Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published
As writers, we all know how important it is to make our story as strong as possible. We also know that we each have our specific weaknesses in writing.
Maybe for you that weakness is grammar, or spelling, or passive voice.
Maybe you are too wordy.
Today, I’m going to show you how to use MS Word’s readability statistics to help clean up those kinds of errors. [Read more…] about How to Use Readability Statistics to Improve Your Manuscript
I’ve never been a co-author before, but I have no doubt it has it’s unique benefits and challenges.
Today, I’m visiting with Mary Potter Kenyon and Mary Jedlicka Humston, co-authors of Mary & Me: A Lasting Link Through Ink, which released earlier this month. Be sure to check out the details below for a chance to win a free signed copy of the book.
Let’s find out how these two Marys managed co-authoring.
What was it like to co-author? [Read more…] about What’s it like to co-author?
Every writer has words she or he uses too often. I call them crutch words. Words like “well, smiled, laughed, however, tears, cried” etc., in addition to adverb usage.
These words aren’t easily spotted when you revise simply because you’re looking at other things like character and plot development.
So today I’m going to show you how to find those words whether you use MS Word or Scrivener. [Read more…] about How to find overused words in your manuscript
Do you want to get published? Then learning how to write a book proposal that captures the editor is essential.
I’m not an expert on book proposals, but here are three people who are and their advice on writing book proposals.
Michael Hyatt is a best selling author and [Read more…] about How to Write a Book Proposal: Advice from 3 Experts
Are you a fan of book series? What avid reader isn’t.
Today’s guest RJ Thesman is author of the Life at Cove Creek series. Her book Final Grace for Reverend G released today and is the third and final installment of the series about Reverend G and her battle with Alzheimer’s.
And because it’s launch day, RJ is offering a free copy of Final Grace for Reverend G to one winner. See below for contest details.
RJ Thesman writes as a daughter whose mother is disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease. Her hope is that [Read more…] about Author RJ Thesman on Getting Published
When it comes to marketing strategy, I’m a babe barely out of the cradle. What I know today I’ve learned by reading articles and by the mistakes I’ve made marketing my own books.
I wish I could tell you my efforts to market Carried by Grace have been a wild success—they haven’t. What I can tell you is I’ve done everything wrong.
Thankfully, I can start over.
The majority of writers I talk to tell me they dislike marketing. As an introvert, I haven’t particularly enjoyed it either.
Writers want to write. I get that. But the fact is, today’s writers must be engaged in marketing.
If you intend to make any money selling your book, you have to spend time marketing. So, the Marine in me is going to tell you to suck it up and deal with it. Your bad attitude only makes the time you do spend marketing that much more miserable.
I’m still learning the world of marketing strategy, but I’ve finally begun to get a better grasp on it. Today, I’d like to share my latest insights that I hope will not only make my tasks of marketing easier, but yours too. [Read more…] about 6 Lessons I Learned about Marketing Strategy from Playing Board Games
Oh those pesky dialogue tags.
Said.
Asked.
Replied.
Responded.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on what to use.
What’s a writer to do?
In the multitude of manuscripts I read, I see writers employ such things as “Sally smiled” or “Gerald laughed.” In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when the writer uses it as a substitute for “she said” and suddenly the character is constantly smiling or laughing.
Generally, a reader needs to have an identifier every 4-5 lines of dialogue in order to stay on track with who is speaking. So a tag isn’t required every time someone speaks (but I’ve seen writers do just that).
Let’s look at an alternative to the dialogue tag. [Read more…] about Those Pesky Dialogue Tags
Last week I posted the submission guidelines to 6 magazines. I do this on a regular basis. Why? Because writing for periodicals is one of the best ways to hone your writing skills.
Today’s guest, multi-published author Ava Pennington, has a great deal of expertise in this area and is here today to discuss 6 reasons why you should write for periodicals.
By Ava Pennington [Read more…] about Why Write for Periodicals?