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…
NaNoWriMo: Creating a Novel in 30 Days
November is National Novel Writing Month, when authors can sign up at http://nanowrimo.org and receive encouragement as they work to create a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Hundreds of my students have successfully used NaNoWriMo to complete their first draft, so it’s a valuable tool. It sounds like a lot of work, but you…
Publishers Who Accept Unsolicited Manuscripts
I’ll try to keep this list updated. Please let me know of any good or bad experiences with these by dropping me a note at [email protected] Books for Adult Readers Baen Books Baen Books is a science fiction and fantasy publisher. It accepts unsolicited manuscripts for all books and prefers electronic submissions through its manuscript-submission…
Creating Your Author Website – A Checklist
What authors should have a website? Every one of them. But a writer or illustrator should have a website that contains information of value. Simply having a book⏤whether publisher or in-progress⏤listed on an author’s website is of little use to the viewer. Having information to support that book adds value. One of my students compiled…
Pros and Cons of Joining a Critique Group
Nearly all writers have a need for support and constructive criticism during the writing process. They want to make sure they’re on the right track, and that their results will meet the interests of agents, publishers or readers. The feedback provided by a group can help avoid time wasted in rewrites and editing. And positive…
34 Great Opening Lines in One Graphic
Textbook Publishers
Acada Books Publisher of textbooks and supplements in communications and environmental studies Academic Innovations Publisher of career choices, secondary school/college textbook Addison Wesley & Benjamin Cummings Textbooks in science, mathematics, and computer science Allyn & Bacon/Longman Publisher of college textbooks, professional information; subject areas are education, social sciences, and humanities Anderson Publishing Company Ansmar Publishers…
Publishing Your Teaching Ideas
Tips by MaryAnn Kohl Your Book – the idea – Clearly define your idea Assemble, narrow, and sort material and research Find a system to begin File cards Dummy pages Tape recorder Suggestions from this group Research your unique idea (do not skip this step) Check other books for formats Talk to bookstore owners Talk…
Three Act Structure
Syd Field, author of Screenplay and The Screen Writer’s Workbook, has outlined a paradigm that most screenplays follow. A paradigm is a conceptual scheme. This paradigm is the structure that holds screenplays together. According to Field, screenplays follow a three-act structure, meaning the standard screenplay can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution….
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
Hey gang, our new course just came out and it’s already really popular. I guess there was a pent up demand for this subject, as I’ve had many students request it, so we finally put it all together in a mega course that covers everything. As is our promise, we wanted to let existing students…