It’s happening all over the web: bloggers are becoming authors. And you can too. Publishers see bloggers as a safe bet—these are people who already have a loyal audience and a solid working platform. But you don’t have to work with a traditional publisher to get your book out there; self publishing offers some serious advantages especially for the blogger-turned-author. Whichever publishing path you go
Grammar, in so many ways, is like the seasoning in a soup. A dash of salt and a pinch of pepper and the soup tastes amazing—too much though, and you get an uneatable mess. Too little and you get a bland broth. In order to be a good cook, you need to know your herbs and spices. Well in order to be a good writer,
I recently had a discussion with several fellow editors about voice and style. Namely, when to leave it in and when to take it out. Every piece of writing has a natural voice to it. As an editor sometimes I have to make a decision about when to leave something that’s not wrong, but could be written clearer, and when to rework a sentence from
A while ago I had the pleasure of working with Author Marilyn Pontuck on a book proposal–I did a copy edit of her cover letter and shared some information on the publishing world in general. She has kindly agreed to let me share a before-and-after of her work so you can see the difference that editing makes (I’m only include excerpts, to avoid making this
Today many people learn grammar by ear and application rather than through rules and an understanding of proper sentence structure. But there are a few quick rules you can learn that will help you avoid the grammar police. Here are a few of my favorites: Which is proper English? Most people know that there’s a difference between American English and British English, but they aren’t
Many writers dream of writing and publishing a novel someday. If you’ve caught the novel writing bug, or are already a published novelist looking to improve your craft or technique, here are some novel writing resources that you may find useful: Sites on Novel Writing Fiction Factor Advanced Fiction Writing National Novel Writing Month About Fiction Writing Articles on Writing a Novel Writing Your First