Writing and publishing can feel like an uphill battle, filled with self-doubt and numerous hurdles. This weekend, I attended a local...

One of the biggest challenges some authors face is knowing when they’ve reached the end of their book. The process of wrapping up a book requires careful consideration of the narrative's structure, character arcs, and overall goals. Ask any author how they decided where and how to end their book, and you'll receive many different answers. Some authors know "the end" right from the beginning and plot their story backward. Some "pants" their way through and stop where it feels

Every write knows that a strong opening to their book is crucial for engaging readers. It's the first impression, the hook, that either...

Have you ever found yourself lost in the labyrinth of your own writing? Do your characters often run away with the plot? Are you staring...

Goal-setting is an important part of any new undertaking and can have a profound effect on productivity. If you’ve ever found yourself...

Book reviews are crucial for the success of an author’s work. They’re so important that I’ve written about this topic before, though the focus of that post was on the differences between reader reviews and trade reviews . Reviews help a book gain exposure and visibility, as well as acting as a form of social proof and credibility for a writer. If the review is particularly constructive it can also be used to gather feedback and improve future writing. Reviews have a direct im

Book publishing has undergone significant transformations in recent years, offering authors a plethora of choices in how they bring their...

Have you ever had the experience of sitting down to complete a task only to find yourself overwhelmed by what needs to be done, unsure of...

(I'd like to say that I'm writing this blog post for the benefit of readers, but really, I'm writing it for me.) These are the top three...

Limited vs. omniscient narration Third person narration is a literary style where the narrative is told from the perspective of a...

Formatting attributes of speech alongside action in fiction I've written about the basics of formatting dialogue here. This blog is a...

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a great opportunity for writers to challenge themselves to write a 50,000-word novel in...

Style sheets are a mainstay of the traditional editing and publishing process. Yet many writers and authors don't know what they are or how they can be put to use. In this blog, I'll break down what types of information the style sheet records and ways that authors can use this information to support their writing endeavors. What a style sheet is An editorial style sheet is a record of all editorial decisions made in the editing and proofreading process. It ensures that an ed

A query letter is a formal letter that a writer sends to literary agents or publishers to introduce themselves and their work with the...

You’ve written your book and edited the heck out of it, and you don’t want to deal with it anymore. Sounds about right? But then you...

Book titles and subtitles feel pretty basic—every book has a title (at least), and I don’t think it’s controversial to say that your book...

Dive in with me as I explore the commonalities between successful books no matter how they were published, what genre they are, or...

(And why they have nothing to do with editing.) Whether you’re a writer or an editor, putting yourself and your writing in front of...

A grammar miniblog Most writers are familiar with the basics of formatting dialogue in fiction such as in the following examples: “I...

What every writer should know Confusion about intellectual property, copyright, and permissions abound in the self-publishing world. It...