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Do Readers Care About Your Fiction Characters?
Action is my habit. When I briskly type out an initial draft of a scene, the early rendition reveals a pesky ritual of churning my characters through conflict after conflict, plowing them through...
Thoughts on Plots (and whatnot) with James Thayer
When people ask what your book is about, they are really asking about the plot. A response: "It's about two German Shepherds sniffing for buried treasure," only scrapes the surface. Why dogs? Why...
Author Teddy Wayne’s Tips for Book Publishing Publicity
I'll be honest with you. I just wrote an entirely new scene in a different POV and tense for my novel RADIO HEAD, inspired by the phenomenal workshop I attended at UCLA with instructor Lisa Cron....
Lit Agent Laurie Abkemeier’s Advice on Connecting with Readers
The only thing better than buzz about your new book is PRE buzz resulting in pre-orders. I follow agent Laurie Abkemeier (Brian DeFiore & Co.) on Twitter, and found this blog post by Erin Reel...
Reflections of an author’s year of revisions
This morning I stumbled upon Nova Ren Suma's refreshing blog post: The Year I Revised My Novel Seven Times. Is it simple enough for me to say that I'm touched by her tender and satisfied account of...
The Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Querying Literary Agents
Generally, I try to spare you overly lengthy blog posts. Most writers work from home and already have enough temptation to procrastinate from our craft with lame excuses such as folding laundry or...
Upcoming Book Release? 5 Things Writers Should Do
Author Inara Scott sold her novel, Delcroix Academy: The Candidates, in October 2007. The book wasn’t released until August 2010. "This, you might think, would be ample time to plan my promotion...
10 Life Lessons from Syndicated Writer, Author, Teacher and Chef Monica Bhide
This must-read guest post comes from the impressive and always lovable Monica Bhide, author of three cookbooks, the blog A Life of Spice and syndicated columnist of SEASONINGS, distributed by the...
Lit Agent Tina Wexler’s 6.5 Tips for Impressing Agents
6 ½. Take this getting-published thing seriously. There’s plenty of fun to be had, but remember, this is a business, not a hobby or a get-rich-quick scheme. Agents want hard workers, writers dedicated to their craft who view getting published as the first step of a long journey, writers whom they will want to be with on that journey.
Intrepid Insider’s view of E-book Sales – The Real Deal
Opting to self-manage the publication of your book can be highly lucrative--and personally satisfying. For writers clutching a coveted publishing contract with a large publishing house, most of the...
14 Rocking Good NaNoWriMo Tips
With an entirely out-of-control outline tipping the scales at over 12,000 words, I dove headfirst this fine November 1st on a journey to make a messy manuscript my own personal heaven. Yes, I wrote...
18 random thoughts about creativity – Not just for writers
What can we say about creativity? Joel Friedlander, a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at spends a lot of time...
Impact Your Career: 7 Free-to-Enter Writing Competitions
I love learning about an author's journey from first word to published book. Wooing an agent and publisher in this industry can be grueling; slush piles grow and opportunities to surprise and...
Act One: 10 Essential Elements
I'm a little addicted to the The Script Lab. As I worry over and scrutinize my fiction novel, tweets about screen-writing from @TheScriptLab interject with lucid, helpful, applicable ideas. My blog...
Help for future writers – Free Phonics DVD set from Rock ‘N Learn
Attention moms and dads (and TEACHERS!) of children aged 6 and older: I'm giving away a FREE set of Rock 'N Learn Phonics DVDs, volumes One and Two. Rock 'N Learn, Inc. began as an idea that would...
Seth Godin’s advice for authors’ About pages
When someone comes to your site for the first time, they're likely to hit "about" or "bio," says author and marketing genius Seth Godin. Why? "Because they want a human, a story and reassurance,"...
5 Key Questions Every Book Proposal Must Answer
The book proposal may require as much time to prepare as your first draft of your manuscript. Or perhaps your fifth. While there are several schools of thought on what agents specifically look for...
6 tips for promoting your book on Facebook
Every writer's "other" job is self-styled marketing machine. My bet is because you spend so much time on the computer anyway, your fave form of communication with the outside world is the written...
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