Many of my courses include lessons about self-publishing and how to market books once they’re published. A great marketing technique is to give your book away on Amazon periodically to drive it to the top of their bestseller list. Then you can charge for it while it is being promoted on Amazon’s lists. Since it…
Proofreading tips
Proofreading tips to help professional writers, students, or anyone that writes as part of their work day. Error free writing and typing is possible! The skill of proofreading is necessary whether you are a student, a professional writer, or someone who creates lots of office memos. No matter the context in which you are writing,…
Most famous books set in each state
Insider came up with this list of the most famous books set in each state. How many have you read? AL “To Kill A Mockingbird” (Harper Lee) AK “Into the Wild” (Jon Krakauer) AZ “The Bean Trees” (Barbara Kingsolver) AR “A Painted House” (John Grisham) CA “Play It As It Lays” (Joan Didion) CO “The…
Setting
by: Jo Anne Fontanilla Every story takes place at same point or points in space and in time. It is incumbent upon the writer of fiction to “place” his story in space and time, as early as possible in his narrative, so that you will begin making the proper associations with the setting. The setting…
A New Publisher Who Promotes Your Book
When JK Rowling first wrote Harry Potter, she couldn’t land a publishing deal. That’s right, the greatest money making book of our time was passed over repeatedly. However, it was finally accepted…not because an editor actually read it, but because one of them gave the first chapter to his eight-year-old daughter and said, “Here, you…
How Do You Punctuate Dialogue?
Dialogue can be a bit intimidating. All that punctuation. But it’s really not that complicated. The usual practice is to put dialogue in quotes and place an attribution after it, separated with a comma inside the closing quote mark. The attribution will not be capitalized, because it’s part of the same sentence: “Hello,” he said….
Settings – How Much Detail?
by: Jo Anne Fontanilla Every story takes place at same point or points in space and in time. It is incumbent upon the writer of fiction to “place” his story in space and time, as early as possible in his narrative, so that you will begin making the proper associations with the setting. The setting…
Make Your Writing More Active
Passive writing is boring. Here’s a simple change you can apply to every sentence you write to make it more interesting. Simply look for the word “was.” For example: The house I grew up in was in Los Angeles. It was a low, ranch style house with some modern touches. It was designed by my…
Best Children’s Books of 2016
Here’s the New York Times list of notable children’s books from 2016: Picture Books DU IZ TAK? Written and illustrated by Carson Ellis. (Candlewick, $16.99.) In this enchanting tale of bugs who build a fort in a plant, only to see it toppled by a spider, Ellis presents an imaginary land of stylish insects who…
Give the Gift of History — Yours!
As the holidays approach, our thoughts turn to gift giving. When I look at advertising, so much of what I see being touted as great for gifting seems thoughtless and shallow. I like to give truly personal gifts that will create emotion in the heart of the recipient. So here’s an idea for something that…