Many of us write because we believe we have a message God wants us to share. In fact, our first book is often about lessons learned from a personal experience that we believe will help others. We want to convey information that will help others navigate and conquer a similar problem. That was certainly the…
You submitted your manuscript to several publishers simultaneously. But that was 3 months ago and you haven’t heard a word. You submitted your book to a contest, but winners won’t be announced for another 6 months. Then after all that waiting you get nothing but rejection letters and your contest entry didn’t even make the…
You’re quoting the Bible in your book and many of the verses use LORD in small caps. But you don’t know how to get those little capitals so you type LORD in your manuscript. Or maybe you missed the fact completely that Lord was in all caps. I see that often in the nonfiction manuscripts I edit….
Search engine optimization. Otherwise known as SEO. If you’ve been writing for the web, more than likely you’ve heard this term even if you don’t understand it. I recently had my admin assistant do a Google search for several keywords, among them were editor and freelance editor. Ahhh! My website didn’t turn up anywhere in…
Welcome to this month’s Friday Feature Author Interview. Today I’m visiting with Dr. Stephanie M. Carter. She is an author, bible teacher, ordained minister, and women’s life coach of a ministry called Grace to Live Coaching. Her journey of God’s direction in writing this book is inspiring. Grab your java or tea and then let’s…
You’re writing your story in multiple point of view. How do you keep track of how many scenes you have in each POV? Your story has a specific time frame. How do you track your scenes to ensure you follow that timeline? Maybe your story takes place in 5 different cities. How can you ensure…
You want to get published. You want to get your book to the best seller lists. Maybe you’d just like to see your book sales adding up and receive a decent royalty check every month. But it isn’t happening. Instead you find yourself in a daily battle with the big D—discouragement. So what do you…
This month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story. Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story. However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story.