Rob Bignell's Blog, page 295

Spell as you speak? Miniscule vs. minuscule

Probably because most of us pronounce this word���s second syllable with a short i instead of an u, it���s been giving writers spelling problems for some time now. 

Most stylebooks, including Chicago Manual and Associated Press, recommend using minuscule, and for a long time that has been the standard spelling. However, due to growing use of miniscule between the 1930s and 1980s, many dictionaries and word processing spell checks now recognize either spelling.

This word apparently is one of those in transition, and perhaps one day minuscule as a spelling will go the way of alack and other now archaic words. Until that time, however, stick with the standard spelling.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 New Haven, Connecticut, or a small town like Bullfrog, Utah, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Don't smother writing with your red pen
It's not all too much: Faint vs. feint
When to promote your book using Twitter

Writing Inspiration: Your Dream

What is your dream? In a few sentences, describe what would most make you happy ��� that is, what would make you feel whole and content, as a writer.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 El Paso, Texas, or a small town like Wanderoos, Wisconsin, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

What are your characters' motivations?
Editing tip: Use parentheses and keep going
Editing client publishes his first travelogue
Editing tip: Has it been done before?

Three great ebook formatting tips, part II

Ebooks follow different formatting rules than books printed on paper. That���s because a book made of ink on paper is a different platform for presenting information than a book made of digital bits on an electronic screen. Even though the same content (your book) is being presented, the platforms will need to be handled differently, just as certainly different production methods are used for a play presented on stage and on a television screen.

Because of that, there are a number of things you might do when formatting a paperback but never would do when constructing an ebook. Following are three tips about what to differently.

Drop caps
Usually drop caps won���t work in ebooks, so they���re best avoided. As the reader can alter the font and font size, the drop cap typically will float above or drop below the line it just appear in front of. As most ebooks don���t support text wrap, converting a drop cap to an image isn���t viable either. You can create a poor man���s drop cap by making the first letter of a chapter boldface and two or three points larger than the regular text, but this generally doesn���t look as good as the elegant drop caps used in paper books.

Font size
Most ereaders will allow you to vary the text���s font size (aka point size) but within strict limits. Because of this, the paperback might be able to handle a font size of 48 points, but the ereader won���t. That���s because ereaders and tablets have a limited screen size, so going too large means all of the letters of a word won���t fit on a single line. If varying the font size, do so only with the headers and limit yourself to just a couple of changes. Typically, 18 points is the largest (and accepted) size that looks good in an ebook. So the title of the book might be 18 points boldface. After that, the most important heading ��� say for a chapter ��� would be 15 points boldface. The next heading ��� say for a section of a chapter ��� would be 12 points boldface with the text 11 or 12 points regular font. Subsections of a chapter section might be the same size as the text but in italics.

Footers
Don���t place text, such as page numbers or the book���s title, within the footer section of a word processing document. Typically this information won���t show up in an ebook, making your work for naught. Sometimes (and worse) it will show up, placing text where it shouldn���t appear in the ebook. Remember, ebooks don���t use page numbers, and most automatically will place the title of your book at the top of each screen page that the reader of you ebook sees.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Albany, New York, or a small town like Ding Dong, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Five Great Quotations about Craft of Writing
Sales advantages of writing nonfiction books
Pitch book through Back of Room sales

Five Great Quotations about Why We Write

���I am aware of being in a beautiful prison, from which I can only escape by writing.��� - Ana��s Nin

���We tell ourselves stories in order to live.��� - Joan Didion

���I have no taste for either poverty or honest labor, so writing is the only recourse left for me.��� - Hunter S. Thompson

���A storyteller makes up things to help other people; a liar makes up things to help himself.��� - Daniel Wallace

���I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.��� - W. Somerset Maugham

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Greenville, South Carolina, or a small town like Cocklebiddy, Washington, I can provide that second eye.

 

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Five Great Quotations about Books
Five Great Quotations about Craft of Writing
Pitch book through Back of Room sales

Writing Inspiration: Read trashy writing

Do you dream of becoming a writer but find yourself questioning your own ability to write? You night just need a little inner encouragement.

Begin by not comparing your writing to great authors. They spent years developing their skills and talents. Instead, read extremely trashy works by hack authors or in a genre that you dislike. You���ll begin to think of your writing as comparatively good and will recognize overused literary devices that you should avoid in your pieces.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Knoxville, Tennessee, or a small town like Lick Skillet, Virginia, I can provide that second eye.

 

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Do characters' actions arise from their needs?
Editing tip: Learn some literary devices
Add 'click to tweet' button to your promotions
Writing Prompt: Practice being present

Sell books by posting at high-traffic blogs

One great way to sell books online ��� especially if you write nonfiction ��� is by commenting on posts at high-traffic blogs related to your book���s topic. That���s because you���re targeting an audience that is highly interested in the topics you���ve written about.

Begin by identifying the high-traffic blogs. Pick one or two words that best describe your book(s)��� topic. Then, in your favorite search engine, type ���top (topic) blogs���, with the (topic) being the word or two you���ve selected; for example, if you write books about camping, type ���topic camping blogs���. Usually you���ll find blog entries or articles that list such blogs. Check out each of the listings, learning your way around them and seeing if they best relate to your book. From this search, create your own list of the10-20 top blogs.

Next, on at least a couple of them a day, leave comments that don't directly promote your book but instead offer something valuable for other visitors to read. You���re establishing yourself, via the comments, as an expert on the topic.

