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May 24, 2020 By Anne R. Allen 23 Comments

Is Your Story A Bit Lazy? 5 Ways to Improve the Action in your Story

Is Your Story A Bit Lazy? 5 Ways to Improve the Action in your Story

Improve the action and get your characters moving!  by Meghan Ward Page-turners aren’t the only books that employ action. In every story the characters’ actions drive the narrative forward. Without action, a book would be a series of scenes full of dialogue and description, a literary Dinner with Andre that would put the reader straight […]

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Filed Under: Writing Craft Tagged With: Meghan Ward, the Writer's Grotto, Writing Action

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

August 11, 2013 By Anne R. Allen 24 Comments

Why Go to A Writers Conference? 10 Reflections and 10 Tips to Get the Most out of Your Conference Experience

Why Go to A Writers Conference? 10 Reflections and 10 Tips to Get the Most out of Your Conference Experience

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with writers’ conferences. I’ve been to some that left me dazed and confused (and considerably poorer) but I’ve attended others that energized and inspired me. So are conferences necessary to launch your writing career? No, but it can be a great way to  learn the basics of the […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Bear State Books, Central Coast Writers Conference, Colonel Baker's Field, Joel Friedlander, Judy Salamacha, Meghan Ward, Sara LaPolla, writers conferences

December 2, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 70 Comments

Indie Publishing: Why We Can’t Party Like It’s 2009

Indie Publishing: Why We Can’t Party Like It’s 2009

by Anne R. Allen   Amazon’s Kindle turned five years old last week. What an exciting half-decade it’s been! Jeff Bezos showed his genius when he gave his e-reader that name. The device sparked a conflagration that is still pretty much out of control. The old publishing world is in chaos, and nobody has a […]

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Filed Under: E-Books and Technology for Writers, Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Big 6-5-4, Derek Haines, Jane Friedman, Joe Konrath, KDP Select, Kindle Millionaires, Kobo, Kristen McLean, Mark Coker, Meghan Ward, missing Amazon reviews, Smashwords, sock puppet reviews. Elisa Lorello

October 9, 2011 By Anne R. Allen 75 Comments

Dueling Agent Advice on Blogging. Who Do You Believe?

Dueling Agent Advice on Blogging. Who Do You Believe?

by Anne R. Allen   You’ve probably been reading a lot of conflicting advice recently on the subject of writers and blogs. Some experts are telling us blogging is dead. Agent Wendy Lawton wrote a post on September 15th called “What’s Not Working” and asserted that blogging—and most social networking—is a waste of time for debut authors, […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Blogging, blogs, Kristen Lamb, Lydia Sharp, Meghan Ward, Nathan Bransford, Passive Guy, publishing, Rachelle Gardner, Roni Loren, Scott Nicholson, Social Media, Wendy Lawton, writing

August 21, 2011 By Anne R. Allen 77 Comments

RIP the Author Book Tour—and why you shouldn’t be sad to see it go

RIP the Author Book Tour—and why you shouldn’t be sad to see it go

by Anne R. Allen   We’ve all fantasized about book tours, haven’t we? That glamorous trip we’ll take when our novel makes it big? Our publisher will send us off in a whirlwind of glamorous travel: booksignings, readings, and personal appearances with our adoring fans all over the country—maybe the world! But this week, BookTour.com […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: Alan Rinzler, Anne R. Allen, Blog tour, BookTour.com, Catherine Ryan Hyde, David Gaughran, Food of Love, Gravatar.com, Jacqueline Susann, Kindlegraph, Kristen Lamb, Meghan Ward, Pay it Forward

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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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