Archive:
Tools
Before an Acquisitions Editor or an Agent reads a word of your manuscript they can tell if it’s properly formatted. That’s crucial. Why? It’s about more than looks. Sure, they’re going to decide on buying your work largely on the writing and market potential. So why is formatting so important? Any errors will have to […]
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Would you believe that even after writing and publishing nearly 200 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers, I still take daily steps to hone my writing skills? Whether you’re a beginner or have been at it for decades as I have, writing well takes work. No shortcut, no secret sauce will turn you into […]
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Why do we remember characters in fiction like Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, Frodo Baggins, and Harry Potter years after we meet them? Page-turning novels feature believable characters with human flaws, people who grow heroic in the end. So how do you conjure up characters like that? First, it pays to understand the basic types of […]
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If you’re an author, published or not, you need your own author website. Period. Why am I so forthright about this? Because of the realities of publishing today. You’ve heard and read of your need for an author platform—a following, a tribe, visibility. Well, that all starts with having your own author website. Regardless of […]
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You’ll find loads of advice to help you find a great novel idea, start writing, and push through what I call the Marathon of the Middle. But you may not find as much on how to end a story, though that’s every bit important. Of my more than 200 published books, more than two-thirds have […]
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