Tag: Penguin

Yet Another Reason to Be an Indie

Who me? I would *never* do anything like that!
Who me? I would *never* do anything like that!

Do you secretly dream of being traditionally published?

When someone you know is offered a contract, do you experience a moment of intense envy? Do you smile, and say ‘congratulations’ while silently screaming ‘why not me’?

Don’t worry, your dirty little secret is safe because….yes, hand-on-heart, I too share your shame. Despite everything I have learned about the traditional publishing world in the last two years, I still haven’t completely quashed the romantic notions I used to hold about the Big Six. I guess it’s like the dream of finding Mr Right and living happily ever after, it never completely dies.

But to quote the Bard, “All that glitters is not gold…”

Every contract we sign, whether it be with Amazon, or one of the New York set, will contain a warranties and indemnities clause, and the language is remarkably similar. In effect, this clause absolves the ‘publisher’ from any blame or financial responsibility if the book breaks any laws. That is, if the poop hits the fan, the author is responsible for the clean-up. Continue reading “Yet Another Reason to Be an Indie”

LynneQuisition: David Gaughran

My LynneQuisition victim – er, guest – this month is David Gaughran. David probably needs no introduction to this crowd. He’s the author of a couple of novels and a short story collection, as well as the bestselling Let’s Get Digital about the nuts and bolts of indie publishing (which, as it happens, is 99 cents at Amazon this weekend). His new book, Let’s Get Visible, is all about marketing, which the gods know I need help with.

Buy Let’s Get Digital from Amazon US or Amazon UK. Buy Let’s get Visible from Amazon US or Amazon UK.

So David, thanks very much for writing this. Nearly all of the “how to” books about making money at Amazon are from the P.A.C. (Pre-Algorithm Change) era. I get the sense that you still think Select is worthwhile — at least for some authors, or for authors in some genres.

Continue reading “LynneQuisition: David Gaughran”

The Biggest Vanity Predators: PublishAmerica and Author Solutions

Thank you for finding Indies Unlimited.

Here at IU, we do our best to provide helpful information to indie authors of all levels. Our goal is to provide the knowledge they need to make intelligent decisions about writing and publishing. We are not, however, a watchdog site, nor do we try to be. There are other sites out there, such as Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors, which dedicate their resources to identifying scammers.

Despite all the efforts to make authors aware of predators looking to make money off of them, the best tool is actually knowing how to spot a scam. That knowledge will enable authors, no matter how often the scammer changes its name, to avoid being taken advantage of. In March 2015, we we ran a month-long series called #PublishingFoul to teach authors how to avoid scams, and to help them to get out of situations with bad publishers.

Thank you again for finding Indies Unlimited.

– The Admins

Indie News Beat: (Re)Stating the Obvious

Our first stop this edition is at Publishers Weekly, and their report on the highly-trailed “Author (R)evolution Day” earlier this month. That rather pretentious title at once makes me suspicious, and I didn’t have to read far before slamming into a trite platitude. Step forward Kobo’s Mark Lefebvre with this message for struggling, self-published authors: “Don’t wonder how you will get discovered – think about what you are going to do to deserve being discovered.” Yeah, thanks. And the conclusion? That we have to adapt to changing social media, and of course we shouldn’t forget the importance of word-of-mouth recommendations. Really, Holmes, you astound me. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: (Re)Stating the Obvious”