K.M. Allan's Blog: K.M. Allan, page 2
June 29, 2025
June 2025 Roundup
Welcome to the June 2025 roundup!
And here we are, 6 months into 2025. I really do feel like it was just January, so to know we’re halfway through the year is a little bit mind-blowing. The time has gone by so fast, especially this month, which was just a whirlwind of weeks as I finally released the two checklists books I’ve been working on for over a year!
Writing and Editing Checklists, and its free companion ebook, Authoring Checklists, are available now in all markets. As usual, there were some hiccups, such as Amazon AU flip-flopping on the paperback price. I’ve seen it listed at a pre-order price of $50 AUD, $75 on release, then anything between $45-$60 AUD depending on the day. Why they do this, I have no idea, but a week after release, the price finally settled on the very reasonable $24.74 AUD and has stayed there, so if you wanted to grab the paperback on Zon AU, get it here at a great price. All the buy links for other retailers and countries can be found here, and you can download the free Authoring Checklists ebook here.
Thank you to everyone who spread the word on social media, recommended the books to others, and bought copies for themselves. I hope you find all the tips, info, and checklists helpful for your own work. I know I’ll be using them as I jump back into writing a new book for the first time in two years!
As for what else I got up to in June, read on…
As you can imagine, this month, a lot of my writing time was taken up with promo for the checklist book launches. I had grand plans to get everything ready and then spend the last weeks of June getting back to the new manuscript I started in January. Then I had a head cold, which didn’t really put me in a creative mood, but I did some planning with notes I’d made in the last few years, so a foundation is there. I also managed to spend these last few days of June writing my way into the story to see where it goes. I have no idea right now, which isn’t surprising given I’m a pantser/discovery writer, but I’m hoping to eventually get into that flow where the creative magic takes over and the story and characters take off. Wish me luck!
Dept. Q
This series starts with a shocking shooting at a police crime scene and delves into a kidnapping with enough twists to keep you guessing up until the reveals in the final two episodes. It also brings together a rag-tag team of officers discarded to the basement Shower Quarters (Dept. Q) and tasked with solving cold cases. The first one they pick is the disappearance of a high-profile lawyer. While everyone assumes she’s been dead for the last four years, DCI Carl Morck, his assistant Akram Salim, DCI James Hardy, and DC Rose Dickson delve into the truth, discover what everyone else missed, and the lengths some criminals will go to to get away with murder. The cast really makes this series work, and the storyline was top-notch. Highly recommended for fans of thrillers and police procedurals.
We Were Liars
This is a TV adaptation based on the 2014 book of the same name by E. Lockhart. When Cady Sinclair washes up on the beach of her family’s summer island with a head injury and selective amnesia, she spends the next year trying to piece together what happened. When she arrives back on the Island and faces the boy she remembers kissing, and the two cousins who haven’t spoken to her since the incident, she finds out some very dark truths about herself and her family. Alternating between a Summer 16 and and Summer 17 timeline, We Were Liars does a good job of building up a mystery, both with the teenage protagonists and their mothers, who have their own secrets to hide. There’s a big twist in the final episode of this series, and a new twist added to the TV adaptation that could lead to a second series exploring the prequel book. I haven’t read either book, so I went into the series not knowing the story and really enjoyed it. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers.
Little White Lies (The Debutantes #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When 18-year-old Sawyer Taft’s estranged Grandmother offers her a small fortune in exchange for becoming part of the débutante ball crowd, Sawyer can’t say no. Despite the objections of her mother, who fled high society life years ago, Sawyer wants to meet the rest of her family, which includes a cousin her age. She also wants the answer to who her father is, a big secret her mother won’t share. As Sawyer does her best to seek the truth, she soon discovers that she isn’t the only one who has been lied to.
This book goes all in on secrets, friendships, and family, and does it via alternating chapters where the main characters are introduced as the occupants of a police cell, and the months leading up to that moment. It’s a fun way to keep the intrigue going as Sawyer uncovers her parentage and the lies behind a devastating accident. Featuring interesting characters, relationships, and a twist or two, if you’re a fan of YA mysteries, this is one to pick up.
Deadly Little Scandals (The Debutantes #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Given the main story wrapped up in book 1, book 2 starts with a new mystery, which involves a secret society and the discovery of a decades-old skeleton. When Sawyer and her cousin Lily start the initiations for The White Gloves, they have no idea what scandals they’ll uncover, including some of the threads dropped in Little While Lies that get picked back up in book 2 and explained with answers so surprising, you’d be forgiven for not seeing them coming.
Like the previous book, this one starts with some characters in a future predicament and flashes back months before until the timeline catches up. It worked well in the first book, but for this one, there are already other chapters dedicated to the flashbacks of a different set of characters, so it has less impact. Speaking of characters, even though only a few new ones are introduced in this book, there are so many carrying over from book 1, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of who is who, especially in the closing chapters when a lot of scandals are exposed. If you can follow along and keep things straight, there’s a lot to like about the final book of this secret-filled duology.
Dream Job by Pauline Yates
A short story perfect for lunch break reading, this tale captures the Australian outback and backpacker life with vivid descriptions and just the right amount of creepiness to put the reader on edge from the get-go.
When English backpacker Charles uses the last of his money to drive to a station to nab a dream job earning more money than he has in months, he can’t believe his luck. The job in the wheat fields is doable, there’s on-site accommodation, and the owner and his wife are more than welcoming. But just as Charles gets a feel for the place, what seems perfect may be just a little too perfect. Expertly foreshadowed clues start to slot into place for Charles and the reader, and an inevitable yet terrifying twist ending is the icing on the cake.
Body of Evidence (Kay Scarpetta, #2) by Patricia Cornwell
You might remember that last year, a friend gave me the first Kay Scarpetta novel, Post-Mortem, to read, and I really enjoyed it. A few weeks ago, that same friend moved houses and gave me a box of Patricia Cornwell books. When I posted a picture of all the books on my social media accounts, numerous lovely readers suggested I start my Cornwell backlist reading by continuing with the Scarpetta novels first, so this month, I read book #2.
When medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta gets involved in the case of a murdered writer and a missing manuscript, her life is put in danger when the killer starts stalking her. While the 1991 setting dates some of the tech and circumstances/views, it has solid characters, and the tracking of the killer is a real page-turner. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers, this story has everything you’d want and expect.
Let’s Be Book Friends!
If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your faves! You can also find and follow my book reviews on Amazon and BookBub.
This month, I’ve been taking photos of… book promo pictures with Dash and Luna getting in the way, because if you’re a writer with pets, you know they just love to be the star of everything you’re doing 
. My cousin also came from Sydney for a few days, and we had a few adventures out and about.
In case you missed any of my posts or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.
May 2025 RoundupWriting and Editing Checklists Is Out NowAuthoring Checklists Is Out NowThe Injuries ChecklistOther blogs…
A big thank you to the following bloggers for hosting interviews or highlighting Writing and Editing Checklists on their own blogs this month. I really appreciate you helping to get the word out, and I had such fun answering your interview questions! Please visit the following links to read the content, and give these great blogs a follow if you aren’t already.
And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my June Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
June 19, 2025
The Injuries Checklist
Have you ever read a book where the main character was injured so badly that it was a miracle they survived?
Not only did they survive, but they thwarted the villain, saved the townsfolk, and won back their love. All while bleeding profusely. All while running around on a fractured ankle. All while nursing a significant head injury.
It sounds far-fetched, but it happens. In books, in movies, in TV shows. We’ve all seen characters come back from injuries that should have killed them, but didn’t. It’s usually used as a plot twist or a moment of triumph. When they’ve been injured so severely, though, that moment of triumph can turn into a moment of laughter or disbelief in the eyes of the reader. Instead of being glad the hero returned from that fall off a cliff, they’re ready to put the book down because it’s just not plausible.
Injuries are a realistic part of stories, especially books with action, horror, and thrillers. While some liberties can be taken, if you’re ignoring the extent of an injury because it messes with your plot, rethink what you’re doing, and keep track of everything with this checklist.
The Injuries ChecklistResearch ItWhen adding injuries to your characters, research goes a long way. Not only will it help you plan how an injury can occur, but it may even lead to a plot twist in your book, so do your homework on everything.
Look into the side effects of an injury. A head injury can cause many issues, but so could a paper cut. If one happens to a character that doesn’t stop bleeding, it could be a sign that they have an underlying condition.
While researching, make yourself a note file of healing times. A character that cops a black eye in the morning that’s gone by the time they go to the big dance that evening isn’t realistic. Bruising takes a few days, and broken bones, weeks, even for something as small as a pinky finger. If a severely twisted ankle happened to your sprint star main character on a Saturday, they still need to be hobbling around the next Saturday, not at the big track meet winning races as if nothing happened.
Open up a new notebook or digital file and add the following headings:
How the injury occurs.Injury side effects.Healing times.As you research, make notes under your headings so that you have all the relevant info to add to your story as you write.
Keep it RealisticWe’ve all seen those slasher films where someone is stabbed so many times there’s no way they survived. Yet, it gets to the final act, and up pops Mr. Pin Cushion as if his gaping wounds are a knick that can be held together with a ripped shirt until the day has been saved. He’ll then drop by the hospital on his way home, but not before saying his trademark quip.
In reality, he shouldn’t be breathing, let alone talking. This isn’t realistic. That character is dead.
If you find yourself with injuries that are too much, scale them back. Your characters can still get injured fleeing the serial killer, but a sprained ankle is better for clamoring over downed logs in the creepy woods than a shattered ankle that would realistically have them curled in a ball, delirious with pain, no matter how much of their backstory you dedicate to their do-anything fighting spirit.
Add the following to your checklist…
Research, plot, and write the injuries as realistic for the situation.Log ItIf you’re a note taker, planner, or working with a series bible, this will already be on your to-do list. If it’s not, put it on this checklist and log…
Who was injured.When they were injured.Where they were injured.The severity of the injury.The consequences of the injury.These are just a few basics to log, but you could go further and include wider questions, such as how long they’ll be injured for, when the injury needs to be healed by, who injured them, and why, and so on. It all depends on the story you’re telling, so go with what works for you and add your extra questions.
Record The ReactionsAnother item to add to your checklist should be the reactions of your other characters to any injuries. After all, if a friend turned up with a jagged cut across their cheek, or skin blistering with burn marks, you’d be asking them questions, right?
Having the other characters in your book ignore or gloss over what is an obvious injury can pull a reader out of your story, so make sure a reaction is recorded.
It’s also a good idea to temper the reactions to the injury. A minor cut can be reacted to with the helpful offer of a Band-Aid. Treating the same small injury with a character calling an ambulance isn’t the way to go.
Acknowledge any significant/obvious injuries with character reactions.Keep any reaction or solutions to those injuries realistic to the type of injury.By now, you should have a checklist of headings/questions ready to be answered, which will eventually look like this…
The Injuries Checklist (example)
How the injury occurs.Carla is being chased, first in a car, then on foot. In the car chase, she bangs her head against the steering wheel. During the foot chase, she falls and twists her ankle, and severely injures/cuts her arm. Injury side effects.
The head injury causes bleeding and pain. The ankle injury, pain, and limited mobility. The arm is also bleeding, and the heavy fall has likely broken a bone and caused Carla’s arm to become almost useless. Healing times.
Adults recover from head injuries in two days, but can have symptoms for up to ten days. A twisted ankle can take weeks, and a severe arm injury can be three months if bones are broken.Research on the injury.
How much blood loss does there need to be to cause lightheadedness and confusion? (Losing more than 30% of your total blood volume.) Will a light head injury cause memory loss? (Yes). Will a hard fall shatter bones in a wrist? (Yes, if the fall involves an outstretched hand.)Where the injury fits in the plot.
When Carla’s stalker catches up with her after a cat-and-mouse game.What type of injury is realistic for the situation?
A head, ankle, and arm injury is realistic for a car accident and a heavy fall on concrete. Who was injured.
Carla, the main character.When they were injured.
Chapter six, with the consequence of the injuries plaguing her for the rest of the book.Where the character was injured.
Injured on their forehead, right arm, and left ankle while driving through the old industrial area shortcut.The severity of the injury.
