Rob Bignell's Blog, page 275

Five Great Quotations about ���Write What You Know���

���The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time.��� - George Bernard Shaw

���You can���t write a sory until you've felt. Breathe it in. Walked with your characters. Talked with them. That���s why you come here. To live your story.��� - Angelica Banks

���Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.��� - Natalie Goldberg

���When it comes to being a writer: getting out of your own way, and getting rid of the countless negative thoughts that tell you what a hopelessly uninteresting specimen of humanity you are.��� - Pam Grout

���No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.��� ��� Robert Frost

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: Your serene setting

To be a writer, you must find a place where you can write with few distractions. That means no new magazines or books in easy reach, no TV, email or Internet to take your focus off the task. It must be a place where others will not carry on a conversation with you. For some, this place is the kitchen table, for others a den, for yet more the coffee shop. Examine your writing space. Is it a peaceful, serene setting where you can be creative? If not, transform it into such a place.

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. Whether you come from a big city like Daytona Beach, Florida, or a small town like Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Bundle ebooks to boost your online sales

One of the tried-and-true ways to move retail goods is to give a ���2 for 1��� or a ���Buy 1 get 1 free��� deal. People can���t resist a bargain, and the same strategy can work for your ebooks. This ploy in self-publishing is known as bundling.

As online booksellers such as Amazon.com don���t allow you to choose which individual titles to bundle into a sale (though Amazon.com will do so of its own volition), you have to do a work around. That���s easy enough with just a little extra effort on your part.

First, decide which books to bundle together. For example, if you���ve penned books about the craft of writing, you might combine your titles on plot, setting and character into one package. The idea is that the books in the bundle make sense when combined. Copy and paste those formatted ebooks into a single document.

Next, you���ll need to create some new material. First, you���ll need a new cover (one just for an ebook), a new half-title page, a new title page, and a table of contents that links to the start of each book in the bundle.

The cover should state that this is a bundle of books and perhaps even list those titles. The photo/illustration might be of those books��� covers, but usually a new image that ties all of the titles together is best.

You���ll also need a new description that states you���re selling a bundle and gives a summary of the titles included within it. This description is posted on the webpage selling your bundled title.

For the marketing ploy to work, the bundle must be less expensive than the price of the three books if they were purchased separately. So if each title is $1 ��� or $3 total ��� then the price of the bundled book should be about a third less, or $2.

Of course, you then will need to promote that this book is available. But you stand to gain more sales for less effort if you promote a bundled book rather than three separate titles.

Bundled ebooks mark a good way to stoke a resurgence in sales for your older titles. And if you have a new book coming out, the bundled collection is a great method of generating interest in you as an author and your upcoming title (be sure to include a page in your bundled book about the new title coming out!).

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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Strike conversational tone in nonfiction book

The most significant problem with nonfiction books that I edit is their tone ��� they are either a dry read or too preachy. By dry, I mean they stick solely to the facts and sound like an encyclopedia article. By preachy, I mean they come off as self-righteous. The tone of the former tends be flat and unvarying while the latter is a tiring, constant shout.

The best nonfiction manuscripts, however, have an entirely different tone, specifically one that is conversational. Reading them feels like I���ve been sitting at a campfire talking with understanding friends.

To strike a conversational tone in your nonfiction book, see if you���re doing the following:
��� Being informal ��� While the book���s structure may be quite formal, the wording doesn���t have to be. Write the book as if you were speaking with someone you know and like. The writing should be accessible and at times even entertaining via subtle humor. Don���t be too loose, however, or you can undercut your professional appearance.
��� Sharing stories ��� Personal anecdotes and others��� insightful stories can be weaved into the manuscript to help explain concepts and issues. Often readers will identify with the struggles relayed in those stories and will better relate to you as an author and connect to the book.
��� Encouraging the reader ��� Be upbeat in your manuscript. Avoid negativity and instead focus on assisting the reader. Remember, a reader has come to you, through your book, for help. Show them through your tone that you welcome them and believe they are capable of benefiting from what you have to tell them.

