A List of Wonderful Christmas Scents
As a book editor, I’m always asking writers to add some Christmas scents to Christmas stories… The scents of the season are such a great way to evoke a happy or nostalgic mood. Smells from our past,...
View ArticleDo Indie Authors Need Professionally Made Covers?
Hey friends! Today, I’m going to be discussing a sensitive subject. As an author on a limited income who wants to re-release a couple of books, and as a former executive editor and creative director...
View ArticleHave You Tried Back to Front Editing in Writing?
A few weeks ago, one of my writing friends mentioned she was doing back to front editing on her novel. Now, I’m the kind of person who never minds admitting when she doesn’t know something. But my...
View Article5 Common Writing Fears…and How to Overcome Them!
As writers, we don’t want to let fear hold us back… Especially as we head into a brand-new year with brand-new goals! Writing comes with enough challenges and obstacles without adding more of our...
View ArticleThe Best Romance Publishers in 2024 Who Don’t Require an Agent
There are so many romance publishers doing great work in 2024, and it’s a real pleasure to highlight some of the best. I hope it’s encouraging to see how many romance publishers accepting unagented...
View ArticleScience Fiction and Fantasy Publishers in 2024 – No Agent Required
It’s been a while since I’ve done a roundup of science fiction and fantasy publishers, so today I’m highlighting some that accept unagented manuscripts. There are way fewer of these than there used to...
View Article100 Irresistible Logline Examples for Movies and Books to Inspire You!
For this post, I’ve gathered 50 movie logline examples and 50 book logline examples. The examples of movie loglines span decades, while the novel loglines are from the past twenty years or so. That’s...
View ArticleHow to Describe a Forest Setting…Vividly
You might need to know how to describe a forest setting if you’re writing a fantasy novel…or if you just happen to have a scene that takes place in the woods. I’ve pulled together this post of forest...
View ArticleTry This Trick for Writing Metaphors!
Great metaphors can set an author’s writing style apart. But metaphorical writing—in which one thing is compared to another—doesn’t come naturally to everyone! That’s why I thought I would share...
View ArticleGetting a Book Deal Was So Easy. Except It Wasn’t.
I don’t know if I should feel embarrassed by this post… Or proud of my determination. It’s about my years of struggles as an author before getting my first book deal with a major publisher. As writers,...
View Article25 Funny Writing Prompts
You can use these funny writing prompts when writing a romantic comedy novel or script, a short story, or even a serious or scary story that could use a little levity in the middle of all the drama....
View ArticleLet’s Talk About Writing Plus-Sized Characters
I have a lot of thoughts about writing plus size characters, both as a reader and as a full-time freelance book editor. Recently, it’s been on my mind for two reasons! For one, I’ve seen a lot of...
View ArticlePet Peeve List – 75 Examples!
This pet peeve list is to help writers with character development. Every good character needs a quirk or two, and a pet peeve can be a great (and sometimes funny) one! We can learn a lot about a...
View Article25 Cute Fall Writing Prompts!
A couple of you requested fall writing prompts… and now that it’s autumn and I’m back to regular blogging, I’m happy to oblige! These fall writing prompts are for a few different genres, including...
View ArticleHow to Write a Press Release For a Book (One Example!)
I put together a press release for my upcoming book launch, and I thought that my fellow authors who follow the blog might like to see how I did it—just as one example! Be sure to pin it to Pinterest...
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