My Opinion on Everything

K. S. Brooks with the Washington Post NewshoundThat’s right: I have an opinion on everything. I’ve shown you what your minimal requirements should be for building your author empire here. Now I’m going to tell you some other things you need to know.

1. Backlist. Having only one published book is NOT going to cut it. You need lots of books. If you expect to sell a million books, having a million titles to sell is a phenomenally good idea. That would mean you’d only have to sell one of each title to reach your goal. Of course, you know you can easily sell one book. So, your goal should be to write a good portion of the books you intend to sell. This is such simple logic. I don’t understand why no one gets this.

2. Loss Leader. A loss leader is something that you don’t mind losing money on because it draws people to your offerings and they purchase your other stuff. It’s like the sacrificial lamb of your backlist. This is something every author should have. I’m very good at loss leaders, so take my word for it. I have 10 of them. Continue reading “My Opinion on Everything”

Flash Fiction Challenge Vote

The time has come for Indies Unlimited readers to choose this week’s winner. On behalf of the IU staff, we want to thank the entrants for doing such a great job with the writing prompt and the merciless constraints of the exercise.

You may review the entries here. Please spread the word and encourage your friends to vote by using the share buttons at the bottom of the post!

Choose your favorite from this week's flash fiction entries:

  • Betsy A. Riley (33%, 15 Votes)
  • James A. Cunningham 1 (20%, 9 Votes)
  • Matt Valenti (20%, 9 Votes)
  • Brian Beam (13%, 6 Votes)
  • Pam Logan (11%, 5 Votes)
  • Bill Stephens (4%, 2 Votes)
  • James A. Cunningham 2 (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 46

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Keys, Tags and Penguins Part 2

Stick with a white hat

We left off last time exploring the wacky world of Google searches, and what people actually look for. Your homework (Did you notice it was homework? That’s ok, I forgot to mention it.) was to play around and find half a dozen kickass key words that would help people find you.

I’m going to suppose that an avid Indies reader, Candy McFancy—who writes fantasy—has done just that and we’re going to build her website. She’s read the great tutorials from Kat and from Jen on downloading seo plugins for WordPress and devising titles and descriptions, so in this post I’m going to concentrate on how her key words are going to build a better site. Continue reading “Keys, Tags and Penguins Part 2”

Sneak Peek: Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip

Today, we feature a sneak peek of David Antrobus’ memoir, Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip.

When David Antrobus set out on a personal, reflective solo road trip from the Pacific Coast of Canada to New York City, he picked a random date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001. This coincidence, despite the horrors of that day, proved oddly serendipitous in the sense of the author’s struggle for understanding of his own relatively small trauma, which he was then only beginning to face.

Evocations of the quiet melancholy of the landscape alongside poignant descriptions of grain elevators, motels, convenience stores and gas stations as he heads eastward across the Canadian Prairies are complemented by the dawning reality of New York City’s wounded presence looming ever nearer. Upon arrival, the author is at first haunted by the visceral horrors that remain just days after the attacks on the World Trade Centre, yet finds unexpected comfort in the people of the city as they relate their own personal trauma stories.

Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip is available through Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other online stores.

Here is an excerpt from Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip: Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip”