Allyson E. Machate's Blog, page 5
December 7, 2021
The Maze: How to Be Specifically Ambiguous in Fiction
Sometimes you want to add a little mystery for your readers, but are you being mysterious or just frustratingly vague? Harrison Demchick has written a fantastic piece for Writers Helping Writers that will point you in the right direction and make sure you find the right balance between specific detail and ambiguity. In this blog post titled “The Maze: How to Be Specifically Ambiguous in Fiction,” he explains how to be cryptic without being oblique in keeping your writing mysterious. Head on ...
November 17, 2021
How to Write a Great First Sentence and Nail Your Opening
In the process of writing a novel or memoir—or anything, really—no single sentence is more outright intimidating than the first. It isn’t easy to figure out how to write a great first sentence.
You hear it in workshops, college classrooms, writer’s conferences, and how-to books, and for that matter in blog posts like this one written by book editors like me: The first sentence needs to hook the reader. If the first sentence doesn’t engage the reader, why bother with the second? There are ...
November 1, 2021
Polishing Your Work for Publication – Mt. Diablo California Writers Club, Nov. 13, 2021
Our very own Ally Machate will be sharing how to “Polish Your Work for Publication” via the California Writer’s Club – Mt. Diablo Branch Meeting on November 13th. Join us to explore the most common problems that plague written works and identify simple yet effective ways to resolve them.
Whether you plan to self-publish or publish traditionally, understanding how to get your manuscript perfect or as close to perfect as possible is very important. Ally will explain why it is essential for your...
October 30, 2021
How to Improve Your First Chapter by Eliminating Hidden Exposition
One of the most common questions novelists have is how to improve your first chapter. And one of the biggest pitfalls in the opening pages of a novel or memoir is exposition. Most exposition comes in the form of explanation or back story—often a dump of information (aka an “info dump”) that, though intended to help readers understand the story, actually keeps them from the story you’re trying to tell.
That’s why we focused the first part of this series on beginning instead with action—becaus...
October 20, 2021
How to Write a Captivating Book Proposal
Many authors believe they must write a book before they can start trying to pitch their work to agents and publishers, but if you’re writing a prescriptive nonfiction (i.e. problem-solving) book, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy by giving these industry pros what they really want: A captivating book proposal.
Our very own Ally Machate offers insightful tips on how to do just that in this guest post for Smith Publicity. She focuses on what makes a captivating book proposal and ho...
October 18, 2021
Building the Perfect Draft – Maryland Writers Conference, Oct. 16, 2021
It is time to take your vision from Brain to Bookshelf. You’ve had that wonderful idea for a book percolating in your head, and now it’s time to take the steps and learn the skills and tools you need to take it from just an idea to a book beautifully displayed on a bookshelf.
Our very own Harrison Demchick will be speaking at the Maryland Writers Conference “From Brain to Bookshelf” hosted by the Maryland Writer’s Assocation. His presentation will be about “Building the Perfect Draft: How a W...
September 30, 2021
Why You Don’t Suck: An Editor’s Guide
When writing a book, authors are often plagued with the question of does this suck? Do I suck? It is crucial that you remember that is probably not the case.
Our very own Harrison Demchick offers four impactful ideas you should keep in mind as you draft and edit your book. He also stresses the importance of knowing your first draft isn’t perfect and it is going through the editing stages that you perfect your novel. You can see his insights on his guest post for Positive Writer.
H...
September 22, 2021
Book Publicity vs Book Marketing: How to Know the Difference
The Writer’s Ally is so pleased to feature this helpful post explaining how to think about book publicity vs book marketing from expert Nickcole Watkins at Smith Publicity. Wondering which is best for you? Read on.
Book publicity vs book marketing: What’s the difference? You might find yourself asking: aren’t they the same thing? The answer is no—which may be surprising to most authors, as it is one of the most common misconceptions. It’s like saying butter and margarine are the same thing …w...
August 22, 2021
Get Off Your Draft at AwesomeCon – Aug. 22, 2021
For the second time, our very own Harrison Demchick was invited to AwesomeCon to moderate a panel presented by The Writer’s Ally. Along with a number of fellow editors and author clients, the panel discussion focused on completing your draft and moving forward with the publication of your novel.
We can all agree that writing is a unique process. Each author has a style that works for them. Many people aspire to write a novel, but few people make it to their draft. It could be that you re...
August 1, 2021
Polishing for Publication Webinar — hosted by AutoCrit, Aug. 2021
Award-winning editor and expert book consultant Ally Machate joins host Autocrit and sponsor BookBaby to examine the most common problems that leave otherwise promising books languishing at the bottom of the slush pile… forever.
In this exciting webinar, Ally will explore the benefits of having high-quality work that is polished to a professional standard. And she’ll share some specific tips on how to improve your draft using AutoCrit, one of her favorite editing tools, or without it.
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