Category: Staff Articles

Writing advice and insights from the staff of Indies Unlimited.

My Writing Hero – Cambria Hebert

indie heroes logo darkI’m excited to write about an author who inspires me: Cambria Hebert. She is not a New York Times Bestselling author. She’s won some awards, made it into the Amazon Top 100 a couple of times and is one of the best writers I’ve ever read. I love her books, and I love her style. She’s kind, honest, responsive, and is in the position I one-day want to be. This is why I have chosen to highlight the amazing Cambria Hebert. To me, she is a true hero in this indie business and an author I am very happy to call my inspiration.

Cambria was nice enough to answer some interview questions for me.
. Continue reading “My Writing Hero – Cambria Hebert”

#IndieHero: Hugh Howey

indie heroes logo darkIt’s Indie Hero month here at IU, so for my indie hero, I picked Hugh Howey. You know what they say — go big or go home.

Just kidding. However, the goal is to get a wide range of indie heroes — from modest to large success. And Howey is among the bigger-name successes and he seems like a genuinely nice guy, so I thought I’d tackle him (figuratively, not literally; you’re safe should we actually cross paths, Hugh).

For those who haven’t heard of him, Howey is the author of dozens of novels, but rose to prominence with this Wool series. The self-published book rose quickly in popularity and was later picked up by a traditional publisher, who gave Howey the first ever print-only deal during the age of eBooks. By print only, I mean, Howey got to keep publishing the eBook version himself, while the publisher only got the print rights. Continue reading “#IndieHero: Hugh Howey”

What I Learned as a Book Cover Contest Judge

really bad book cover artAmong my favorite internet acronyms is AFLE. Translated loosely, the letters stand for another freaking learning experience. (Indies Unlimited is a safe-for-work site, okay?) I don’t know about you, but for me, that acronym perfectly sums up this whole indie author thing. No matter what your background, there’s going to be some component of this jack-of-all-trades business in which you’re going to need a crash course. Or professional help.

Art is one of those things for me. In school, I was an A or B student in everything but art. (Well, and physical education. But so far, nobody’s expected me to do pushups for my books, thank goodness.) So imagine my dismay when I realized I was going to have to design covers for my books. Luckily, I have a couple of friends who are much better in graphic arts than I am, as well as two daughters who know their way around Photoshop. I treasure their advice to this day. Continue reading “What I Learned as a Book Cover Contest Judge”

Technology Addiction: Five Steps to Unplug from the Digital World and Get Back to Writing

cut out technology and get back to writingAre you addicted? Did it start long ago with your “Crackberry?” You remember, people were running around with a “Blackberry” glued to their face. It was email — 24/7.

We had no idea what was coming.

Now it’s the smartphone — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email. Everything demands our attention. And, it’s not just our mobile device. You sit typing away at the laptop or desktop and you’re looking for that opportunity to check your email or look at updates on Facebook.

How do you know if you are addicted? Continue reading “Technology Addiction: Five Steps to Unplug from the Digital World and Get Back to Writing”