The advice “show, don’t tell” can frustrate authors. Telling isn’t bad, but it can ruin a novel if overdone or done at the wrong moment. Learn how to spot your told prose so you can edit it to shown prose, if the scene calls for it.
Read Blog »Category: Resources for Writers
Dealing with a Heavily Edited Manuscript
It can be a blow to your ego to get a heavily edited manuscript back from your editor and all the tracking can seem too overwhelming to deal with. So learn various methods for approaching a heavily edited manuscript with confidence. You can do hard things and publish a great book. Deep breaths and let’s dive in!
Read Blog »Strategies to Reduce Wordiness
Using these strategies, you can learn to write more concise, powerful sentences. Learn how to get rid of unnecessary wordiness through a variety of strategies.
Read Blog »Action Beats: It’s All about Dem Beats
Action beats reveal a character’s movement, emotions, and motivations; affect the rhythm and tension of the scene; and can establish the setting. Learn how to write effective action beats and use them purposefully.
Read Blog »6 Self-Editing Tasks to Reduce Your Editing Costs
If you can afford full editing services, you should do so. With that said, the more thoroughly you self-edit, the less your full service editing services will cost you. This blog outlines five self-editing tasks you can do to reduce your editing costs.
Read Blog »Proofreading: Your Last Line of Defense
Proofreading is a vital part of the production process; it is a separate service from editing. Learn why it’s important, what it entails—including cost and turnaround time—why your editor shouldn’t also be your proofreader, and how to get the most from your proofreader.
Read Blog »The Cost of Editing & How to Stay in Your Budget
Editing is expensive because it is a specialized skill, takes time, and editors have other expenses. But it helps if you understand why editors charge what they do. This blog explains why you aren’t being ripped off and why paying rock-bottom rates may not be a good idea. It also outlines various ways you can save on the cost of editing if you have budget restraints.
Read Blog »How to Build and Grow Your Author Newsletter
You can increase your book sales by creating a newsletter to share with your email list. This blog walks you through six steps to building your newsletter and growing your audience. By following this step-by-step guide, you too can build your newsletter, grow your audience quickly, and sell your subscribers your backlist and new releases.
Read Blog »5 Unnecessary Explanations to Avoid in Fiction Writing
Authors often include unnecessary explanations, which can annoy and frustrate readers. Trust your readers to follow your plot and your characters’ development without explanations. This blog discusses five types of unnecessary explanations and gives examples so you can avoid overexplaining your novel’s plot and characters.
Read Blog »11 Steps to Creating Your Own Style Sheet
This tutorial walks authors through the process of creating their own style sheets. At the end, I have included some free downloadable style sheet templates.
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