Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Melodie Campbell This month, I will have the privilege of interviewing both Ian Rankin and Linwood Barclay, at separate conferences and festivals. Both are world-renowned crime writers (and wonderfully witty men besides.) As I read through their latest books in order to prepare for being the hostess with the mostess (naughty thoughts aside – […]
by Anne R. Allen Song lyrics inspire a lot of writers. Often a song that means a lot to you may be what inspired your book in the first place. Or you may need to quote those Garth Brooks lyrics to give an authentic tone to that bar scene in your memoir. The band played […]
by Joseph Perry When you sit down to write your book, there are some legal issues that you need to be cognizant of. These include defamation, invasion of privacy, and right of publicity (a form of privacy). There are other items to be aware of as well, but let’s focus on these three for now. […]
by Ruth Harris How often should you water a cactus? What is the name of the president who came before Abraham Lincoln? How do you blow up a bridge? What’s so special about the Sydney opera house? What does SPECTRE stand for? In the course of writing a novel, a writer — one who will […]
The Sensitive Plant (Mimosa Pudica) by Anne R. Allen A friend recently hired several sensitivity readers to review his YA novel, which features characters of diverse ethnicities. He’s about to get on the query-go-round and wants to make sure the book won’t be found insensitive to those minorities. This is becoming increasingly important to the […]
by Anne R. Allen When a writer complains that everybody in traditional publishing is crooked, or that the whole industry is rigged against new writers, you can usually be sure the author’s manuscript needs work. But it could also be that he doesn’t know how to write a query. I know some excellent writers who […]
by Anne R. Allen I’ve blogged before with tips on choosing a book title, but recently I’ve become aware of a few other things we need to consider in the age of online bookselling. I ruminated about titles over the holidays, when I had a chance to read some titles from my TBR pile, and […]
By Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary Who could have predicted the bright ray of light that shined on publishing during this pandemic! But it did shine, and will continue to shine, as people rekindle their love of reading and writing! Publishing is more profitable than ever before in its history…for the second year in a […]
by Anne R. Allen I love to listen to local storytelling events — the ones that mimic the NPR “Moth” Radio Hour stories. They’re popular again in this area after the long shut-down. People gather around to tell true stories about events they’ve experienced. Alcohol or caffeine may be involved. I say they “mimic” the […]
by Barb Drozdowich Hi there and welcome. I come to the publishing world from the realm of technical training, not from a creative mindset. I look at the author world, the world of books, differently than many authors. Because of this, I see common errors that indie authors make which can result in loss of […]
By Anne R. Allen Most writers have probably heard of “Upmarket fiction.” But you may have questions about it. Like, when should you use the term? And how do you figure out if your novel fits in the category? Is it considered a genre, like Romance or Mystery? And is it the same as “Book […]
by Jodie Renner With so many authors self-publishing these days, the best freelance editors are in high demand. So if you’re looking for a knowledgeable, experienced professional editor to help you make your manuscript the best it can be – and improve your overall writing skills in the process – be sure to take some […]
by Anne R. Allen On Friday morning at 7 AM a couple of weeks ago, the landline phone woke me with a call from a woman who wanted to know if I was the author of Food of Love. I said yes, it’s one of my titles, along with 14 other books. Why did she […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris