Writing about writing. Mostly.
Is your book as endangered as the Siberian Tiger? by Ruth Harris You’ve kinda/sorta finished your book/first draft/whachamacallit. In drastic cases, it could even be an outline that’s gone off the rails and landed in a ditch. But. Your original brilliant idea is drowning in a sea of ugly clutter. There are dust bunnies in […]
Amazon’s review rules are enforced by robocops. by Anne R. Allen One of the things we can do when we’re hunkered down at home during the pandemic is read books. And after we finish something, it’s helpful to other readers and authors if we write a review. (Good karma, too. 🙂 ) But that review […]
by Anne R. Allen A lot of the problems new novelists and memoirists encounter stem from one thing. I see their plaintive posts and emails all the time. “I self-published my novel last year and promoted it free with a Bookbub ad, but after the freebie run, I’ve only sold a handful of books.” “I’ve […]
Clueless advice abounds. Everybody’s an expert. by Anne R. Allen I’m always amazed at the people who start giving me advice as soon as they hear I’m a writer. Even though I’ve been published for over 30 years, they’re always sure they know more than I do. And it’s worse for new writers. They’re bombarded […]
5 common mental traps: how to ID them, how to fight back by Ruth Harris Last week Anne wrote about scams and scammers — the enemies out there ready to pounce on unwary writers. This week I want to follow up with some words about the enemies within — the traps writers set for themselves. Traps […]
Lurking predators are always coming up with new publishing scams. by Anne R. Allen I read a quote recently from an indie author who said he felt sorry for new writers who fall for scammy vanity publishers — because they obviously have no writer friends to clue them in. It is true that networking with […]
Fire up your fiction and don’t give anybody a reason to reject your novel by Jodie Renner …fiction editor and author of writing guides Have your trusted friends or beta readers told you your WIP novel is too long, confusing, or just doesn’t grab them? Here are some typical “big-picture” weaknesses to watch out for […]
by Anne R. Allen Recently I got a furious Facebook message from a stranger who accused me of “using her life” in one of my books. It’s amazing how sometimes life imitates fiction. She had apparently been a Facebook friend, and she dramatically unfriended me after sending a distraught DM describing the traumas in her […]
by Ruth Harris One of them is lying. Or are both of them lying? You mean maybe both of them are telling the truth? Could be, couldn’t it? No matter which answer is the correct one, what people say and the words with which they say it, will immediately bring your characters—and your book—to life. […]
Don’t embarrass yourself with a clueless query. by Anne R. Allen I don’t know why, but I’ve recently been hit with a barrage of requests from new writers who want me to critique their query letters. Most of them come from LinkedIn, which I’ve happily ignored for years, but for some reason I’m suddenly getting […]
BookBub: You can use it even if you can’t afford their ads. by Anne R. Allen Isn’t BookBub Just a Bargain Ebook Newsletter? They started out with the daily bargain newsletter. And it’s still going strong. BookBub has become the most successful of all the bargain newsletters in the US and UK. As a reader, […]
2020 Publishing Predictions by Laurie McLean, Co-founder of Fuse Literary Agency Hello again, everyone. I love creating this look-ahead in publishing each year. It makes me pick my head up and take a longer view of the industry than my normal routine of concentrating on the picayune changes in publishing contracts, the art of selling […]
Happy New Year from Anne and Ruth! With our sincere best wishes for a festive holiday and rewarding 2020. We love our readers and appreciate every one of you. Thank you for keeping us going for the last 10 years! Here are some things coming up on the blog in the next few months. Agent […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris