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January 14, 2018 By Anne R. Allen 65 Comments

The One Thing That Will Kill Book Sales Dead—And 10 Ways to Avoid it.

The One Thing That Will Kill Book Sales Dead—And 10 Ways to Avoid it.

Don’t kill book sales dead with a less than enticing “look inside” sample. by Anne R. Allen I never have as much time to read as I think I will, and my trusty old Kindle is pretty loaded up. So I’m a picky book-buyer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of readers like me out here, […]

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Filed Under: E-Books and Technology for Writers, Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, Writing Craft Tagged With: book editing, first chapters, Look Inside, Novel openers, The Best Revenge

November 16, 2014 By Anne R. Allen 31 Comments

Feel Like Popping Your Editor? Keep Calm and Read This.

Most writers know we require editors. The need for editing is drummed into us from the time we venture into our first writing class, blog, or forum. We know if we’re offered a contract, we’ll be assigned an in-house editor, and if we self-publish, we’ll want to hire a freelancer.These days, agents do a lot […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, Writing Craft Tagged With: book editing, Editing, Freelance book editors, how much should you pay a book editor, Jami Gold, Judy Probus, Meghan Ward, Types of Editing

July 27, 2014 By Ruth Harris 44 Comments

EDITS, EDITORS, EDITING—The Secret Weapon of Every Successful Writer

by Ruth Harris   Editing is life. The blue tie? Or the yellow one? Peter or Paul? Or Mary? You’re an editor—whether or not you know it yet—because to edit is to choose. As a former editor, I’m obviously biased. As a writer, I’ve learned that for me (and for just about every writer I […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: Belinda Pollard, book editing, Joanna Penn, Ruth Harris, Self-Editing, Style Sheet, The Chanel Caper, Types of Editing, Victoria Mixon

May 4, 2014 By Anne R. Allen 129 Comments

How To Write For the 21st Century Reader: 6 Tips to Modernize Your Prose

How To Write For the 21st Century Reader: 6 Tips to Modernize Your Prose

by Anne R. Allen   Publishing isn’t the only thing that’s being transformed by the digital age. Reading and writing themselves are evolving.We may not like it, but as writers, we need to be aware that our audience’s habits are changing. Last month I wrote about how to format your blog for easy skimming, and unfortunately, […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, E-Books and Technology for Writers, Writing Craft Tagged With: 21st Century prose, 21st Century readers, advice for writers, book editing, Camilla Randall mysteries, How to write a bestselling novel, how to write Web content, James Patterson

October 28, 2012 By Ruth Harris 35 Comments

8 Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Your Book—Tips from a New York Times Bestselling Author

8 Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Your Book—Tips from a New York Times Bestselling Author

  This week we have some serious nuts-and-bolts advice from our own Ruth Harris. Ruth learned this stuff from both sides of the editorial desk, as an editor at Bantam & Dell, publisher at Kensington–and as a New York Times bestselling author of women’s fiction and thrillers. Since I’m in the middle of editing my […]

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Filed Under: Writing Craft Tagged With: book editing, Compose magazine, Hollywood scandal, How to edit your own work, Kill Your Darlings, Love and Money, Ruth Harris, Self-Editing, Writing tips

March 18, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 56 Comments

When Should an Author Hire an Editor?

When Should an Author Hire an Editor?

by Anne R. Allen     First: This week marks the anniversary of that fateful day three years ago when I started this blog…and then promptly lost it. But luckily I found it a few months later, and this blog now gets an average of 12,000 hits a month on its four monthly posts and […]

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Filed Under: Scams and Alerts for Writers, The Publishing Business, Writing Craft Tagged With: book doctors, book editing, Edit Ink scam, Freelance book editors, how much should you pay a book editor, Kristin Lamb, Natalie Whipple, proofreading, slow blogging

Anne's Latest Book

The Hour of the Moth

The Hour of the Moth
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Diamonds Are For Now

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writers digest 101 best websites for writers award

Anne R. AllenAnne R. Allen writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. She’s a contributor to Writer’s Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Ruth Harris NYT best selling authorRuth is a million-copy New York Times bestselling author, Romantic Times award winner, former Big 5 editor, publisher, and news junkie.

Her emotional, entertaining women’s fiction and critically praised novels have sold millions of copies in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions, been translated into 19 languages, sold in 30 countries, and were prominent selections of leading book clubs including the Literary Guild and the Book Of The Month Club.

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