Enough to impair a quick getaway. Would need medical care from professionals.The consequences of the injury.
Carla can’t escape someone chasing her, which could lead to her capture. Her bleeding could leave behind a trail, giving away her location, and causing secondary problems like being lightheaded.Other character reactions to an injury.
Carla makes a video call to her friend, Jenny. Jenny is horrified when she sees the blood from Carla’s head wound, and that she’s struggling to move, and begins to panic/cry.Other character solutions to the injury.
Jenny’s solution is for Carla to hide somewhere dark and where any blood trail can’t be seen until help arrives, and for Carla to use her cardigan to stem her bleeding.
By using these headings as your starting point, and adding all the info that’ll help you answer the questions they ask/raise, you’ll nail the type of details that make a book believable, interesting, and enjoyable for readers. Your characters might not have fun with the injuries, but you can, so go with it, and add this checklist to your writing arsenal.
If you want more checklists to tick off, check out the Writing and Editing Checklists and the free companion ebook, Authoring Checklists.
— K.M. Allan
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June 5, 2025
Authoring Checklists Is Out Now
Now that Writing and Editing Checklists: Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication is officially out, so is its free companion ebook, Authoring Checklists: Tips and Tricks for Being a Modern Writer.
Available exclusively on my blog, it’s a gift from me to you.
Authoring ChecklistsThis ebook came about when I was putting together the Writing and Editing Checklists, and it became clear I had too much content for one book. It was also clear that some of this content leaned toward authoring—all the writing that isn’t writing, and the tasks that crop up in the pursuit of a creative life.
This includes query letters, a synopsis, book blurbs, and getting all the details sorted with series bibles and style sheets.
As writers know, getting to the writing desk and staying there is half the battle, too, and I’ve written many a blog on self-doubt, and all the writing tricks I’ve used to get into, and keep, the habit of writing. That, as well as help with author photos, book launches, dealing with rejections, and many other authoring facets, is what these checklists are about.
Authoring Checklists: Tips and Tricks for Being a Modern Writer
Becoming an author is more than typing words onto a page. It’s the endless battle against procrastination, keeping motivated through rejection, and taking your 80,000 words of hard work and distilling it into a one-page synopsis!
Enter the Authoring Checklists. They cover everything writing that isn’t writing, and what’s required of authors in a modern world, such as writing habits, style sheets, series bibles, stopping self-sabotaging, and dealing with self-doubt. There are even checklists to help you write a query letter, blurb, and put together an ARC!
Along with advice for sorting feedback, dealing with rejection, branding your social media and other tips, this book will help you up your Authoring game, regardless of whether you’ve been in the trenches for years or are just starting out.
Get the Authoring ChecklistsThe ebook can be downloaded here, and I hope that pairing it with the paperback or ebook of Writing and Editing Checklists helps you to do your writing, editing, and authoring best.
Thank you for supporting it, my other books, and this blog, and here’s to getting all of our novels crafted—one checklist at a time!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
June 3, 2025
Writing and Editing Checklists Is Out Now
Now that the world’s time zones have ticked over to the 3rd of June 2025, Writing and Editing Checklists: Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication is officially out!
Available from the usual retailers of paperbacks and ebooks, you can scroll to the bottom of this post for all the buy links, and/or keep reading to find out more about the book and how it came to be.
Writing and Editing ChecklistsI may be a pantser when I write, but I also need to be organized to put pen to paper, or I simply don’t do it. This means lots of to-do lists, and for me, those lists naturally segued into checklists.
Those checklists then manifested in my blog posts as a way to make sense of the writing tips I was learning and sharing, and of implementing that advice so I could use it in my drafts.
Checklists helped me become a better writer and editor, and when I released the first checklist blog post—The Delete Checklist—you awesome readers let me know how helpful it was for you too!
As I wrote more checklist blogs over the years, and floated the idea of turning them into a book, you encouraged that as well. That’s why the blogging community is thanked first in the acknowledgments.
This book is for you, the readers of my blog. Thank you so much for the support over the past 8 years, and I hope you find the book just as helpful as you have the blogs that inspired it.
Book ChartsIt’s always a surprise and a very appreciated event when my books show up on any charts after release.
Following the Australian launch, the Kindle version hit #1 on the Fiction Writing Reference and #2 on the Writing Skill Reference Hot New Releases charts.
Then, when the book was released in the US, I saw the Kindle version hit #12 in the New Releases in Fiction Writing Reference, and #15 in the Writing Skill Reference category, while the paperback hit #65.
I don’t know if they went any higher than these numbers or appeared anywhere else, but the fact that they were listed on any chart made my day, and I want to thank the readers who made it possible.
ReviewsAnother huge thank you goes out to my awesome ARC readers who have already added their wonderful reviews, and a special shoutout to Award-winning author Katya de Becerra for her blurb/endorsement, which features on the front cover!
“I’ve been following K.M. Allan’s writing advice blog obsessively ever since I first became a published author. I’m so excited to see it now available as a book – this is a true gift to writers everywhere! Honest, concise, and rich in craft topics and scenarios, I can’t recommend this book enough!” – Katya de Becerra, Aurealis and Shadows winning author of When Ghosts Call Us Home and They Watch From Below.
“It covers absolutely everything you can think of with regards to writing and editing and is a great little book to refer back to time and time again.” – 5 Stars – Goodreads Reviewer.
“If you’re a writer, in any genre, you NEED this book. If you’ve found companions in books like Save The Cat and The Emotion Thesaurus, you NEED this book. Whether you’re drafting, editing, or planning your next project…you NEED this book!” – 5 Stars – Goodreads Reviewer.
You can add Writing and Editing Checklists to your Goodreads shelves by clicking here.
Buy Writing and Editing ChecklistsAs promised, here are the buy links.
Thank you to everyone who has or will buy a copy. I hope you love the checklists just as much as I do, and that they help you craft your own books to share with the world.
Paperback
Amazon (US)
Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Amazon.ca (Canada)
Barnes & Noble (US)
Australian Readers
These are the retailers stocking the paperback at varying prices.