Eventually, other readers will come to recognize your name and see you as an expert. As they do, they'll look up info about you, or even better the owner of the blog may ask you to write a guest commentary in which an author's bio tells who you are. Side note: You can boost your standing with the blog owner by posting links to the blog entry via retweeting, posting a pic on your Pinterest board, making a Facebook shout out, and so on.

While leaving comments and publishing a blog entry may only lead to the sale of a couple of books, in the long run it offers a number of cumulative benefits ��� you probably will add people to your mailing list, gain link backs to your website that boost its visibility, and develop a network that can lead to later sales.

To be ultra-efficient, write comments that can be used in a book you plan to write so that way you pick two flowers with one swipe. For example, if your next camping book is about tents, focus your comments on blog entries related to tents. Be sure to add the posted paragraphs in your notes for the tent book.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Chicago, Illinois, or a small town like Humptulips, Washington, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Best time to promote your book on Google+
Best time to promote your book on Pinterest
Best time to post on LinkedIn

Writing inspiration: Learn from past success

Think of a passage you once struggled to write but ultimately completed. How did you work through the difficulties? Can those same strategies be used the next time you face a difficult to write passage?

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 New Haven, Connecticut, or a small town like Bullfrog, Utah, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Writing Prompt: Make up a Situation
Writing Prompt: Random words
A change in the weather: Climactic vs. climatic

A new perspective: Farther vs. further

If only some writers would make this mix-up go away ��� a long, long way away.

Farther involves physical distance. For example, Chicago is farther away from Los Angeles than Denver is.

Further is all about distance in time or as an abstraction. To wit: The further in time we move from the Vietnam War, the fewer the number of people who know anything about it.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Omaha, Nebraska, or a small town like Duckville, Tennessee, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Feeling left out? Accept vs. except
It's not all too much: Faint vs. feint
Editing tip: Learn some literary devices

Writing Prompt: Different world

Suffering from writer���s block or need to add some spunk to your writing? The problem may be that you need to change up your routine. To that end, try this tip: List five ways you wish the world were different. During your next few writing sessions, develop some story or nonfiction ideas that make these wishes ���real.���

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Omaha, Nebraska, or a small town like Duckville, Tennessee, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Writing Prompt: Make up a Situation
Editing tip: Learn some literary devices
Add 'click to tweet' button to your promotions
Apply technique learned from writing guides
Writing Prompt: Observe your thoughts

Three great formatting tips for ebooks

Ebooks follow different formatting rules than books printed on paper. That���s because a book made of ink on paper is a different platform for presenting information than a book made of digital bits on an electronic screen. Even though the same content (your book) is being presented, the platforms will need to be handled differently, just as certainly different production methods are used for a play presented on stage and on a television screen.

Because of that, there are a number of things you might do when formatting a paperback but never would do when constructing an ebook. Following are three tips about what to differently.

Apostrophes
A common problem that can sneak into your manuscript when self-publishing is a mix of apostrophe styles. That���s because some software programs use smart quotes, or those that are curved (e.g. ������), while others use dumb quotes, or those that are straight (e.g. ''). Typographically, smart quotes (also referred to as curly quotes) are preferred over dumb quotes (also known as keyboard quotes). When self-publishing an ebook, you can use either style, but you want to be consistent and exclusively use one. If you have a mix of styles, simply do a global search and find, and replace all of the quotation marks and apostrophes with one style. In Microsoft Word, to replace dumb quotes with smart quotes, first make highlight a copy a smart quote in the text (You may have to type one). Then highlight a dumb quote and in the command ribbon under the Home tab, hit ���Replace���. A screen should pop up with the dumb quote in the ���Find what��� box. Paste the smart quote in the ���Replace with��� box and hit ���Replace all���. This will replace both the opening and the ending quotation mark throughout the document. Finally, repeat this process for apostrophes.

Bulleted lists
One of the big problems with ereaders is that they lack the ability to translate fancy symbols used to make bulleted lists in Microsoft Word. The result is that a bullet point ends up being a letter or set of numbers, which looks unprofessional and can confuse readers. The first rule to follow is to never use Microsoft Word���s built-in bullet list function. Most print-on-demand software such as what Kindle DP uses won���t recognize Microsoft���s coding for the bullet list. Instead, you get an indentation mess on the ereader. Further, avoid the poor man���s approach to bullet points, which involves not indenting the line and using a dash or an asterisk in place of a bullet point. This looks fairly unsophisticated. The solution to creating translatable bullet points in Microsoft Word is quite simple. On a PC, hold down the ALT key and hit 7 on the keypad (Remember that you need to have NUM LOCK on to use a PC���s keypad.). On a Mac, hold down the OPTION key and hit 8 on the keypad.

Enter key
Don���t overclick the enter key (aka return key). Two clicks at the end of a paragraph ��� one to mark the paragraph���s end and one to create a blank space before the next paragraph ��� are sufficient. Any more than that will result in long stretches of white space in your ebook, which can lead to blank white pages that confuse readers, who wonder if your book is done.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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 Albuquerque, New Mexico, or a small town like Mud Butte, South Dakota, I can provide that second eye.

<A HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widg... Widgets</A>Related articles

Five Great Quotations about Craft of Writing
Sales advantages of writing nonfiction books
Pitch book through Back of Room sales