Rob Bignell's Blog, page 234
October 28, 2017
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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October 27, 2017
Nurture Your Books runs interview of me
Nurture 
Your Books featured me in an interview that ran Thursday. In the interview, you can learn my top editing tips for writers, if I ever silently edit books in my head when reading outside of work, and whether or not editing ever gets boring for me. Special thanks to Bobbie Crawford and Nurture Your Books for the article. You can read the full interview 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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October 26, 2017
How to place photos in your paperback
When formatting 
the paper version of book, photos are a must if you���ve written nonfiction. Pictures, maps and illustrations can add value to your book in a number of ways.
There are several elements to consider when placing a photo in your book, though. Among them are photo selection, using copies, format, dimensions, resolution, color, and placement in the text. Let���s look at each one.
Photo selection
A photo for the sake of having a photo doesn���t benefit the reader, so only select those that enhance the book���s quality. For example, the photo should illustrate a concept that otherwise is difficult to visualize. In my hiking guidebooks, that might be a trail map or a picture of a rare flower that can be seen along the path. A photo also could provide additional but relevant information that wouldn���t appear in the text. For my books, this might be the view from a vista or a trailhead sign that misspells the trail���s name (which can be pointed in the caption).
Never use the original
Always work with copies of your original photo. Should you crop or accidentally delete the original, you then limit your options for using that picture in your book. Place the copies in a new folder so you do not confuse them with the originals.
Photo format
Photos can appear in a number of formats. The most widely accepted format when uploading paperbacks is a jpeg (.jpg), so convert all of your photos to that type. Portable network graphics (.png) also are widely used but still not universal among print on demand companies. Never use photos that are bitmap (.bmp), vector (.eps or .ai), Photoshop (.psd), or raw camera (RAW or Exif) files.
Photo dimensions
Always be aware of the photo���s dimensions. As there is a limit to how large a book���s file size can be, the more large photos you add, the more likely you are to go over that limit. The best solution for maximizing the number of photos in your book while maintaining photo quality is to ensure the photos are the exact dimensions ��� that is height and width ��� as they will be in the book. All you really have to do to achieve that is set the photo���s width to the amount of space that a full line of text (the distance between the left and right or the inside and outside margins) will take up in your book; just check to assure that the height isn���t longer than the amount of space between your top and bottom margins.
Resolution
Use photos that are 300 dpi (dots per inch). This ensures they will appear in your paperback at the highest quality possible. Photos smaller than 300 dpi will increasingly appear pixelated the closer you get to 1 dpi. And there���s no real benefit in going more than 300 dpi.
Use color
Color photos in a paper book greatly raise the production costs and so ups the price you must charge readers. Because of this, most of the time you���ll want to grayscale your photos (that is, make them black and white). Always keep a color version of your photo sized for the paperback, however, as it can be used in your paperback.
How to place them
Once you have a jpeg photo that is the correct size and dpi (and in color if possible), you���re ready to place it on your MS Word document. Begin by setting the manuscript in single space mode. After the last line of text that you want the photo to appear after, hit ENTER key twice. Insert the photo there. On the line below the photo, type the caption/cutline. Use a different font and point/font size than the manuscript���s main text to help distinguish it; italics often is all you need. At the end of the caption���s text, hit ENTER twice and continue with the manuscript���s main text.
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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October 25, 2017
3 Tips On Properly Using Numbers When Writing
��� When to spell out numbers in a book
��� No more errors in your writing: Less vs. fewer
��� Play it smart: Don���t use 12 a.m./12 p.m.
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: Others dream of writing a book ��� I am living that dream!
October 24, 2017
SF Story Starters: Novum Writing Prompts
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:
Telepathic computers
What if almost everything made by man included chips that could read your brainwaves and do as you think ��� for example, the coffeemaker starts brewing coffee, the shower turns on, and the floor rug automatically warms for your bare feet when you wake up in the morning?
Hurricane reducers
What if tens of thousands of windmills were placed in the Atlantic to suck the energy out of tropical storms? Such a system could radically reduce wind speeds and storm surges at a time when global warming is heating up our oceans.
Respirocytes
What if nanobots called respirocytes ��� which can hold up to 200 times more oxygen than our red blood cells ��� could be injected into the human circulatory system? How would this affect the military, sports, and other professions?
Pulse detonation engines
What if supersonic jets ��� which can make the hop from New York City to London in just two hours ��� were commonplace? A pulse detonation engine, which uses a fuel-air mixture to make faster than sound jet engines efficient, could do the trick.
Utility fog
What if nanobots, aka as ���foglets,��� could morph their shape at anytime? The interconnected foglets, managed by a tiny computer could instantly adjust seat belts to better protect passengers in a car crash or strengthen sections of a building to ward off wind in a tornado.
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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October 23, 2017
6 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Protagonists
��� How to create a memorable protagonist
��� Create main character that readers bond with
��� Avoid temptation to create author surrogate
��� Don���t fully commit protagonist in opening scene
��� Allow main character to experience crisis of faith
��� Give your character a distinctive voice
��� BONUS: ���Don���t let yourself slip and get any perfect characters... keep them people, people, people...���
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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October 22, 2017
5 Great Quotations about Finishing Your Book
���The reason 
99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home.��� - John Campbell
���Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.��� - Truman Capote
���Finish what you���re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish.��� - Neil Gaiman
���The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.��� - Philip Roth
���Writing is hard. That���s why so few people stick to it and actually finish things.��� - Andy Ihnatko
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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October 21, 2017
4 Tips to Get You Started Writing
��� You must always be ready to write
��� Every moment offers a great opportunity to write
��� Finding time to write
��� Write on paper or type on computer?
��� BONUS: ���A professional writer is an amateur who didn���t quit.��� - Richard Bach
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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October 20, 2017
Create video diary of writing process
One great 
way writers can use YouTube to sell books is video diaries. A video diary takes the viewer through your writing process on a manuscript, from outlining to researching and writing, from revising to self-publishing and even promoting. The diary would consist of several videos made over a number of months. Think of it as reality TV for writers.
Authors and readers alike will find the process and challenges you face extremely intriguing. Because of that, a video diary can get people interested in your book before it���s released. Links to the videos make for great tweets, Google+ and Facebook posts, saving valuable writing energy for your manuscript. If you���ve already published a book (or books!), the increased interest in you as an author can boost sales of those titles.
Many authors fear sharing the content of the book, believing it either will be stolen or it will discourage readers from buying the book, as they already know what will happen. Both are rare possibilities at best. The reality is that you���re not offering people enough information for them to pirate a coherent work or to dissuade them from buying. Indeed, regarding the latter, Wisconsin Public Radio reads an entire book aloud over two or three weeks in a noon hour broadcast, and every one of the read titles has seen a sales boost while it was featured.
If you���re not video or YouTube savvy, a dairy easily could be done via a blog or audio clips. A photo diary also is possible, as you take pictures of your manuscript, research, who you envision characters look like, and more.
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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October 19, 2017
Learn More About Self-Publishing: Whether writing a nove...
Learn More About Self-Publishing: Whether writing a novel or nonfiction, whether planning to print a paperback or an ebook, 7 Minutes a Day to a Self-Published Book guides you through the self-publishing process, from the title page to the index, from designing a cover to formatting your text.
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