How You Can Kill Your Novel With Revision | Writing Advice Nobody Asked For Vol. 327

When we complete a first draft of a novel, we often jump right into revisions, perhaps initially driven by the desire to add or change things we know for certain need to be added or changed. But then we start tinkering. Maybe just here and there at first. Then maybe starting at the beginning. We're … Continue reading How You Can Kill Your Novel With Revision | Writing Advice Nobody Asked For Vol. 327 →

Great Stories Start with Great Characters | Guest Post by Ichabod Ebenezer

I invited Ichabod to write this guest post in celebration of the release of his new horror short story collection, Beyond the Rail and Other Nightmares. Beyond the Rail and Other Nightmares by Ichabod Ebenezer, available now Great Stories Start With Great Characters We’ve all run across that particular bit of wisdom at some point … Continue reading Great Stories Start with Great Characters | Guest Post by Ichabod Ebenezer →

Gaining Readers and Growing an Audience | The Self-Published Author Problem

I should have titled this post How to Build an Audience as a Self-Published Author in Three Easy Steps: Email List, Reader Magnet, Traffic. Because it's really that simple. Though this post focuses on how to gain readers and grow an audience as a self-published author, it’s the dream of any internet entrepreneur to garner … Continue reading Gaining Readers and Growing an Audience | The Self-Published Author Problem →

From Harry Potter to Gone Girl | A Love Story in the Most Popular Books

You fall in love with the Harry Potter series when you’re young. You almost feel like you’re growing up at Hogwarts. You take the online sorting hat quiz, but you know which house you belong to and if the quiz gets it wrong you blow it off. By the time you hit your teens or … Continue reading From Harry Potter to Gone Girl | A Love Story in the Most Popular Books →

Twelve Things to Think About When Revising and Editing Your Novel

Writing is hard. Rewriting is even harder. Or maybe it’s the other way around. In any case, here is a quick checklist for things you can focus on when revising your book. While this isn’t an exhaustive list of revising and editing tips, it’s more than enough to think about when working on that second … Continue reading Twelve Things to Think About When Revising and Editing Your Novel →

How Writers Can Benefit From Book Reviewers | BookTube Recommendations

For the past several months, I’ve been spending some of my evenings--and some of my mornings before I start work--watching a handful of BookTubers review novels on YouTube. To my surprise, this activity has yielded an unexpected ancillary benefit to me as a writer and as an editor, so I thought I would share it … Continue reading How Writers Can Benefit From Book Reviewers | BookTube Recommendations →

Something’s Up with Where the Crawdads Sing | How a Book Sold Millions of Copies

When a book spends 124 weeks on the bestseller list and sells an estimated 7 million copies in two years, you gotta wonder what sets it apart from other books. A big marketing push can send a novel to the top for a week, and when Oprah or Reece Witherspoon select it for their book … Continue reading Something’s Up with Where the Crawdads Sing | How a Book Sold Millions of Copies →

How to Have an Imagination | Writing Tips ‘n’ Tricks Volume 3139

Have you walked face-first into a wall lately? Not heard a single word your partner said? Suddenly realized an hour has gone by and you’ve done nothing but sat there smirking or crying or staring at the carpet? This isn’t a writing tips ‘n’ tricks post. Well, maybe it’s a trick since the title is … Continue reading How to Have an Imagination | Writing Tips ‘n’ Tricks Volume 3139 →