Author: K.S. Brooks

K.S. Brooks is an award-winning novelist, photographer, and photo-journalist, author of over 30 titles, and executive director and administrator of Indies Unlimited. Brooks is currently a photo-journalist and chief copy editor for two NE Washington newspapers.  She teaches self-publishing and writing topics for the Community Colleges of Spokane, and served on the Indie Author Day advisory board. For more about K.S. Brooks, visit her website and her Amazon author page.

LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links

Linked In ProfileThis past Sunday, Rosanne Dingli explained why authors and businesspeople should be on LinkedIn.  You can read her article here. Once you’re on LinkedIn, there are a couple of things you can do to get better exposure. The method many people agree has the most impact is the “links” section.

In the screen capture to the left, you can see at the very bottom there is a heading called “Websites.” This is where LinkedIn allows you to supply a maximum of three external links. Many people just put in their http address and leave it at that. But LinkedIn allows you to do something even better – actually describe where the link goes – so there isn’t a bunch of ugly html sitting on your profile and people have a clue what they’re clicking. Continue reading “LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links”

Most Common Manuscript Mistakes

Author K. S. Brooks
Author K. S. Brooks

I’ve been honored a number of times to participate in a Novel Writing Contest as a Top Tier Judge. During those contests, I’ve seen a lot of manuscripts. Some showed good promise and strong writing skills. Others made me want to stab myself repeatedly rather than read further. In most cases, these authors all made the same mistakes, the most common of which I’ve listed below.

A good editor would pick up on these bad habits. If you don’t have the luxury of hiring an editor, then you should pay special care to avoiding the list below. (Even if you do hire an editor, avoiding these pitfalls will make their job easier.) And now, in no particular order, I present to you the “Most Common Manuscript Mistakes.” Continue reading “Most Common Manuscript Mistakes”

Oh, for Tweet’s Sake

Author K. S. BrooksSo many people complain about Twitter.  “I don’t get it” or “it’s a waste of time” or “why does anyone want to know what I’m doing” or “I don’t see how it can sell books.”  Yeah, that was me, too, a while back.  Then I decided to grab Twitter by the…eh, well, whatever one would grab it by and use it how I wanted.

Honestly? I get most of my news from Twitter. It’s fast and easy and I can glance down my home page and see headlines on subjects which interest me. Not what Yahoo! or CNN wants me to see – what I want to see. And it’s easy. Continue reading “Oh, for Tweet’s Sake”

Common Synopsis Issues

Author K. S. Brooks
Author K. S. Brooks

When soliciting agents or publishers, the synopsis is one of your most important tools. It’s a direct reflection of you, your writing skills, and therefore, your manuscript. Yes, synopses are not easy to write – “if I could have written it in one page, I wouldn’t have written 300…” Just the same, if someone doesn’t want to read 300 – you have but one page in which to inspire them. Sure, I understand, but think of your synopsis as your book’s resume. If the resume stinks, your book won’t get the job.

Here are some of the most common Dos and Don’ts I’ve noticed when it comes to synopses, not in any particular order:

#1 – Being mysterious or cryptic does not draw in the reader, it makes them work harder to try and figure out what’s going on. Never make extra work for an agent or publisher! Continue reading “Common Synopsis Issues”