Here at IU, we do our best to stay up-to-date on sites that are helpful to indies, whether that’s advice on writing, lessons learned on self-publishing, or ways to market and promote books. Keeping our finger on the pulse is difficult, however, just because the digital world changes so rapidly. Since we’re not dealing with brick and mortar stores anymore, businesses can (and do) change their operating procedures at the drop of a hat. We’ve seen it over and over: a site starts out giving free information, but then suddenly a paywall goes up and you have to ante up to get the good stuff. Or a site offers free promotions, but then switches to a paid process. We all know it costs money to keep a business going, so moving to a paid service is not surprising. But like everything else online, the important thing to consider is: are you getting value for your money? Continue reading “Book Reviews for Sale: Tomoson”
Tag: paid book reviews
To Kirkus, or Not, Times Two
Guest Post
by GJ Berger
My sometimes serious writing journey started when snail mail and slush piles were common, when Internet queries were just getting going, and credible self-published fiction was mostly unknown. Back then, my second completed novel landed a solid NYC agent, came close to getting picked up by a couple of Big Houses, but in the end some eight years later, I had neither an agent nor a traditional publishing deal.
I did now, in early 2012, have a third novel in good shape and had not lost the yearning to find readers. The new path to self-publishing now looked open and far more worthy than it had been just five or six years before. I decided to try it. Continue reading “To Kirkus, or Not, Times Two”
Meet Karen Schechner from Kirkus Reviews
If you’ve been kicking at this indie thing for a while, you might be familiar with Kirkus Indie, an arm of Kirkus Reviews that offers a paid review service for indie authors. The prices can be steep, which has been a point of contention in the indie community. I had the opportunity to meet Karen Schechner, senior indie editor at Kirkus Reviews, at a self-publishing conference in New York. After an interesting and rather aerobic discussion with Karen and another author in an elevator after lunch break, I invited her to come by IU and give her side of the issue.