Thursday, September 30, 2021

Tips for Pitching

 Pitching your book is never easy, but these tips should help.

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2021/08/tips-on-pitching.html

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Tighter Point of View

 Get rid of those filtering words to tighten the point of view of your character.

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/07/youll-have-to-go-through-me-eliminating.html

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Endings

 How can you tell if you've nailed your book's ending?

https://kmallan.com/2021/05/07/how-to-tell-if-youve-nailed-your-book-ending/

Monday, September 27, 2021

Character Emotions

 How do you show a character's emotions?

https://www.goodstorycompany.com/blog/how-to-describe-emotion

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Location

 Bring your book to life by incorporating aspects of the physical setting.

https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/08/location-location-location-bring-your-book-to-life-part-ii/

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Overlooked Senses

 There are sensory elements we tend to overlook, like the temperature, that can enrich our stories.

https://www.livewritethrive.com/2021/08/23/7-important-sensory-elements-that-writers-ignore

Friday, September 24, 2021

Common Objects

 Don't overexplain objects that everyone is familiar with like a chair or a car unless it's different than the default image.

https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2021/08/dont-over-explain-default-objects-and-gestures

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Loglines

 Can you boil your entire book down to a single sentence pitch?

https://authorkristenlamb.com/2021/09/log-line-entire-story-one-sentence/

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Similar Books

 How similar is too similar when you're looking at a possible agent's current list?

http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-similar-is-too-similar-in-great.html

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Book Advances and Royalties

 What is a book advance and how do royalties work?

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/book-advances-and-royalties-2799832

Monday, September 20, 2021

Finishing Your Book

 Here are six tips to get you across that end line and finish your book.

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/finish-your-book/

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Purple Prose

 How do you avoid purple prose--writing that draws attention to itself?

https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2021/08/what-is-purple-prose-a-guide-for-writers/

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Interviewing

 Interviewing people can help your book project, even if it isn't nonfiction.

https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2021/08/how-interviews-can-help-a-book-project

Friday, September 17, 2021

Picture Book Structure

 Here are seven possible ways to structure your picture book.

https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/7-ways-to-structure-your-picture-book

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Show, Don't Tell

 We've all heard the advice to show, don't tell, but how do you do that?

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/show-dont-tell/

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Agent Submission Strategy

 How do agents choose which editors are right for your manuscript?

https://bookendsliterary.com/2021/08/19/how-agents-choose-editors-for-submissions/

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Cliched Openings

 Avoid starting your book with these tired and overused openings.

https://annerallen.com/2021/08/11-cliched-openers-novel-memoir/

Monday, September 13, 2021

Small Presses

What are the pros and cons of publishing with a small press?

https://www.janefriedman.com/should-you-publish-your-book-with-a-small-press-two-literary-agents-advise/ 

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Where to Cut

 Here are some ways to tighten your manuscript by cutting unneccessary words, phrases, and even, scenes.

https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2021/08/what-to-cut-when-your-book-is-too-long

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Showing a Character's Emotion

 Here are some tips on how to show your character's emotions.

https://writershelpingwriters.net/2021/08/describing-a-characters-emotions-problems-solutions/

Friday, September 10, 2021

Permission Guidelines

What are the rules regarding using other people's works (song lyrics, poems, quotations from a book, etc.) in your book?

https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/copyright.html 

Thursday, September 9, 2021

The Aquisitions Process

 What happens between an editor lik your book until a contract is possibly offered? 

https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2021/08/how-an-editor-at-a-publisher-acquires-a-book


Wednesday, September 8, 2021

MFA Programs and the Business of Writing

 Should MFA programs teach the business of writing as well as the craft?

https://www.janefriedman.com/should-mfa-programs-teach-the-business-of-writing/

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Edit as You Go?

 Should you edit as you're writing or wait until you finish then go back and revise?

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/should-you-edit-as-you-go-2/

Monday, September 6, 2021

Comp Titles

 What are important things to look for when deciding on comparative titles to your book?


https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2021/08/so-about-those-comps.html

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Kidlit Agents

 Here are 89 agents who rep children's books and are open to submission at the time the list was posted. Always check their websites for current information.

https://www.tckpublishing.com/childrens-book-literary-agents/

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Overexplaining

 If an item or a gesture is common, there's no need to go into detail in your explanation.

https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2021/08/dont-over-explain-default-objects-and-gestures


Picture Book Endings

 What are some ways to make the ending of your picture book memorable.

https://www.wordsandpics.org/2016/04/ask-picture-book-editor.html

Friday, September 3, 2021

Submit to Agents or Editors

 Here are some issues to consider when deciding whether to submit to an agent or an editor.

https://sally-apokedak.com/2015/03/31/should-i-sub-to-editors-first/

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Unforgettable Protagonists

 Here are some tips to make your main character one your readers will never forget.

https://www.tckpublishing.com/how-to-write-a-protagonist/

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Starting With a Plot

There are both challenges and strengths in starting your novel with a plot instead of a character.

https://www.janefriedman.com/starting-your-novel-with-plot-3-strengths-and-3-challenges/