Tag: Writing

Author Carol Wyer Joins the Staff of Indies Unlimited

Author Carol Wyer

Carol Wyer has been a Facebook author friend and supporter for a long while. She is witty and funny and multi-talented.  She also flies helicopters, and I need an airborne platform for the laser death ray. I am delighted to welcome Carol to the Indies Unlimited syndicate.

Carol is an ex-teacher and linguist who used to tear around the streets of Casablanca on a VéloSoleX (you may need to look that one up) avoiding donkeys.

Having spent the last two decades trying out all sorts of new challenges such as kick boxing, scuba diving and flying helicopters she has calmed down a little and now is learning to paint, attempting to teach herself Russian (although she doesn’t seem to progress much past ‘dva pivo’ – two beers) and writing a series of novels and articles which take a humorous look at getting older.

She is currently putting the final touches to Surfing in Stilettos, the sequel to the award-winning Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines, much to the dismay of her permanently neglected husband who will once again have to put up with ready-made meals and a dusty house.

To learn more about Carol, go to www.carolewyer.co.uk or follow Carol on Twitter: @cewyer.

Please welcome  Carol Wyer to the Indies Unlimited family.

Please, sir…can I have a review? by: M.M. Brownlow

Author MM Brownlow

You’re trolling for something to read. You wander the aisles of your favourite bookstore or click your way through your favourite online shopping spot, checking out the covers. Once you find something that looks interesting, you flip over to the blurb and then you check…the reviews. If you’re anything like me, you have the cover and you have the blurb, but the reviews can remain elusive.

I hate begging. I have no problem giving away my works for free if it’s going to get me something in return (like a review), but finding people to actually read my books can be difficult. Then along comes Bloggerdise. (www.bloggerdise.com) Bloggerdise is a site where authors can create book banners to pair up with bloggers who want something to write about. It’s easy to use, the bloggers usually review ebooks, and the site itself is free! If you’re like me – and I’m hoping you are ‘cause otherwise I sound really pathetic – your marketing budget is as close to zero as you can get away with, so a free way to get reviews is perfect. Continue reading “Please, sir…can I have a review? by: M.M. Brownlow”

Reggie Ridgway Announces Upcoming Release: Moon Shadow

Author Reggie Ridgway

How did I discover that I wanted to be a writer? Stephen Hise asks with a wink and a nod. Well I would have to give some credit to my elementary school 3rd grade teacher who asked all of us to write out a story. My story was good enough to win the class contest and I still have the award somewhere. It says something like this. To the biggest liar in Mrs. Blanks class. I was so proud. I didn’t go any further with this new found skill until college when again I was asked to write a story in one of my classes. I got an A. My first one. “Maybe I was on to something”, I thought and went home and began writing. Continue reading “Reggie Ridgway Announces Upcoming Release: Moon Shadow”

Quality/Control

Quality has suddenly become a buzzword in the Indie Community, whether it’s Indie books, gaming, movies, etc.

Imagine that!  (All of you should know by now that this is my personal bugaboo.)

It’s certainly become a topic on the readers forums on Amazon and elsewhere, as someone commented.  “All these freebies which we use as promo for sales seem to be creating an environment where some readers only go free because they toss it after one chapter if it’s rubbish and only pay for a “real” author.”  One response to the Indie title on one site was  “That’s good support for why attaching a label like “Indie” and trying to make it be a badge of quality might be more trouble than it’s worth. After all, eventually, the work defines the label, not the other way around.” As to that last, he’s right. The work does define the label, and for too many Indie writers that doesn’t seem to mean much. The gentleman in question added later  that there’s not much value for an author to call themselves Indie.  One author recently proposed that – lacking an editor – you should just post to the marketplace and wait for the readers to comment, then revise and repost.

That has to change or the perception that Indie writing is rubbish is one that will stick and all of our hard work will be for nothing. And the traditional publishers will be proven right, that this Wild West Indie publishing thing was just a flash in the pan, a global slush pile from which a rare few gems emerged. Continue reading “Quality/Control”