Contributed by Debra Eckerling While you can use activity to find inspiration and breathe life into your projects, sometimes what you really need is a new idea. Whether you are writing blog posts, prose, or long-form fiction or non-fiction, sometimes you need to go back to basics and find a kernel of an idea to…
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6 Must-Know Book Marketing Basics
As a children’s ghostwriter and rewriter, I’ve written well over 400 stories for clients. The thing I notice is that most of my clients don’t realize that simply writing a book doesn’t guarantee any sales. It can be an excellent, high-quality book, but there are just too many books in cyber-space to be noticed. You’re…
Writing Critique Groups – Dos and Don’ts
While working as a freelance writer, my family moved frequently. Luckily, through membership with organizations such as SCBWI, I found a writing group at each juncture. The information gathered here comes from my own membership in different types of groups.
5 Power-Tips to Creating Memorable Characters
From the simplest clues, a character can take shape. Maybe you first reference the character as the boy or the tall girl. Even with those simple words, you’ve given that character life. Before that, there wasn’t a boy or a tall girl. But along with things (characteristics) you should include, there are a number of…
Get Clear about Your Ultimate Writing Goals
The key to realizing your ultimate writing career goal is to get really, really clear as to just what that goal is.
A Middle Grade Book Versus a Young Adult Book
I’m finding lately that a number of clients don’t understand the difference between a middle grade (MG) book and a young adult (YA) book. So, let’s go over a few of the basic differences. Also, keep in mind that there are simple MG and upper MG as well as simple YA and upper YA. The…
Supporting Characters and Your Story
If you’re writing your first book, think about your supporting characters. How will they help liven your story up and engage the reader? How will they help move your story forward?
Three Tips on Starting a Book Series
Contributed by Linda Wilson Writer Beware: “Series are tricky. Writing series is not for the faint of heart.” So says Janet Lane Walters, award-winning author of series in multiple genres and more; as quoted in my latest find, Writing the Fiction Series: The Complete Guide for Novels and Novellas, by Karen S. Wiesner. I am…
Writers and Self-Doubt
When self doubt about what you’re trying to accomplish creeps into your thoughts, make a decision to either carry through with your goal or trash it and go on with something else you’re more certain of.
Book Marketing On a Budget for Your Newly Published Book
The purpose of this article is to emphasis how important it is to market your book. If you don’t, you won’t get any sales and just as bad, no one will read a story you’ve slaved over. The other purpose is to explain the strategies I used, am using, and will use to promote my book.