Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Ruth Harris Your title is just right for your genre. Your cover is on-target, too. Perfect image, just-so font, come-hither colors. This is a cover that will end up in the book cover wing of the Louvre. You know, that premium spot right next to the Mona Lisa. Your blurb is totally irresistible. I […]
Today we have a guest post on writing a query letter from literary agent Lucinda Halpern. I realize many of our readers are indie authors or plan to publish independently. But these rules are important for any kind of query: to a reviewer, editor or blogger as well. by Lucinda Halpern Writers put so much love and […]
by Anne R. Allen This week I saw links to a couple of threads on social media about reader pet peeves. Then Buzzfeed weighed in, listing some of the biggest complaints from fiction readers. Some peeves are predictable but others are kind of surprising. I do some of this stuff myself, so I was grateful […]
How’s Your Amazon Bio? Can it sell books by the truckload? Today’s guest post is an excerpt from How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon: 2021 Amazon Ads Powerhouse Edition by Penny Sansevieri, Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, a cutting edge book marketing firm. By Penny Sansevieri Since I first published […]
by Ruth Harris Who has used this secret superpower to achieve success? Tom Brady, Quarterback. A recent article on the sports page about Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Quarterback Tom Brady preparing himself and his team for the Superbowl grabbed my attention. According to the story, one of Brady’s habits throughout a season is to create a […]
Storytelling isn’t as easy as it seems by Anne R. Allen Making mistakes is how we learn. Some beginning writer mistakes are so common they’re almost a rite of passage. Here are five I see all the time. I think I did every one when I was starting out. Taking “Show Don’t Tell” to Extremes […]
A romantic hero is great on Valentine’s Day, but will ever-aftering be happy? by Tara Sparling Introduction: We love our romantic heroes, both on the page and onscreen. But what would it be like to truly live with one in real life… during a pandemic? It’s Valentine’s Day. And for the first time in forever, […]
Are you ready to publish? by Anne R. Allen If you’ve used the pandemic lockdown as a time to write that novel you always knew you had in you, congratulations! You’ve taken the depressing, horrific lemon that was 2020 and turned it into literary lemonade. You deserve a great big “Congrats!” and several pats on […]
by Ruth Harris My encounters with reader mail go back a long way. My first job as a very young editor at Bantam included slogging through the slush pile and answering reader mail. No internet or email those days. Everything was done the old fashioned way — by hand. I’ve written before about my adventures in […]
by Joseph Perry You finally received the call from your agent that you’re going to be a published author. Congratulations! All the hard work and months (or years) of attending workshops, writers’ groups, and revising and revising again have paid off. As excited as you may be, the next step, negotiating the publishing agreement, may […]
by Nate Hoffleder If you Google author bios you will find a million different articles, each with their own recommendation. Be short and too the point. Use the third person. Simply say who you are, and give your publishing credits. Be formulaic. A lot of this advice is good, but I also think it is […]
Publishing scammers prey on newbies and seasoned pros alike by Anne R. Allen 2020 was a terrible year in so many ways. But one group seems to have thrived: the scammer community. Publishing scammers are everywhere now. I hear about new ones every week, each more heartbreaking than the one before. And more outrageous. Phishing […]
Publishing Predictions: Laurie McLean Looks in her Crystal Ball by Laurie McLean Hold onto your pens, people…it’s going to be a wild ride. It’s that time of year again. I present to you Predictions in Publishing: the 2021 Edition! It’s hard to believe that last year at this time I was bemoaning the fact that […]
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