Let freedom ring: Indie publishing is becoming a more and more attractive alternative
This is a guest post by Terri Giuliano Long A couple weeks back, we ran an article called “Indie stigma and the true indie spirit.” Consider this part two. For better or worse, the days when they were the sole gatekeepers are behind us. Today, rejection by traditional houses says little about a book. “Some wonderful books [are rejected] for various reasons—nothing to do with quality,” says Jenny Bent. A publisher may reject a book because it doesn’t fit into a clear category. A traditional house may also turn down a book if...
read moreExploring religion in fiction and how indies can push the envelope
This is a post by Pavarti K Tyler Religion and literature have long been intertwined. Some of the best writing and poetry exists within religious texts. From the poetry of the Bible’s book of Psalms to the lyrical cadence of the Qu’ran’s surahs, the beauty and power of words is one religious writers have honed. But what is the place of religion within works of fiction? Sci-fi authors have long known that the way to create depth and meaning for their fiction is to layer in religious themes. From Frank Hubert’s epic...
read moreAhh, research: Don’t skimp on the details, but don’t overwhelm your reader either!
This is a guest post by D.K. LeVick As the saying goes “the devil’s in the details.” When writers of historical fiction put words to paper, they bear the responsibility to transpose their readers to the time period of their story. This doesn’t mean telling them it’s 1776 – it means transporting them to 1776, making them feel it, live it, and be a part of it – having them jump up and march along with the fife and drum. If this is only done on the macro level, the characters are superficial and transparent. The reader sees through...
read moreHey, you! Don’t do that! 6 reasons your blog is scaring away your audience
This is a guest post by Melinda Atlas “So … you’re a writer? You have a blog? That’s so unique!” –Nobody Everyone has a Facebook profile , a blog, and too much spare time. Especially that girl on Twitter who posts “I’m so busy!” ten times a day. Unfollow her. She’s lying. And she won’t read your writer blog anyway. Trust me. Your mom might read it. Your best friend since third grade will say that he read it. And a few other friends you spammed will attest to reading it. But they probably didn’t. And what about that...
read moreA slap in the face: Cold hard truths for new writers and some go-get-’em advice
This is a guest post by Laurance Kitts First of all, many of you may be new—or only think you’re not new—to writing. There are some cold hard truths you must face if you want to make it as a writer. I plan to smack you in the face with many of those truths right now. When you have finished reading them, read them again and again until you can look in the mirror and state without a doubt that this is what you want to do with your life. Otherwise get out while the going is good. The untold truth about becoming an author 1. Writing a...
read moreKindlegraph is a phenomenal tool for indie authors. Here’s why
This is a guest post by M.B. Mulhall I can’t say I’ve ever been to a book signing, but I’ve always wanted to go. Authors are like my rockstars, so to have them sign one of their books for me is the equivalent of some rocker throwing their sweaty bandana at me from the stage—cool, yet much less damp and gross. So when e-books started gaining popularity I did have the thought “oh…now there will never be a reason for me to go to a book signing because most of the stuff I buy is in e-book form so what will they sign, my Kindle...
read moreIndie stigma and the true indie spirit: Let’s show the world what we’re really made of!
This is a guest post by Terri Giuliano Long For a week, the Blogosphere has been on fire over rants by conventional authors, railing against self-publishing . . . One traditionally published author went so far as to refer to self-publishing as “literary karaoke.” Here is Terri Giuliano Long’s passionate response to this ongoing debate. I’ve been working on a story about the self-publishing stigma for IndieReader. Does the stigma still exist? I’ve been asking. Is it warranted? Over the last few years, we’ve...
read morePut your ego aside, and hire a professional editor: A sci-fi specific example
This is a guest post by Dr. George H. Elder I love Lord of the Rings’s story line, but many literary professionals feel that the work needed a bit of editing. The same could be said of any number of Sci-Fi texts, including some of the classics. Of course, Sci-Fi has changed a great deal over the years, and the often gaudy literary style that typified early books are now seen as gouache. Yes, woe is unto the writer who uses too many “ly” words or adjectives. We now call such writing “pulpy,” as in the excess paper that is needed to...
read moreGoodbye, BlogSpot. Hello, WordPress: 5 benefits of switching to a self-hosted blog
This is a post by Vicky Torzsok You’ve been contemplating moving to WordPress, but you don’t know whether to go for it or stay on Blogger? I’ve been in the same boat as you. I used Blogger in the past 6 months, and even though I’ve been thinking about moving for a while, I was terrified. However, I finally plucked up the courage and went through with it last weekend. Since many people have been asking me about my first impressions with WordPress and the reason why I left Blogger, I decided to write a post about it in...
read moreBuild your social media family to find the support you need to keep writing/ publishing/ believing
This is a guest post by Merry Farmer Note from Emlyn: This post originally appeared on Merry’s blog. It had such nice things to say about Novel Publicity and such great all-around advice, that I knew we needed to nab it as a guest post–pronto. I’ve got news for you, folks. It’s a big, wide, crowded world out there. And here we all are trying to be artists and have our voices heard in this world. The lives of artists have never been easy, be they writers or musicians or painters or dancers. For millennia we have scrounged and...
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