Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 189
August 26, 2018
Author Copies: Meth and Steroids
Look what arrived Saturday! I look strangely happy given the fact that I’m holding up books on Steroids and Meth. But that’s the way of author’s copies. We get excited. These may have been among the most difficult books that I’ve researched. Everyone who is reporting statistics has a bias. Treatment centers want business. Use […]
August 23, 2018
5 Minutes a Day: World Building
Recently I read a post on the SCBWI Summer Conference Blog about Malinda Lo’s session on world building. As a science fiction and fantasy author, Lo spoke on the importance of creating a culture and setting that make the story feel real. This isn’t something that takes place only in science fiction and fantasy. As […]
August 22, 2018
Writing Nonfiction: What to Include, What to Leave Out
There comes a point in every nonfiction project when you are left looking at all of the amazing facts that did NOT make it into what you are writing. “Oh, but that one is so . . . fun . . . cute . . . sweet . . . shocking.” Soon you find yourself […]
August 21, 2018
Writing: Returning to a Project After an Absence
Full-time writer, part-time writer, I don’t think it matters. At some point you will end up putting a project aside and then having to get back into it. To put it simply, it ain’t easy. It has only been about two weeks since I worked on my novel. But that’s two weeks without dabbling around […]
August 20, 2018
How to Write a How-to
I’ve been working on a 1960s Singer sewing machine that I found in a yard sale. Job #1 – replace the motor drive belt. How hard could it possibly be to replace a sewing machine belt? Not so hard once you have a good how-to. The manual? No, it wasn’t poorly written. That information just […]
August 19, 2018
Book Covers: My Dog Books
Take a day off work and spend some time on the internet and look what you find. Book covers! These are two of the books that I wrote for RedLine earlier this year. They are part of a new Capstone Press series, Top Hybrid Dogs. Let me put it simply – these books were a […]
August 16, 2018
Recharging: Spending the Day in Your PJs
Yesterday I met a major deadline. I did a hard-copy edit of all 1300 words and then made the changes in my document. I am, as they say, toast. My sense of humor is shot. I can sit and stare at the wall for 20 minutes but can’t concentrate on anything important for 5. So […]
August 15, 2018
Writer vs Reader
This isn’t a post about difficult readers but about advance sales. As a writer, I understand them. The publisher wants to get word out and get people excited. They want orders already coming in when the book comes out. I get that. As a writer. As a reader? Not so much. This morning, someone tweeted […]
August 14, 2018
Pitching Your Idea
What is it that makes a pitch work? Is it theme? Or maybe you should show how action-packed your idea is? I might have said either of those things a week ago before I saw this meme. Note: I’ve blurred out the name of the movie. If you’ve seen this meme and know the movie […]
August 13, 2018
Can You Hear Me? Writing to Your Reader
As I’m working to bring another nonfiction book together, I’m working with a topic that is not in my comfort zone. I know more than most of my readers but not as much as I want them to know when all is said and done. This means that I’ve been having to learn the topic […]
