I read an interesting article by Robert Lee Brewer, senior content editor at the Writer’s Digest writing community. It talked about the author bio in your query and book proposals. According to Brewer, the bio “is a part of the query that has more potential to harm a pitch than to help.” (1) Okay, if…
Author: Karen Cioffi
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author and children's ghostwriter. She loves to help those who want to be the author of a children's book fulfill their dream. Contact Karen today to get your story started!
Positive Thinking and the Writer’s Life
I’ve been looking for a house, for about two months now. And, when I saw this quote by Sean McCabe, it amazed me how accurate it is. As my husband and I are looking, my husband sees all the things wrong with each house. It has wall paper, it needs a complete renovation, it needs…
Save Writing Time – Try an Outline-Sketch
Guest post by Linda Wilson I wrote my next book, Book two in a mystery series for 8-12 year-olds, while making dinner last night. To be more precise, every time my hands were free I jotted down plans for the book in a sketchy outline. Don’t let this boast fool you, though. The one-page outline-sketch…
Selling Books and By-Pass Marketing
Selling books is a must for authors. But even if you’re a freelance writer or have a home business, you should have at least one book you’re author of. Books are one of the most powerful authority building tools. And, they can be created with little or no money, though services like CreateSpace, Amazon, or…
Writing for Children – Learn the Ropes
I write for young children, and I’ve also written a lot of content on marketing and health topics. Writing in multiple genres, I can tell you that writing for children can be much more challenging. When writing for children, there are guidelines to follow to help your story avoid the editor’s trash pile. Okay, I…
Grab the Reader’s Attention
Contributed by Team Member Suzanne Lieurance You can be a best-selling author! Is that true? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’ll bet I got your attention with that statement. And that’s exactly what you want to do if you hope to write novels and short stories (even nonfiction articles) that sell – grab your reader’s attention…
Writing Fiction – What is Foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is a literary device used to make the reader wonder. It gives the story a sense of mystery or anticipation. It can also create tension. According to Literary Devices (1), using this device, “a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.” Foreshadowing is a great device to…
Borrowing from the Superheroes
Contributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson One of the articles [in The Smithsonian] was inspired by the movie, Man of Steel. They take up how “superhero origin stories inspire us to cope with adversity.” The elements that make superheroes so popular can work with characters in any kind of fiction you may write (or read). Here are…
Writing Fantasy for Children
Before I get into this article, for those who don’t know the difference between science fiction and fantasy, here it is: Science fiction is based on scientific possibilities, even if loosely based on those possibilities or far-fetched. Fantasy stories are based on magic or supernatural occurrences. I’d say more than half of my clients want…
Writing Perfection – Is There Such a Thing?
As with life, some people think everything has to be perfect before they start their writing journey or continue on one. It may be they don’t think they’ve mastered the craft of writing to perfection. Or, maybe the writer has started her story, but can’t seem to achieve the perfection she’s looking for. She believes…