100 sites for fiction writers: #62 - The Independent Author Network

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

The Independent Author Network

Writing can be a lonely business. Often times the writer is stuck at a desk for hours on end with little or no connection to the outside world. Then there are times when a writer wants to reach out to his or her peers, others walking the same road as themselves.

To help with all this, there is The Independent Author Network.

This network is a collective of like-minded writers who have come together not only to share similar interests, but to focus on and help one another market their wares. Writers are somewhat expected to be active not only on the site itself, but to promote the site as well as their own works and those of others through online social networks, aka Twitter, Facebook, etc. Basically, you get out of this site as much as you put in.

But what can the site do for you, the writer? It should be obvious that if the members of this site are active, then everyone is promoting everyone else to some extent or another. And that can be a good thing. Also, the site has a Featured Author page, which helps with promotions.

The Independent Author Network also offers connections to The Avid Reader's Cafe and Reader's Choice Books, two sites which help to promote independent authors.

There is an initial, one-time cost to join The Independent Author Network. The price is $24.95, but keep in mind this cost is only once. And as a writer, you could benefit from joining this site, meeting and greeting your peers, and helping yourself by helping others.

Blog tour for November

As my next e-book novel is scheduled for release Nov. 21, I am considering going on a blog tour for the month of November. My thinking is a different site each day, though I realize that offers some challenges because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Still, if anyone is interested in hosting me on their blog for a day that month, I would appreciate it. I can come up with my own ideas for post, or you are more than welcome to throw ideas at me, or even to do an interview or something else entirely. Whatever works for you will likely work for me.

So, if you are interested, contact me through this blog. Leave a post below or e-mail me, whatever works for you. Once, and if, I start to get more than a few who are interested, I'll put together a calendar. If you are interested in my post for a particular date, please let me know and I will try to accomodate.

For those who might not know, my novel is titled "Ghosts of the Asylum," and it is an epic fantasy sequel novel to my Kobalos Trilogy.

Thanks!

100 sites for fiction writers: #61 - Authopublisher

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

Authopublisher

There are plenty of so-called self-publishing experts out there. They can tell you all about their years of experience, about all the books they have published, and usually they can give you a list a mile long of all their accolades. Ivin Viljoen of the Authopublisher blog is not one of those experts. His big claim to fame is he wrote a novel in three days, then self published it within two weeks.

You might be thinking, "Okay, that's a big accomplishment for Ivin, but why should the rest of us pay attention to him?"

Good question.

The answer is simple: Because Ivin seems to know what he's doing.

There's also the fact this blog keeps up with all kinds of self-publishing news, and not just the obvious stuff like book reviews and new e-readers, etc. Ivin also covers a fair amount of technology and other events that can be quite helpful to writers though at first they might not appear to be directly tied to writing. For instance, he has posts about apps, marketing ideas, etc.

The blog covers plenty of news pertaining to Publishing, plus there are Writing Tips and a How-to's section that covers some basics for beginners.

One of the things I like best about this blog is the author doesn't hesitate to report and try new promotions ideas. You can read a lot of familiar, same-old-same-old stuff at plenty of different sites online, but Ivin's blog stretches things to the often unexpected, giving fresh ideas for writers.

It's worth your time to check out.

Books read in 2011: No. 46 - Stonehenge Today and Yesterday

by Frank Stevens

Started: September 28
Finished: October 6

Notes: This is another freebie for the Kindle. This edition is, I believe from 1916, so obviously it is out of date. But I'm really more interested in the thoughts of that time about Stonehenge than I am about Stonehenge itself, at least for this reading. I have seen other versions of this e-book online which include various drawings and chart, but they are not to be found here in my Kindle version. The lack of images is fine with me as I've seen all of them before numerous times and I'm fairly well aware of what Stonehenge looks like and the names and general conditions of the stones to be found there.

Mini review: A quick, easy read, and it covered a lot of ground in a fairly short amount of space. It surprises me how much they knew about Stonehenge even a hundred years ago, though some of the information likely wasn't as precise as it is today. Still, today and then, much about Stonehenge remains a mystery.

Books read in 2011: No. 45 - Format Your Ebook for Kindle in One Hour

by Derek J. Canyon

Started: September 26
Finished: September 26

Notes: I don't do much beyond basic formatting for my e-books, but I'm always interested in picking up anything new. So that's why I decided to read this one.

Mini review: I basically learned something I already knew, that I don't want to get into HTML for formatting my e-books. I know basic HTML, but I find it more cumbersome than necessary for e-books, at for what I do. Still, this e-book did show me a few things in case I should ever want to do them. Worth reading for the basics.

100 sites for fiction writers: #60 - Nookboards

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

Nookboards

In the modern digital publishing world, it seems the Kindle e-reading device gets all the love from the media, fans, readers and even writers. The truth is, however, there are plenty of other dedicated e-reading devices available on the market, one of the more popular of which is the Nook, sold by Barnes & Noble.

It would be a mistake for a writer to ignore the millions of potential customers and fans offered through the Nook. But how to keep up with everything that is Nook related?

Easy. Check out the Nookboards site.

As it appears on first glance, Nookboards is a blog about all things Nook. It's not a blog that is updated often, but that's fine because where this site really shines is in its Forum.

Much like the Kindleboards forum, except for Nook lovers, the Nookboards forum has thousands of users who drop in regularly to discuss the Nook, books, and just about anything else Nook related.

Writers might get frustrated because this forum might seem like just another place to have to watch online, another social network in which one has to follow. But don't look at it like that. Look at Nookboards and its forum as another site for promoting oneself and one's writing.

Of course you don't want to go in with all barrels blazing, only promoting, promoting and promoting. This will drive away and make angry any number of potential fans. Simply go to the site and hang out. Chat with others. Talk about things that interest you. From time to time it will be okay to mention your e-books or books, but don't push. If you try to actively take part in the Nookboard community, people will begin paying attention.

100 sites for fiction writers: #59 - Kickstarter

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

Kickstarter

In days past, it was not uncommon for artists, sometimes even writers, to have a benefactor, someone who paid the bills while allowing the artist to create. That's pretty rare today, however. Or is it?

The website Kickstarter allows artists and writers to do just that. Well, sort of. Instead of seeking out a solitary benefactor, what the writer can do is put up a page about a current or future project while asking for financial aid. Those who want to help can then drop a few dollars (or a whole bunch of dollars, if they want) onto the writer's project. But this is not a handout. No, the artist or writer has to provide something in return, so any financing is more like an investment.

What kind of things can an author offer to investors? Well, a free book or e-book, for one. An author might also offer to include his or her investors by name as characters in the book. Other ideas can come to mind.

Kickstarter is not a fund raising site, however, nor is it meant to be a site to directly pay for an artist's bills, etc. Also, authors are not allowed to make promises of future financial gains to the investors. So, there are some limits, but a lot of those limits make sense so the site cannot be abused.

To learn more about Kickstarter, check out its Guidelines page, or its Blog.