Angus & Robertson (AU)
Booktopia (AU)
Amazon.com.au (AU)
Please Note & Other Countries
The paperback is enabled for worldwide distribution and should appear at all Amazon and online retailers in the IngramSpark network, but it can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to do so, and I unfortunately have no control over when or at what price it appears. If you’d like to buy the paperback but your Amazon or online retailer doesn’t list it yet, says it’s out of stock/unavailable, or the price is too high, all I can advise is that you please wait patiently to see if it corrects in the days after release. Thank you.
Apple Books (US)
Apple Books (AU)
Apple Books (UK)
Apple Books (Canada)
Amazon (US)
Amazon.com.au (AU)
Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Amazon.ca (Canada)
Barnes & Noble (US)
Kobo (US)
Kobo (AU)
Kobo (UK)
Kobo (Canada)
Other Countries
The ebook is enabled for worldwide distribution and should be available at Amazon and other online retailers, so be sure to check your country/local online book retailers for listings!
And there you have it! Thank you so much to everyone who patiently waited for this book. I started working on it over a year ago, and also said at the start of this year I’d have it out soon.
At the time, I foolishly thought that would only be a few weeks at the most. It may have taken longer than I anticipated, but I believe it is worth it, and I hope you feel the same way after reading it.
Enjoy!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
May 30, 2025
May 2025 Roundup
Welcome to the May 2025 roundup!
I don’t know how your May was, but mine was busy! Putting the final touches on my upcoming checklist books took up time, as did the inner workings of indie-publishing to get said books out into the world. I also did some website housekeeping and finally added categories to my blog posts. It’s something I should have done when I first launched in 2017, but I guess late is better than never 
. You can find the categories listed at the bottom of the blogs page if you’d like to check it out, and I also added a ‘Blog Search’ to help make things easier to find.
Another thing I did this month was spend a week with my Evil Twin! She came for a visit and we went to the movies, played mini-golf, and chatted our way through some very chilly morning walks (see the Photos section below for pics).
As for what else I got up to in May, read on…
At the start of the month, I caught up with Belinda and K.D. from the #6amAusWriters at the beautiful State Library (pics in the Photos section below) and managed to write first drafts for three new blog posts. I thought if I kept that up, I’d be able to write the majority of my blogs for the rest of this year, but as usual, other priorities popped up, and those three drafts were as far as I got. I also spent time making feedback changes to my checklist books and getting them all ready for release. I then did the cover reveal for the Writing and Editing Checklists earlier this week, which you can find here if you missed it.
Thunderbolts
Although not as great as the best Marvel films, this is a return to form and a step in the right direction from the last few releases.
Thunderbolts opens with Yelena Belova doing missions for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, but wanting more front-facing, “good” work. Valentina promises it, but isn’t exactly trustworthy. This results in Yelena teaming up with the others on Valentina’s payroll, John Walker, Ava Star, and Bob, who they find at a dump site, and who isn’t as ordinary as they think he is. Throw in Red Guardian and The Winter Soldier, and you have yourself the Thunderbolts, good action, great acting, and a promising new start going forward. As usual for a Marvel movie, stick around for the mid-credit and post-credit scenes.
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Personally, I don’t think anything tops the OG Final Destination or the twist of Final Destination 5, but the sixth installment of this franchise does take the best bits of the movies (interesting deaths, fun lore, and nods to the other films) and makes something that’s entertaining.
In Final Destination: Bloodlines, instead of someone having a premonition and then trying to save themselves and strangers/friends, a family is targeted by death. When Stefani Reyes starts having a recurring nightmare, she realizes her dream of a 1968 high-rise restaurant collapse was something her estranged grandmother survived. Tracking her grandmother down, Stefani finds out that her whole family wasn’t supposed to exist, and now death is trying to correct things. It’s an interesting take on the rules of these movies, and allows for the jump scares and gore that fans of horror films will enjoy.
The Connections We Keep by Pauline Yates
An excellent collection of scary, thrilling, and thought-provoking stories that are well-written by an author who knows her stuff. Invoking everything from the shocking truth behind a series of missing hikers, how nature can turn on us, ghost stories with twists you won’t see coming, and captivating tales that turn emotions into weapons and lessons. Each story is crafted with care, bringing whole worlds and characters to life in just a few short pages, and most end in a way that ensures you’ll be thinking about them long after you’ve turned the last page. Highly recommended for fans of Horror.
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
I added this book to my TBR list after liking the blurb when seeing it as a Reese’s Book Club pick, and it did not disappoint.
Broken Country is the story of Beth Johnson’s first love as a teenager and what happens when he returns to her adult life, bringing back that spark of love and setting off a chain of events that ends in a murder trial. This story will keep you guessing—and just when you think you know everything and how it will end, the story is flipped in the final chapters. Heartbreaking, compelling, and full of twisted truths that are masterfully crafted, I had tears in my eyes when I read the last page, and immediately wanted to tell everyone to pick up this book! Grab it if you’re a fan of thrilling historical fiction mixed with romance and mystery.
The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games Book #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
While there are more than three books in The Inheritance Games series, The Final Gambit ends the main story for Avery Grambs and her inheritance of Tobias Hawthorne’s fortune.
Events and questions from the first two books are answered, cliffhangers resolved, and the real reason Avery was chosen is finally revealed amongst the family secrets and decades-long mysteries. There are also new riddles to solve, and the introduction of a foe that Tobias couldn’t beat gives this installment its hook. Riding along with the characters as they come full circle is exactly how a series should end, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes pulls it off beautifully.
The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Even though the main Inheritance Games story wrapped up in the first three books, there are some spin-off stories set in its world, The Brothers Hawthorne being the first.
This book features Jameson and Grayson as the main characters and follows them as Jameson tries to become part of an ancient secret society and Grayson tries to unravel some hard truths about his father. Like all the books in this series, I enjoyed the puzzles and stakes just as much as the characters, and there were plenty of secrets and story threads left to lead to the later books, which I’m looking forward to also reading. Recommended for fans of YA mysteries.
Let’s Be Book Friends!
If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your faves! You can also find and follow my book reviews on Amazon and BookBub.
This month, I’ve been taking photos of… writing time with friends and hanging out with my Evil Twin.
