Blog Posts
Book Editing As a Form of Creative Discovery
Good book editing ensures a book is credible for its market and has the best chance of pleasing its readers. But the editor’s contribution goes well beyond grammar, spelling, and house style. Self-publishers have the opportunity to use an editor to bring out their...
The 13 Most Common Self-Publishing Mistakes to Avoid
From poor front cover designs to skipping 'beta reading', this post presents 13 self-publishing mistakes a self-publishing author like you should avoid. For every new venture, there is a learning curve. When it comes to self-publishing your book, however, that curve...
How to Improve Your Creativity
Curiosity might kill the cat, but will definitely not kill you. While it might be argued that creativity is sometimes an unpredictable flash of genius, it can also be more creative and innovative systematically.
5 Ways To Handle Bad Reviews
Getting bad reviews, and I mean a really bad review that is angry, vicious and unjustified (as if you killed their dog!) is an awful feeling. And believe me, whether you’re Stephen King, J.K.Rowling, or Dean Koontz, all authors will get them. But relax, breathe, and...
4 Tips to Successfully Co-Author Your Next Book
I have co-authored several books with different authors over the years. And I am currently working on two more collaborative projects right now. I have found co-authoring a book can be powerful. I first stumbled upon this idea in 2009 when I first met Heather Hart....
Tips to Better Author Productivity
Being a published author can be a daunting task. We are trained to never put all our eggs in one big uncertain basket, so we take a day job and write in our free time. But that can hinder author productivity so here are some insights to help you prevent burning...
3 Things Your Traditional Publisher Is Unlikely to Do
Years ago, when I still worked for a traditional publisher, I wrote a blog post about the No. 1 disappointment of all published authors: the lack of marketing support from their publisher. This was back when social media was still a fringe pastime, limited mostly to...
15 Creative and Easy Ways to Market your Book
Book marketing is one thing that is always on the mind of an author, but most authors feel like they can’t market their books without a large sum of money at hand and in the bank, which is not necessarily true! There are several ways to promote one’s book without...
6 Ways to Add Depth to Your Narrative
You might be surprised to learn that “seasoned” writers will still, on occasion, get this highly vague editing note: Add More Depth. This might refer to a character, a setting, a scene, and yes—even backstory (when appropriate). The following 6 ways are by no means...
14 Books Every Writer Needs on their Shelf
Here is a list of fourteen books on writing every writer needs on their shelf. Some of these books could be used as a reference to solve a specific problem, like “Form the possessive singular of nouns with ‘s.” That answer is on page one of The Elements of Style. Or maybe you have a dragon called Resistance every time you try and sit down to write and you need to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Or maybe you need to figure out how to make the reader care about your villain, and you need to read Save The Cat by Blake Snyder.
At A Glance
