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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?

Four ways to write a great tweet that sells books

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Published on May 13, 2018 05:10

Every success story begins with a dream. If you dream of...

Every success story begins with a dream. If you dream of being a professional, published author, that success story requires believing in yourself and in knowing that your efforts will lead to triumph. Read the motivational blog entry this quotation came from by clicking on the quote card.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?

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Published on May 12, 2018 05:00

How to Market Your Book: 7 Minutes a Day to Promoting Yo...

How to Market Your Book: 7 Minutes a Day to Promoting Your Book shows how to develop a strategy that will get articles about your self-published book in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television programs, posted on blogs, and linked to on websites, while landing you book signings and readings, all at virtually no cost.

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Create video diary of writing process

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Published on May 11, 2018 05:00

Include these pages on your business website

Whenever creating a website for a business that springs from your books, you��ll want to include certain pieces of information on it.

All such websites should include the following six pages (though one or two of them can be combined):
�� Home �� This is the landing page where your potential clients will first learn about you. Because of that, you must clearly convey what your services are. Your pitch should focus on why you should be hired, which can be done by showing why you are the best at the services you offer.
�� About the Service offered �� This gives more detailed information about your services, such as a bulleted list of specific work that you��ll do for clients, a fee/rate schedule, and any special requirements you have in the way you conduct your business (such as a refund policy).
�� Testimonials �� Select comments that show the breadth of your skills and talents. Also try to show that you serve a wide range of clients.
�� Bio �� Your biography should not be long, say 300 words at the most. Emphasize your experience that makes you qualified to perform the service you offer. In addition, keep an upbeat, exuberant tone.
�� About Your Books �� Focus on those books related to your services. Include a thumbnail of the cover and a two-sentence summary of its contents. You can include titles unrelated to your service at the bottom of the web page.
�� Contact �� Always include a page in which potential clients can email you. Contacting you, after all, is what you want them to do!

In addition, include links to your blogs and social media, usually at the bottom of each page. You want people to follow and friend you at their favorite social media platform so that they follow your posts and stay up to date on your latest news.

Lastly, be sure to include a page about your services on your author��s site where you promote your books. The more ways people can discover your services, the better for your business!

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on May 10, 2018 04:45

4 Must-Know Spelling Rules for Writers

�� Rules for spelling possessive nouns
�� Double or single l when adding a suffix?
�� Correct method for making ��process�� plural
�� Split infinitives: To quickly confuse or not to confuse

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on May 09, 2018 04:45

Five Writing Prompts for Science Fiction

Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a ��reality�� in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as ��The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life�� or ��The government outlaws books.�� The author then asks ��What if?�� exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.

Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture �� that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating �� a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance �� still doesn��t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.

To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:

Bioengineered microbes for Mars
What if we created bioengineered microbes that would detoxify and enrich the soil on Mars so agricultural crops could be grown there? How might these microbes evolve?

Dr. Doolittle device
What if a device existed in which people could read animals�� emotions? How does this affect animal abuse and our keeping of animals in zoos? Would more people become vegetarians?

Laser-charged ion propulsion
What if we illuminated solar panels on spacecraft so that ion propulsion systems could be lighter, resulting in most efficient and faster travel? How does this push humanity farther to the edge of the solar system?

Nuclear pulse rocket
What if we exploded small thermonuclear bombs inside cusp-shaped magnetic fields behind a spacecraft to propel it speeds of 6200 miles per second? How does this make interplanetary travel within our solar system feasible?

Skyscraper suspended from space
What if a 30-mile high skyscraper could be constructed and worked/lived in? Its top would be anchored to an asteroid orbiting 31,000 miles about the Earth.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on May 08, 2018 04:45

Open story by hinting at some mysterious element

Straight-up information about a character or a setting rarely marks a great way to start a story. Instead, the opening lines need to hint at some mysterious element.

An example of straight-up information starting a story would be Heather Adams entered the doctor��s office and signed in at the receptionist��s desk for her annual checkup. That��s not very compelling and isn��t going to encourage many readers to continue.

Instead, the author could have written: Heather Adams�� hands flew to her tear-filled face, as the doctor caressed her shoulder.

That works as a story opener because it raises curiosity. The reader wants to know why Heather is crying. Rather than tell about the humdrum, give the reader a situation that is out of the ordinary or that is fraught with conflict.

In many ways, the opening lines and pages are a tease. The reader doesn��t know what��ll happen next and must read on to find out what will occur. Such is the case with the Heather crying line; the reader wants to know just why she is in tears and how she will cope with what caused her distress.

Ideally, the opening lines and pages hint at something that makes your story unique. If the Heather crying story examines how she deals with the rare disease of glioma, that��s a topic that hasn��t appeared in print before (or at least I��m unaware of such a short story). A theme dealing with a ethical decision that Heather must make as she copes with her disease could lead to a unique tale.

To create mystery, the opening line must carefully omit specific information. For example, we don��t know why Heather is crying, we don��t know if the doctor is soothing her or perhaps has victimized her, we don��t know why others (a spouse, a significant other) aren��t comforting her.

Be careful, though, not to confuse abstraction with mystery. When the reader has no clue who��s speaking, the names of characters, or the dilemma that exists, when they feel like they are in a mist rather than in a story, then there��s a problem. For example, if you wrote Salt water and darkness filled her vision...fingertips touched her... that��s probably too abstract for most readers.

Starting a story by synopsis, stage direction, and backstory likely means that the author is not really sure where to begin. The good news is your opening line is probably in your story but just buried. If the he Heather crying line was in the straight-up line story, it would come just a few sentences later once the reader has been taken through time spent in the waiting room, the examination, the blood draw, the doctor giving the bad news. So, to find your opening line, see if you can simply strip the tale of its opening backstory until you get to the line that hints at some mysterious element.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on May 07, 2018 04:45

5 Great Quotations about Writer��s Block

��For life, it��s very, very bad to be sensitive, but for a writer, it��s very good.�� - Karl Ove Knausgaard

��Writer��s block? If you��re stuck, it means you don��t yet know what you��re trying to say.�� - Susan Orlean

��It will come if it is there and if you will let it come.�� - Gertrude Stein

Writing about a writer��s block is better than not writing at all. - Charles Bukowski

��Every writer I know has trouble writing.�� - Joseph Heller

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?

Four ways to write a great tweet that sells books