I hadn’t actually been inside the state library before, so I very much enjoyed the visit and writing in a grand room full of books. Belinda, K.D., and I also celebrated our catch-up with fluffy pancakes. Although my sister was here for a week, time flew by as we were out almost every day doing different things.
In case you missed any of my posts or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.
April 2025 RoundupThe Dos And Don’ts Of Dealing With Blogger’s BlockWriting A Book Series: The Story So Far… PageWriting and Editing Checklists Cover RevealOther blogs…
A huge shout-out to author Emily Wrayburn at A Keyboard and an Open Mind, who has posted an awesome review for Writing and Editing Checklists on her blog, which you can view here!
Her book reviews have helped me find some great stories to add to my TBR list (I started reading The Inheritance Games thanks to her reviews). Thank you so much, Emily. I’m happy you found my new book helpful and that it’s already helped you strengthen your current WIP.
And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my May Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
May 25, 2025
Writing and Editing Checklists Cover Reveal
Welcome to the cover reveal for the Writing and Editing Checklists!
Without further ado, here is the full book cover of a writing craft book that has been so fun to put together.
For my first non-fiction book, I chose not only my favorite posts from the first seven years of this blog, but yours as well.
Containing updated selections of the advice you’ve found the most helpful, each post has also been leveled up with the addition of easy-to-use checklists!
It’s 338 jam-packed pages available in paperback and ebook from the 3rd of June 2025. You’ll find all the pre-order links below, after the blurb.
Writing and Editing Checklists: Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication
After years of dreaming and hard work, you’ve finally finished the first draft of a novel! With traditional and self-publishing as competitive as ever, you need to take that rough diamond and polish it to perfection, but where do you start?
Enter a writing craft book full of tried and true advice and checklists that you can use to strengthen your words.
From better sentences to stronger characters and more powerful endings, these checklists are a masterclass in revision that can help pinpoint what your book is missing and make every sentence shine.
Packed with over 50 checklists that cover everything from show, don’t tell, foreshadowing, world-building, POV, info-dumping, and outlining, plus tips that will teach you which words to cut, how to proofread, rewriting tricks and other editing essentials, you’ll have all you need to take your book from the first draft to publication!
Paperback Pre-Order Links
Amazon (US)
Amazon.com.au (AU)*
*For some reason, it’s only listing the US import, so I’d suggest ordering from Booktopia or Angus & Robertson to get the best price for the paperback if you’re in Australia.
Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Amazon.ca (Canada)
Barnes & Noble (US)
Booktopia (AU)
Angus & Robertson (AU)
Apple Books (US)
Apple Books (AU)
Apple Books (UK)
Apple Books (Canada)
Amazon (US)
Amazon.com.au (AU)
Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Amazon.ca (Canada)
Barnes & Noble (US)
Kobo (US)
Kobo (AU)
Kobo (UK)
Kobo (Canada)
Click the following image to add the book to your ‘Want to Read’ shelf…
May 15, 2025
Writing A Book Series: The Story So Far… Page
As anyone who has ever binged-watched a multi-season TV show will tell you, the “Previously on…” starts are a godsend for those who spend more time staring at their phone screens than the TV.
It’s also great for those of us with memories like a sieve who need a reminder of all the important things before watching the next installment so we can keep track of the characters, events, and remember why the main character finding some random key chain is actually significant.
For books, especially ones in a series well past a duology or trilogy, readers might also need a heads up about what’s happened, especially if it’s been years between tomes.
Most writers do (or should do) their best to plant reminders using dialogue, backstory, and other information delivery elements to clue readers in about what they need to know, but another option is including a The Story So Far… page for any book that’s a sequel and beyond.
Writing A Book Series: The Story So Far… PageWhat Is It?If it isn’t obvious yet, it’s a page, or multiple pages, at the start of a book that is a sequel or a later installment in a series. The page recaps the main events of the previous book/s.
What To IncludeMain story/big events of the series so far.Any need to know info important for the story about to be read.Who the important characters are, where they are in the journey (physically and/or emotionally), and important relationships between characters.World building (if it’s necessary).Letting readers know these basics, and anything else you deem important to include for your story, can help jog memories and keep the right events present for the book about to be read.
If that sounds like something you’d like to add to your series, you’ve now got a place to start. To level up the content of the page, the following guidelines can give you a few more ideas that you are free to chop and change based on your own preferences.
GuidelinesLengthRemember that The Story So Far… is not a chapter at the start of your book, so only make your recap as long as it needs to be.
If you can stick to one page, great. If you need a little more, try to keep it to six as a maximum. Obviously, the bigger a series, or the deeper into a series you go, the larger the recap will be, but that’s still not an excuse to make it excessive.
Try to be as efficient as possible and stick to the need-to-know facts.
CharactersAs characters make up such a big part of the story, adding a specific character recap is also a great inclusion.
Character Recap
Name of each character.A summary of who they are/where they’re at.One important fact/thing about them.Example:
Jenny Carla is a waitress who lost her job on the same day an eviction notice was delivered. She was so upset that she ignored the rest of her mail, which included a birthday card from her grandmother with a scratch-off lottery ticket that could turn her fortune around. Jenny has always had the worst luck, and is so unlucky some might say she’s cursed.
Have Fun With ItWhen it comes to recapping your The Story So Far… have fun with it!
You could write it in the voice of one of your characters or from their POV, as if they’re reaching out to the readers and giving their opinions on everyone else.
Mention The Best BitsDon’t forget to treat it like a highlight reel, mentioning the best bits to remind readers, but also hook anyone who might read your books out of order (it’s not ideal, but it happens).
Spill Or Skip The SpoilersWhile to spoil or not to spoil is indeed a great question, this page is intended to catch readers up on a book they’ve already read. That gives you permission to include spoilers if they’re important to know.
If, however, you really don’t want to risk spoilers being “out there” or to ruin the reading experience for anyone who does accidentally start at book 5, you can skip the spoilers and be vague about the biggest events.
If that’s your preference, try writing the spoilers the same as you would your book blurb and hint at things instead of outright mentioning them.
As you can see, adding a The Story So Far… page can be a really great feature for your series, so keep it in mind and plan for it when you’re writing. From a reader whose memory is very much like a sieve, I can guarantee that it will be very appreciated by anyone who picks up your books.
