Comma, semicolon or colon, which one should I use? Have I mixed past and present tense verbs in my story? Do my subjects and verbs agree? Do I have misplaced modifiers? Aaahhh. English grammar can be infuriating and confusing. But a manuscript riddled with incorrect grammar is a sure-fire trip to File 13. What do you…
Do you have a book releasing soon, or one already on the market? Doing local radio station interviews is a good way to get the word out about your book. These local interviews also help you break into the public speaking arena on a more comfortable level. You’ll gain experience and practice that will help…
As writers we know we have to hook our reader at the onset — no matter what it is we’re writing. But as novelists, the opening act of our story needs to accomplish six tasks to keep our readers interested and wanting to know what’s just around the bend. For the next several Tuesday Writing…
I met today’s Friday feature author Nshan Erganian through the local writers’ guild I belong to here in St. Joseph, Missouri. He’s a very interesting guy with quite a sense of humor. But I think you’ll discover that for yourselves as you read his interview. Q: What did you know going into this whole publishing…
Last week I had to complete the back cover copy for my upcoming book, Carried by Grace. The very next day I had two friends ask me about back cover copy. So I thought I would address that topic today.
We all know it’s important to take a break now and then no matter what line of work we do. But it’s even more important to refresh and re-energize ourselves when we’ve completed a big project. I recently completed the final draft of a manuscript and sent it off to writers and readers for feedback….
All the gurus say it: “Include a quality image with your blog post.” And with the rapidly growing popularity of Pinterest, many authors have created a Pinterest business account. They pin attention grabbing, irresistible graphics that drive traffic to their blogs, market their books, and build their platform. I agree, but I am neither artistic nor versed in…
Our Friday Feature author interview today is with Cynthia T. Toney. Her book, Bird Face, released February 2014 and is garnering nothing but 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon. Let’s dive in. Debra: How did you choose the publishers you queried for your book? Cynthia: I looked for publishers that didn’t always follow trends in…