon to be married. Second passion down the drain. Continue reading “Following Your Passion”

Common Synopsis Issues

Author K. S. Brooks
Author K. S. Brooks

When soliciting agents or publishers, the synopsis is one of your most important tools. It’s a direct reflection of you, your writing skills, and therefore, your manuscript. Yes, synopses are not easy to write – “if I could have written it in one page, I wouldn’t have written 300…” Just the same, if someone doesn’t want to read 300 – you have but one page in which to inspire them. Sure, I understand, but think of your synopsis as your book’s resume. If the resume stinks, your book won’t get the job.

Here are some of the most common Dos and Don’ts I’ve noticed when it comes to synopses, not in any particular order:

#1 – Being mysterious or cryptic does not draw in the reader, it makes them work harder to try and figure out what’s going on. Never make extra work for an agent or publisher! Continue reading “Common Synopsis Issues”

Is One Genre Enough? by Melissa Pearl

Author Melissa Pearl
Author Melissa Pearl

Ever since I was a child, my head has been buzzing with stories. I couldn’t help it. No matter where I was, no matter what I was doing, I always had characters jumping around the back of my mind, getting in to trouble, falling in love, fighting their way to freedom. It was fun and to be honest, got me through some tough times. The imagination is a magical thing. I don’t know where I’d be without mine.

Now that we’ve all established I’m just a little crazy 🙂 I’ll get to my point.

With new stories arriving in my brain on a constant basis, it is really hard to narrow myself to one genre. I know they say you should build your platform so as not to confuse your readers, but are we underestimating our readers by doing this? Continue reading “Is One Genre Enough? by Melissa Pearl”

Stargazing

The star rating system is the most widely used of the rating systems applied to evaluating books. The ratings typically range from one star (this book sucked) to five (I want to marry this book and have its babies). In such a system the prospective readers’ eyes are drawn immediately to the stars, and some rough equivalency is likely made between this system and the letter-grade system in public schools of A – B – C – D – F. Continue reading “Stargazing”