Bryan Collins's Blog, page 101

Grammarly Review: Is This Grammar Checker Worth It?

I updated this Grammarly review in June 2017 to reflect how I and readers here use it today. 

[image error]Do you know the fundamentals of english grammar?

Are you confident what you’re writing is error-free and easy to read?

Would you like a tool or grammar checker to help you proof-read your work?

I think you’ll agree with me when I say typos and grammar mistakes are embarrassing.

I recently discovered Grammarly, a grammar checker for proofreading articles, book chapters and blog posts.

I spent 30 days...

Is LeadPages Worth It? Find Out In This Review

LeadPages review updated: October, 2017[image error]
Would you like to increase the number of people who subscribe to your blog or email list?

Is LeadPages worth it?

Now, I don’t like spending time coding or tinkering with the back-end of my website. I’d rather spend my time writing and building relationships online.

I first tried LeadPages for 30 days because I wanted a tool that would help me increase email sign-ups and create a  landing page easily without hiring a developer.

That was over two years ag...

Writing the First Draft: The No-Nonsense Guide for Authors

I once wrote the first draft of a book chapter that smelt so bad, I had to open up the office window while reading it.

It’s a good thing my first drafts are for me alone, and yours should be too.

“When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” – Kurt Vonnegut

When you sit down to write a first draft, you may lack confidence or feel uninspired by what you’re about to do.

Today, it’s you alone wrestling with your ideas and stories, and if you pin one to the page...

ConvertKit vs MailChimp Which Email Marketing Software is Best?

In this ConvertKit review, I’ll explain why I switched from MailChimp to ConvertKit and help you decide if this email software is right for you.

But first… I think you’ll agree we all want to find more readers.

Well, email marketing is the best way to communicate with the readers of your blog and your books.

Most people don’t see a tweet, and it’s quite difficult to get engagement on Facebook these days unless you’re prepared to pay for it.

Email marketing offers a larger return than social m...

How to Create a Noteworthy Author Photo that Captures Fans

Note from Bryan:

This is a guest post by Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. I interviewed Dave recently about selling books on Kindle.

Here’s his take on how to create a noteworthy author picture that captures fans.

When you’re self-publishing a book, there are two images people judge you by:

Your book cover Your author picture

Most authors know to spend the time and money to make an eye-catching and professional book cover, but so many make huge mistakes with their author picture.

You may not...

7 Common Writing Mistakes That Will Stop You Finishing Your Book

Updated: March 13, 2017

It’s exciting, isn’t it?

Writing your first book and then sending the final version to your editor and later it being available (and SELLING!) on stores like Amazon.

The months (or even years) of hard work are over, and now you can watch with pride as your book goes out into the world.

Now, you can sit back as your ideas and stories make an impact on readers and earn you a side-income.

But, what if you’re not there yet? What if you’re still struggling to finish your f...

Is Audible Worth It? Why I Use It and Love It Every Day

Updated: March 10, 2017

Do you want to find time to read more often?

Or do you want to know: is Audible worth it?

It’s an Amazon company that produces and sells hundreds of thousands of popular audiobooks.

A couple of years ago, I questioned the value of audiobooks.

Why?

Well, listening to an audiobook felt like cheating on a real book.

I was also skeptical about being able to get into something that an actor narrates. I saw audiobooks as expensive distractions from the written word.

How wr...

Selling Books on Kindle: An Interview with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur

http://becomeawritertoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/dave-chesson-interview.mp3

Here’s an interview I did recently with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur about selling books on Kindle. You can listen online by clicking the play button above or read the transcript below. If you’d like to download the audio to listen to later, click this button:

Audio Download of Interview

Interview Transcript: Q. Could you tell me a little bit about your background?

Well sure, I used to be in the US Militar...

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What You Need to Know About Self-Publishing: An Interview With Chandler Bolt

http://becomeawritertoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/chandler-bolt-interview.m4a

Self Publishing School is launching this week, and it’s a great way to learn how to write, publish and sell your first book.

I recently caught up with Chandler Bolt, the author of six self-published books and the founder of Self Publishing School.

In this video interview, he told me about:

How to self-publish a book in 2017 The one thing you must do before you write or self-publish your book How to avoid t...<![endif]--><!--[if lt IE 9]></div>

Self-Editing: How to Improve Your Writing

Have you ever written a paragraph in your book, rewrote it, written another paragraph, and then went back and rewrote that too?

And on and on and on…

An hour goes by.

You realise you haven’t written anything at all. All you’ve done is rewrite the same part of your book.

Ugh!

For years, I wrote like this. I worked on my stories and ideas, and I spent hours tinkering with my sentences, moving the nouns around and looking for the right verbs. This is a terrible way to write, and in this post I’...