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
May 8, 2025
The Dos And Don’ts Of Dealing With Blogger’s Block
If you’ve been following my blog for the last few months, you’ll know I started experiencing blogger’s block.
I have a suspicion it happened because I’ve been blogging regularly for 8 years, I’m not writing any fictional books, which was always a source of inspiration for writing about writing, and I’ve spent over a year putting together two non-fiction books based on my blog posts.
When you’ve read, edited, made graphics for, and read again, 7 years’ worth of blogs, it’s easy to think you’re constantly rehashing the same information, and I believe it’s the strongest reason I developed my blogger’s block.
It’s not fun, and that’s what blogging used to be for me. Because that fun is something I want back, I’ve been looking for ways to deal with my blogger’s block, and these are the things that have helped.
The Dos And Don’ts Of Dealing With Blogger’s BlockDo Crunch The NumbersIf you suspect your blogger’s block is because you need to write regular posts for the foreseeable future, and the pressure of that endless deadline is causing your creativity to stall, this tip might seem odd, but there is comfort in knowing a number and having a plan.
For me, that plan is usually publishing three blogs a month. One is a Roundup Blog, but the other two are about writing.
When I started really feeling my blogger’s block at the start of this year, I dropped that number to two blogs a month: the Roundup and one blog about writing.
While I’m not going to stick to so few blogs forever, right now, planning for one new writing blog a month is less pressure, and it means I only need, at a minimum, eight writing blogs to finish up this year (May to December).
Eight blogs are doable, and crunching those numbers helped me see that, and also stopped my anxiety about having to write a lot of posts.
If you’d like the same peace of mind, try crunching your numbers and setting yourself a realistic goal of how many pieces of content you’ll need to write for the next few months. It might just be what will get your inspiration back.
Don’t Forget About What WorksBlogging is writing, so it makes sense that when you’re blocked for blogs, using tips to get you out a writer’s block should help too.
When I’ve been penning manuscripts and encountered writer’s block, it was usually due to not knowing where the story was going. For my blogger’s block, it seems to be coming up with fresh ideas that I’m actually excited to write.
When I write about a topic I’m interested in or experiences I’m experiencing (such as the topic of this post), I can write thousands of words. Taking an idea from my blog ideas folder (some of which are years old now) and trying to write about it just hasn’t been cutting it.
To get around this, I tried the writer’s block tricks I’ve used in the past to push through writing a WIP, and I found what helped the most was going into my writing bubble.
The Writing Bubble
I’ve talked about this technique before. All it involves is:
Headphones.A binaural beats app (I use Umm because it’s free, and it has a timer).Focus music from YouTube played on my phone to my headphones (also free and varied).That timer in the app is helpful because I set it for 30 minutes or 1 hour, and then hit play on whatever Focus music takes my fancy on YouTube.
The timer helps bring the Pomodoro technique (breaking work tasks into timed intervals with short breaks in between) to my writing session, and using YouTube on my phone to play the Focus music means I can’t use my phone to look at social media, which is another win-win and a way I fight off procrastination.
These simple steps put me directly in a bubble made for writing, which means I actually write, hence I could pen this blog post!
Do Get Rid Of DeadlinesThey help, they really do, but if they are making you stressed because you have to write your blogs by a certain point, try temporarily dropping the deadlines.
In April, even though I’d reduced my blog post target for the month, my upcoming book was with ARC readers, so I found myself with time to write and no project to work on.
Usually, this is when I draft and publish multiple blog posts. So, I tried to write a second blog for that month, and the blogger’s block reared its ugly head. This time, it also brought along a pressure-inducing deadline.
I couldn’t write anything good enough, and the deadline of getting a second blog out that month stressed me out. I didn’t want to publish a sub-par blog just to meet it, so I decided not to publish that second blog and used the time to research ideas, go through old blog notes, and see what shook loose without the pressure to publish anything.
I didn’t write anything decent for the first week, but by the second, with no deadlines, I wrote this post. Then I wrote another, and then notes for four others.
If deadlines or expectations are blocking your blogging, and you can temporarily drop the deadlines, try it. It might be exactly what you need to kick-start your content again.
Don’t Avoid Dealing With Outside BlocksSometimes we can’t write because of outside influences.
You could have something going on in your personal life, at work, or it could be the state of the world, or the state of publishing right now. Whatever it is, it’s giving why bother? vibes, and that can seep into your writing (whether you consciously know it or not) and block you.
Deal with it by dealing with whatever outside block is messing with you.
That may mean staying off/reducing social media, having a heart-to-heart with someone, taking time away from your job, or starting a journal to write your way through the outside blocks.
Journaling to get thoughts/worries out of your head is a worthy habit to start if you’re not already doing it, and leaves you with the mental space to do other writing. Try the practice for your blocks today, and see if it gets you back to your blogging best.
Do Give Yourself Permission To Write JunkSimilar to dropping deadlines to relieve some pressure, don’t go into your blog drafting with the expectation that what you’re writing will be a revelation, or even anything good. Just write.
Write about whatever comes into your head. Write badly if you have to, but just get going with no expectations and see where you end up.
You might have a badly written first draft, or you might have three half written drafts that make no sense, but writing those drafts, even if they’re crappy, has gotten you writing.
Your fingers are hitting the keys and it’s reminding your body what it feels like to write, and it’s getting the ideas and worlds flowing in your mind, even if they are terrible.
After that, when you have written what is truly junk, be happy! Instead of nothing, you now have something to edit. It may be a half-baked idea, and rambling sentences, and it may be the fifth post you’ve written about character flaws, but it’s something, and it gives you a place to start.
Don’t Write How You Always WriteIf you always type, switch to writing by hand. If your blogging is always done at home, go to a cafe or library. Give yourself a different way and place to write from your usual method and see what happens.
Do Swap Writing With A BuddyIf you’ve convinced yourself that your blogs aren’t worth showing anyone, that’s going to mess with your head when it comes to publishing. After all, that’s showing it to everyone, and the fear of that is a big block.
To get around this, show your work to one person. Chances are, they’ll tell you it’s perfectly acceptable and the only reason you thought it wasn’t was your blogger’s block lying to you.
