INDIES UNLIMITED by Dick Waters

When it comes to writing, do you have everything you need, or do you know everything you need to know? I still don’t. There are times when I need to research an element of writing. One of the first resources I go to over the years is INDIESUNLIMITED.COM. It is a free site dedicated to independent authors like myself. I highly recommend the site, not only for answers to writing questions, but as a source of interesting information related to writing

From a research standpoint, they have a “Knowledge Base” that provides information on different writing elements. For example, do you have “book trailers” for your books? If you are interested in creating a book trailer, why not visit this site to see how you can create one?

They also have “Tutorials” on many subjects, as well as a “Search” bar, if you need to find information on a particular subject quickly.

If you would like more people to know about you, why not try their weekly free Flash Fiction competition. Each Saturday morning, they post a picture prompt and open the competition. Can you come up with a story (max 250 words) by Tuesday evening? Voting is open to the public until Thursday evening. The winning entry is announced on Saturday morning.

One of the great benefits of the competition is that it gets your name and your story in front of a world-wide audience. Another benefit is that if your story is selected by the editors, it will be published, along with other selected stories in an annual “Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Anthology.” Some of my stories were lucky enough to be published in this manner.

Wouldn’t it be a nice reward to have your story listed in the weekly competition, not to mention if it was the winning entry? In addition, if your work was selected for the Anthology publication, it would be another way of getting your name known to the world. Wouldn’t being published for free be a valuable gift to a potential unknown author?

Indies Unlimited has been in existence for over eight years. During that time, it has been a resource for my writing needs, an outlet for my creativity, and a source of valued friendships. Kat Brooks, who maintains the many aspects of the site, dedicates many hours to the work. The fact that the site was recognized as one of ‘Six Great Blogs for Indie Authors’ by Publishers Weekly, might be another reason to check the site out.

From a personal perspective – if I had discovered this site earlier, it would have saved me thousands of dollars…Yes, I am embarrassed to say, I was the victim of a Publisher, who turned out to be a “Vanity Press.” Don’t know when you are being taken advantage of? Maybe, you should check out the Indies Unlimited site, to prevent yourself from being a victim.

I can proudly say, I have learned better. I took my rights back! Don’t know how to do that? Check out the site for some facts. I am now a self-published author of six novels and two anthologies of my flash fiction and other short stories. As I mentioned, also published in Indies Unlimited Anthologies. All of my novels have book trailers, which I can credit IU for providing the information I needed to create them. 

I also use the Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction competition to periodically write an entry, primarily, to put a tear in my eye, or a smile on my face, and hopefully, someone else’s.

While you have many sources for helpful information related to writing aspects, please check out the Indies Unlimited website as a supplemental source, as well as a site to advertise your work and to potentially improve your skills. 

Dick (Rich) Waters lives in the Valley of the Sun near Phoenix, Arizona. A former resident of New England, he enjoys the beauty and sunny days of the Arizona desert. His novels include Branded for Murder, Serial Separation, Scent of Gardenia and others. Dick has agreed to serve as the new Arizona Authors Association Literary Magazine editor. Learn more about him at: Arizona Authors Association and at Amazon