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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Every writer���s nightmare: Everyone vs. every one

These two words drive everyone nuts! Or is it ���every one nuts���?

Everyone (one word, no space) is a pronoun meaning ���every person in a group,��� as in ���Everyone at school was a real jerk today!��� my teen daughter exclaimed, as she swung open the door.

Every one (two words, a space) means ���each��� and so refers to single, standalone objects that usually are part of a larger set, as in Every one of those apples has a worm in it!

One trick to get the right spelling is to simply use each in place of every. If the sentence makes sense (Each one of those apples has a worm in it!), use every one. If the sentence doesn���t make sense (Each one at school was a real jerk today!), then use everyone.

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: It���s okay to do less

Write a little less. Don���t lower your standards but lower your output so you can spend time meeting with your friends or being with your family. After all, you can���t be a good writer if you find it a negative experience due to forced isolation.

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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Danish editing client publishes second novel

An editing client of mine from Denmark, Victoria Ichizli-Bartels, has published her second novel, ���A Spy���s Daughter.��� The novel follows the story of Hannah, a scientist living in post-Soviet Moldova, who goes to Germany to collect a state-of-the-art high-resolution microscope to take her lab���s research to a new level...but troubles begin when Hannah learns that her deceased mother during the Cold War held a secret job as an American spy. Hannah suddenly finds herself entwined in unresolved, decades-old conflicts between nations and the individuals who served them. The novel 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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Five Great Quotations about Science Fiction

���The trouble with science fiction is that you can write about everything: time, space, all the future, all the past, all of the universe, any kind of creature imaginable. That's too big. It provides no focus for the artist. An artist needs, in order to function, some narrowing of focus. Usually, in the history of art, the narrower the focus in which the artist is forced to work, the greater the art.��� - Philip Klass

���Science fiction is what I point at when I say science fiction.��� - Damon Knight

���If science fiction is the mythology of modern technology, then its myth is tragic.��� - Ursula K. Le Guin

���A science fiction story is a story with a human problem, and a human solution, that would not have happened at all without its scientific content.��� - Theodore Sturgeon

���Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.��� - Arthur C. Clarke

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: Add to your collection

Collectors always are easy to buy gifts for; you simply obtain an item that expands their collection. When writing, what do you ���collect���? Do you prefer to write descriptive paragraphs of settings? Haiku? Space opera action scenes? Expand your personal collection by spending your writing session working on what you most enjoy penning.

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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Add reader���s guide to end of your novel

Readers who have reached the end of your novel are prime candidates to talk about your book. One great way to encourage them to do so is by adding a reader���s guide. This provides some boost to members of a book club or a reading group who want to recommend that your title be added to their monthly rotation.

The reader���s guide need not be long. In fact, a set of 25-30 discussion questions or just 2-3 pages maximum in a paperback is more than enough.

The challenge facing you the author is to ensure the discussion questions are open-ended, that they focus on key points in the key, and that they are interesting enough to foment conversation. One way to accomplish the last point is to ask readers to provide examples from their own experiences as part of the answer; for example, if the novel is Albert Camus��� ���The Stranger���, one question might be ���Would you characterize yourself as a ���stranger��� in your community? In what ways?���

Discussion questions might address the following aspects of your novel:
��� Title���s significance
��� Meaning of symbols in the story
��� Character���s controversial decision(s)
��� Whether or not the reader agrees with a character���s actions
��� Changes characters undergo
��� Nature of relationships between characters
��� Ways readers might identify with characters

The reader���s guide can be posted to your blog or website as well as to the book. When readers see the intriguing questions, they might purchase the book or feel encouraged to get it on their book club���s reading rotation. And be sure to include in the description on the website pages where people can purchase your book that it includes a bonus reader���s guide.

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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