Another idea, and one that is good for getting out of a writing funk, is making a deal to swap it with a blogging buddy. Choose someone who also knows how hard it is when the words stop flowing, and give each other feedback.
Again, you’ll most likely find that what you’ve both written is perfectly publishable; you just need to get out of your own way to see it.
Don’t Complete Your DraftsIf by some miracle you churn out a blog post or two, stop mid-sentence, leave yourself a handover note, and come back to things the next day.
While you’ll probably want to stay on a roll if you’ve finally gotten on a roll, having a draft that you’re excited to keep working on will get you back at your desk the next day and help break your blogger’s block.
Do A Five-Minute FlowIf you’re a writer who procrastinates and convinces yourself that you have to do the washing or the cleaning, or repaint your living room before sitting down to write, get out of that habit now! Try writing anything first for five minutes.
Even if all you repeatedly write is, I’m a terrible writer, it gets your mind on writing. Once you’ve done that, keep writing your actual work and go with the flow of penning words.
After the five minutes are up, procrastinate if you still want to, but I’d like to bet that you’re more than happy to keep writing and finish that blog post instead.
And there you have the dos and don’ts that I’ve been using to deal with my blogger’s block. It’s not cured quite yet, but I have more blogs drafted now than I did a few weeks ago, and that’s an enormous relief, and a great place to start from to get my blogging back on track.
If you’re suffering from the same fate or having trouble with any type of writing, try these tips to see if they help you, too. I hope they do!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
April 29, 2025
April 2025 Roundup
Welcome to the April 2025 roundup!
This month, I spent the first day of April on an 11-hour train ride returning to Melbourne from Sydney. I’d popped to Sydney for a few days at the end of March to see my mum, who was having a special lunch for her 70th birthday. I’d organized to attend as a surprise, and she was surprised, which made it a fun day! I then spent some time catching up with family and friends, and of course, my evil twin (see pics below!).
While on the train, I listened to two audiobooks (The Inheritence Games and The Hawthorne Legacy – reviewed below), caught up on season 3 of YellowJackets (still nothing like the brilliance of season 1, but a step up from season 2), and season 2 of The Night Agent (even better than season 1).
If I was working on any fictional work, it would have been the perfect time to get some writing done, but as this was a quick trip with limited luggage, I didn’t take my laptop, and any handwritten words in a notebook would be unreadable because I can never read my own writing back. So, after working hard on my Checklist ARCs for the last three months, I took the five days as a mini break, and then got stuck back into things once I’d returned home. To see what I accomplished for the rest of the month, read on…
This month, I did manage to get my Authoring Checklist ARC off to readers, and now I’m waiting for their feedback to see what needs to be tweaked before that book can be finalized. As it will be a free companion ebook, the work still required isn’t as much as the main Writing and Editing Checklists.
That book will be released in both paperback and ebook, and to finalize it, I’ve gotten as far as applying the last round of feedback from betas and sending the files to my designer. He’s formatting the ebook with Sigil because Atticus puts in such odd spacing and padding around bullet points and headings. Thankfully, we fixed those issues for the Authoring ARC, so doing the same with the Writing and Editing book will be easy. After that’s done, it’s just a matter of making the whole book cover (so far, there’s just the front, and it needs a back and spine), but that can’t be done until the files are uploaded to IngramSpark, which will calculate the cover dimensions based on the number of book pages. I also have to officially assign my ISBNs to the paperback and ebook, and all the other fiddly behind-the-scenes processes for getting a book ready to publish that I always forget about until it’s time to publish , but on the bright side, I don’t have to lose my sanity getting Word to start the page numbers and headers at the right place!
So, that’s where I’m at with my checklist projects—a few steps closer, but still more to go.
The Residence
I love a good murder mystery, and this star-studded series delivered! When the body of the head usher of the Whitehouse is found in the games room during an Australian state dinner, the world’s greatest detective, Cordelia Cupp, is on the case. She is played perfectly by Uzo Aduba, who balances Cordelia’s smart yet quirky bird-watching personality against the seriousness of the crime she’s investigating and the zaniness of the characters who are the suspects.
This series isn’t afraid to have fun, making jokes about the very true laid-back attitude of Australians, having Kylie Minogue play herself, and a running gag of Hugh Jackman being at the dinner when it’s obviously not Hugh Jackman. There’s also the very Agatha Christie way the murder is solved, the excellent performances of the cast, expertly placed and foreshadowed clues, and a satisfying murderer reveal that will keep you guessing right until the end.
Shrinking (Season 2)
I finally got around to watching season two of Shrinking after hearing such good things, and it didn’t disappoint. This isn’t a happy show. All of the characters are messed up, but it’s their struggles and how they overcome them that make this such a worthy watch.
Season 1 followed Jimmy (Jason Segel) and how he imploded after the death of his wife, ignoring the needs of his teenage daughter, and using some very unconventional methods to help his therapy patients, resulting in one ending up in jail for attempted murder. Season 2 is Jimmy still trying to help his patients, and making amends with his daughter after cleaning up his act, but when the drunk driver who killed his wife (an excellent role played by co-writer and Ted Lasso star, Brett Goldstein) comes looking for forgiveness, Jimmy is the one who needs all the help he can get from his boss, co-workers, family, and friends. Most of them are also struggling with their own relatable trials this season, only enhancing the greatness of this must-watch series.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When 17-year-old Avery Grambs is told she’s required at the will reading for one of the world’s most prominent billionaires, she figures her help with a homeless man has gotten her some goodwill money. What she gets is Tobias Hawthorne’s entire estate—and hostility from the family he left with nothing. Teaming up with his four grandsons, Avery soon discovers that the Hawthornes play elaborate games, complete with cryptic clues, where she has just become a big piece of a final puzzle.
