Rob Bignell's Blog, page 219

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Published on April 03, 2018 04:45

Book Jump podcast interviews editor

The writing podcast Book Jump ran an interview with me this week. Book Jump gives authors advice about how to connect with readers and is hosted by W.P. Norman, author of the sci-fi comedy Reality Check.

Among the topics covered in the interview:
�� The four main types of book editing
�� Do you need an editor for your book blurb?
�� Common mistakes to avoid in your books
�� Editorial mistakes that writers often get wrong

The interview is available online.

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 April 02, 2018 04:45

5 Great Quotations about Theme

��All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.�� - E.B. White

��Throughout the ages, stories with certian basic themes have recurred over and over, in widely disparate culutres; emerging like the goddess Venus from the sea of our unconscious.�� - Joan D. Vinge

��Words are guns. If you feel strongly about something, aim your guns and shoot.�� - James N. Frey

��An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.�� - Oscar Wilde

��My pen shall heal, not hurt.�� - L.M. Montgomery

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 April 01, 2018 06:00

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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Published on March 31, 2018 05:00

Promote your book with a speaking career

An excellent way to promote your book, especially if you write nonfiction, is with a speaking career.

As you��ve authored a book, you��re an expert on the topic you��ve written about. People will want to hear you provide insights on the topic, learn a little about how you wrote the book, and discover some interesting insider info about you as an author. You can sell your books at a table following the speech.

To become a public speaker, begin by selecting a topic you��ll speak about. Make sure it relates to your books. The topic should be focused and narrow; if you wrote a nonfiction about car maintenance, for example, ��how to fix your car�� is too broad but ��6 Hacks to Keep Your Car from Breaking Down�� is perfect. The speech should be written to last about 20 minutes, though you may want to have sections marked that can be pulled or added should an event require you speak a shorter/longer period. Usually a double-space typed piece of paper equals two minutes of speaking.

Next, you must promote yourself to land speaking gigs.

Start on your author��s site with a web page that focuses on your speaking services. The text on the page should explain what you speak about in no more than a couple of paragraphs, six sentences total. You may want to use a bulleted list to make it easy to scan. Include a bio of yourself; the bio should be written to answer why you are qualified to talk about your subject. Include testimonials on your page. At least three, but no more than a dozen, are needed. Each testimonial should speak to a different aspect or talent �� you��re an engaging speaker, you��re knowledgeable and informative, you��re asked by groups to come back and speak again. At the page��s bottom, include the logos and names of companies or organizations to which you��ve spoken.

If your author��s page doesn��t have a contact page, add one, and include a link to it on your speaking services page. You also may want to list your rates, especially if they undercut your competition; often when someone looking to book a speaker comes to your page, they��re already interested, and the deciding factor is how much you charge.

Be sure to get yourself business cards for your public speaking service. This is a great item to hand out with books you sell and whenever networking.

Speaking of which, you��ll need to do a lot of it to land speaking jobs. Attend conferences, workshops and events related to your book��s topic and let everyone there know you��re available. You also can write an introductory letter to heads of organizations that regularly have guest speakers, though this is like a cold call; you��ll land a few jobs but most letters won��t net a response.

As you give speeches, keep track of the questions asked afterward. The questions can point you in the direction of several new blog entries you might write and even products you might provide; for example, if the you��ve written a book about how to ski, you��ll almost always get the question ��What are some great ski trails in this area that you��d recommend?�� That sounds like the beginning of a ski trail guidebook.

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 March 30, 2018 04:45

Indie authors should complete Schedule SE

An important federal tax form that indie authors will have to file is Schedule SE.

The schedule calculates the self-employment taxes owed for Social Security and Medicare. Since you don��t earn a paycheck, the government collects your contribution to those programs via self-employment tax. The form is attached to the IRS Form 1040.

Determining your self-employment tax first requires that you know your net income from your business. That is determined by completing Schedule C.

If your income only comes through self-employed income, you likely only need to complete the short form in Schedule SE��s Section A. If you earn income in addition to being self-employed (such as if you have a day job), you��ll need to complete Section B.

The form is fairly straightforward and easy to complete �� so long as you��ve been keeping good business records. The numbers you need to complete the form will be found in your general ledger account.

Once you��ve calculated your self-employment tax, that number is placed in two spots on your 1040.

If you��ve learned less than $400 from self-employed income, you don��t owe any self-employment tax. In addition, while the total net profit from all of your businesses is reported, only the first $106,800 is taxable for Social Security purposes.

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 March 29, 2018 04:45

Dice vs. die: Which is singular, which is plural?

So much confusion exists over which version of these words (referring to a six-sided object used in games) is singular and plural, that many people just cast their fate to the wind.

And, as if at a casino, most people lose. Well, get it backwards to be more exact.

Dice is plural, as in We rolled the dice and got two sixes.

Die, contrary to popular belief, is singular; to wit, Monopoly uses two dice, but Clue uses just a die.

Here��s a neat memory trick: ��Dice rhymes with mice. Mice is plural just like dice.��

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 March 28, 2018 04:45

5 Writing Prompts for Killer SF Stories

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:

Biometric tattoos
What if we wore sensors, implanted beneath our skin, that could monitor our bodies for when we are having health problems? If you were having a stroke, for example, the sensor automatically would call for an ambulance and give your location to them.

Body heat-powered buildings
What if excess body heat in buildings could be pulled into a ventilation system and used to heat water that in turn warms those buildings? How does this sustainable energy innovation affect society?

Neural driving
What if you could drive your car with your mind? Your neural impulses would be linked to the car��s computer so that you literally could think what it should do. What other applications might this technology have (such as changing the room temperature or the television channel)?

3D Fingerprints
Current fingerprint technology is based on a 2D image of the print. What if we could upscale that to 3D fingerprint readers, in which the structures underneath the skin are read? How would forgers attempt to break this?

36 Ophiuchi AB colonization
What if future space explorers attempt to colonize this binary star system? What challenges would they face on a planet orbiting an orange K-type star?

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 March 27, 2018 04:45

8 Tricks to Writing Suspenseful Fiction

�� Maintain tension throughout your story
�� Avoid 'organ music' to create story suspense
�� Don��t break circuit of suspense when it��s hot
�� Avoid inappropriate mystery to create suspense
�� Speed up story by curtailing dramatic narration
�� Fast forward�� to keep your story moving
�� Employ lock-in to ensure you have a story
�� Increase story��s suspense through reversal
�� BONUS: "I try to leave out the parts that people skip." �� Elmore Leonard

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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