If what you write has never been edited, it can be quite shocking and somewhat demoralizing. You think you’ve done a great job, and then some editor marks up your manuscript. If you have been part of a critique group that took a little too much joy in beating you up for your writing, you Read more about Why I Offer FREE Samples of My Editing[…]
Do you have a strong passion for what you do? When you talk about your business and tell stories or relate amazing case studies, do people say: “You should write a book?” The most interesting aspect of writing “a book” is that now people will think differently about you because you are an author, an Read more about Writing a Book Can Benefit Your Business[…]
I had edited half of a 20,000-word manuscript that had been written “from the heart,” and the author had done a good job of making his point. However, I started noticing he used some words over and over. I was told this manuscript had been carefully reviewed, and to do a light “proofread,” instead of Read more about Editors Watch for Overused Words[…]
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. —Elmore Leonard Author Leonard knows a thing or two about using words. He published 17 novels and articles—several which were made into movies, starting with westerns and then to fiction, especially crime fiction. When I am working with a “wordy” writer, I relay Leonard’s Read more about Wordiness Kills Clarity[…]
The Right Cover Here, too, if you are going to independently publish your book, you have total control of what goes on the cover. If you are writing a memoir about your great grandfather’s trip from Norway, you might select a photo that depicts his trip or something from his life here. When your book Read more about The Best Title and Cover for Your Book (Part 2)[…]
The title of a book should appeal to the heart; the subtitle to the head. – Kathi Dunn, Dunn & Associates The Best Title If you are going to independently publish your book, you have total control from cover to cover, starting with the cover design and title, to whom writes the blurbs on the Read more about The Best Title and Cover for Your Book (Part 1)[…]
How Writing a Book Can Help Position YOU as an Expert See that little tear? The one I am shedding for all the writers (who want to become published authors) who have been taken advantage of. Sometimes that happens because they are too afraid to admit they don’t “know” the answer—and still forge ahead. OR Read more about Positioning Yourself As an Expert[…]
Do you have a strong passion for what you do? When you talk about your business and tell stories or case studies, do people say: “You should write a book?” The most interesting aspect of writing “a book” is that people perceive you differently. Now you are an author, an expert, albeit self-proclaimed. Your status Read more about Writing a Book Can Benefit Your Business[…]
What do you do if you found that a poem you had written ended up in someone else’s book? This poem is your intellectual property—you wrote it, you own it. Only you can give permission to use it. Getting permission today is easier than ever before. You can do an Internet search for the person, Read more about Getting Permission to Use Someone Else’s Words[…]
When your book is published, you want and need to have reviews posted on Amazon. A lot of people are eager to read a book, but get very nervous when the author asks them to write a review. And we should not have to be “asked,” we should just “write and post” a review. If Read more about Writing Reviews for Other Authors—and Learning About Our Writing[…]