I loved everything about this book, including the characters, the games they have to solve, the secrets, lies, and the family mysteries the book weaves throughout. As it’s the first in the series, there are plot-lines left for the other books, but this one does a nice job of tying up it’s own story and introducing the rules of the world, and I highly recommend it for fans of fun mysteries, a little romance, and character driven stories.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pretty much picking up where the first book left off, there are more games to be played for Avery and the Hawthorne boys. Teaming up with Jamison, Grayson, and Zander, they discover that their grandfather’s only son, the long-dead Toby, might actually be alive, and someone Avery knew before she became the Hawthorne Heiress. But trying to find Toby and the truth about the fire that killed him and three others takes a backseat when several attempts on Avery’s life land her in mortal danger. There are more clues and mysteries to work out, Avery’s conflicting romantic feelings for Jamison and Grayson, and backstories and future foreshadowing for the other books galore! I enjoyed this book even more than the first, which is an excellent way to continue a series.
This Stays Between Us by Margot McGovern
When the first event at her new school is attending a camp in an old mining town, Shelley just hopes to get through the weekend. What she ends up doing is taking part in a seance with her cabin roommates that makes them a target for a ghostly legend, and could expose a terrible secret she’s been hiding.
Set in the year 2000, big on channeling ‘90s horror movies, and with a foundation of solid female friendships, This Stays Between Us nails those things and has a genuine creepy vibe when it comes to the seance/ghost chapters, making it a book I’d recommend for fans of YA Horror.
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
In Writing Down the Bones, author and poet Natalie Goldberg lays down the foundation of her daily writing practice, an act which allows her to write freely and connect with herself and her words. As this was an anniversary edition, each section was revisited by a 50-something Natalie reflecting on the advice given by the 30-something version of herself who’d written the original book.
Both funny and insightful in regards to what she thought of her advice and if it still holds up today, it added another layer to a book that was already a fun and easy read. With the main notion of this book being that a writing practice will help get the words flowing, it’s also a relatable and inspiring read for any writer, and one that I highly recommend if you’re feeling stuck.
Let’s Be Book Friends!
If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your faves! You can also find and follow my book reviews on Amazon and BookBub.
This month, I’ve been taking photos of… my mini trip to Sydney.
A very short but sweet trip, catching up with lots of family and friends, and seeing some beautiful sights from the window of the train.
In case you missed any of my posts or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.
March 2025 Roundup5 Ways To Tell If Your Manuscript Is ReadyAnd that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my April Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
April 17, 2025
5 Ways To Tell If Your Manuscript Is Ready
Whether you’re writing a manuscript to query with agents/publishers, to submit to competitions, or to indie publish, there comes a point when you have to decide if it’s ready to leave the safety of your computer files and go out into the world for others to see.
You may think the answer is an automatic yes. After all, you’ve been working on it for months, if not years. That much time means it’s ready by default, right?
Perhaps you’ve also shown it to beta readers or paid to have it edited, and it’s been given their tick of approval. Still, you’re not a writer if you aren’t doubting whether your work is good enough, so the instinct to delay, check things one more time, or edit again is strong.
You want to release the best version of your manuscript to give it the best chance to be signed up by agents and/or publishers, to place in competitions, or to be a reader’s new favorite book. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your MS should be as ready as possible, and these 5 ways will help you tell if it is.
5 Ways To Tell If Your Manuscript Is Ready1. You’ve Perfected Your CraftEvery draft teaches us something, and the same goes for books we’ve read and TV and movie entertainment we’ve consumed. They will show you what storytelling works and what doesn’t.
If you’ve also taken writing courses and/or made writing craft books a part of your life, you’ve been learning from them too, even if not every lesson is part of the manuscript you’re about to submit to the world.
If you’ve done these things to the best of your current ability, learned what you can, and applied it to your book, you’ve passed the first step in the readiness test!
2. You’ve Revised And EditedAnother sharpened skill that points to your MS being ready is the fact that you’ve revised and edited it as much as you can. This may also involve the work of an outside editor, too, but the first editor of all your words is you.
No one will know your paragraphs with the same depth, and if you have revised and edited your manuscript as much as you can, it is ready to go. Let it.
3. You’ve Reached Out For And Dealt With The FeedbackAfter you’ve gotten your words into the best shape you can, handing them over for feedback should be part of your game plan.
While you don’t have to take every suggestion on board, especially if it goes against your vision of the story, receiving and implementing feedback from the fresh eyes of others helps to spotlight your author blindspots and make your manuscript shine. Just ask yourself the following when reading feedback:
Is it a valid critique? (Yes: implement changes. No: ignore).Will this improve my book? (Yes: implement changes. No: ignore).Will this take it too far from my intentions? (Yes: ignore if not willing to make changes. No: consider/implement changes if they’ll make your MS better).Taking that feedback and then using it to improve your manuscript is one of the final steps, and if you’ve already done this, there should be no hesitation to part with your work.
4. You’ve Added Intrigue And EmotionGreat stories do two things: hook the reader and make them care.
No matter the genre, if you have a hook that brings readers in, and then you can make them care about what is happening in your story and to your characters, you’ve got a winning manuscript on your hands.
If your book is missing intrigue and emotion, or the right balance of both, it may not be quite ready. But if it has characters who readers can relate to, a plot full of tension and stakes, emotional payoffs, and an ending that feels right, it is ready for the world.
5. You’ve Truly Done All You CanWhile we all need a healthy dose of confidence in ourself and our writing ability to send manuscripts off for scrutiny in the query trenches or the publishing world, if you have any niggling thoughts about its readiness, don’t send it out.
Trying to convince yourself that it’s okay that the villain isn’t villainous enough, or that the subplot doesn’t completely work because it can get fixed after you’ve landed an agent, or if you gather too many bad reviews pointing it out, should not be issues you settle for.
No one is expecting a perfect manuscript, but if you know deep down that there are problems and you’re not fixing them because you want to be querying or publishing now, you’re doing your manuscript and those who will read it a disservice.
Fix what you are capable of before you query, before you submit, before you hit publish. Back your skills, do all you can to get that manuscript ready, and send it out knowing that you’ve put on the page the absolute best work.
If you can tick these five things off, congratulations! You have a manuscript ready to land in agent inboxes, be submitted to publishers, or become paperbacks and ebooks that are bought and read by readers who will love it just as much as you.
If not, don’t be disheartened. Fix what you can and run through these tips again. Once you can tick them off your list, you’ll have a manuscript that you’ve truly done all you can with, and one that is ready for everything the writing world can throw at it.
— K.M. Allan
Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!
K.M. Allan
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