You know how to take care of business as a nonfiction writer. You’re professional. You attend to all the details of putting your writing into the world from analyzing your audience to zeroing in on new ways to promote your writing. But all this serious business stuff is probably not why you started writing. You […]
When you look back at what you’ve written, take time to find how many times you start sentences with the word “start” or “begin.” For example, in a 5,000-word document I edited, those two words appeared 14 times, while only five were deemed necessary to the meaning. That’s a lot of extra words flooding your […]
How can you change weak verbs into emotional or visual ones? One single practice presented here will transform your writing when you use it consistently. It’s this: Watch out for “is” words and their various cousins. Stay alert to phrases such as “is happening” or “was being good” and change them to “happens” or “behaved” […]
As writers, self-editing is one of the hardest things we have to do. We love our work. The way that we have expressed our ideas makes perfect sense in our own heads, and so analyzing it sentence by sentence can be disheartening and difficult. But it is essential. When you are in the flow of […]
Wow, has writing changed a lot from the time when you had to dip a quill in ink! I mean, can you imagine that you had to rewrite your entire copy every time you edited anything? Or consult a dictionary to make sure that you actually spelled a word correctly? No grammar aid, or tool […]
You might have heard the advice “change passive verbs to active verbs” but don’t quite know what that means—or why making this a habit can improve your writing. Using active voice makes your writing better (most of the time) because: Think of the difference being a flowing stream (active voice) and a stagnant pond (passive […]
Being a nonfiction writer has its pros and cons. For one, you are solely responsible for representing factual evidence in your writing without adding any unnecessary flair to it. Not only that, but you are bound to be remembered as “The” person that wrote a text that everyone is able to reference whenever they are […]
In the classic book from the 1930s, The Elements of Style, the authors Strunk and White called word clutter “the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood out of words.” You never want to be accused of that! So what can you do? Start cutting the clutter by eliminating extraneous phrases that […]
Lady Luck smiles on writers who play their cards right. These five hearts guarantee you a winning hand: YOU ARE THE ACE: Heartwork: Make reading, writing, and communicating a labor of love. Headwork: Learn about books, writing, publishing, technology, and your field. Goals: Have literary and publishing goals and a plan to achieve them. CONTENT […]
It is always the writer’s duty to make the world better. – Samuel Johnson Now is the most exciting time to be alive and the best time ever to be a writer. More than ever, we need the vision, guidance, understanding, and inspiration writers provide. Despite its flaws, the United States is the best hope […]
Recently there has been much discussion in the publishing community around whether authors should publish their books with both IngramSpark/Lightning Source and CreateSpace or choose just one publishing platform. Below we break down some of the pros and cons you should know about. But first, let’s clarify that IngramSpark is a publishing platform for indie […]
Leverage Social Media (Whether you like it or not)
Here’s the reality: social media is not a fad and isn’t going away. If you’ve been avoiding social media, consider this a gentle nudge to help you get serious. The good news is that social media is ideal for nonfiction authors—we write! And our readers want to hear from us! You also don’t have to […]
How Well Do You Balance the Business and the Art of Writing? by Rosanne Bane
You know how to take care of business as a nonfiction writer. You’re professional. You attend to all the details of putting your writing into the world from analyzing your audience to zeroing in on new ways to promote your writing. But all this serious business stuff is probably not why you started writing. You […]
Name: Janet Grant Book Title: Spirit Animals of the Chinese Zodiac: Using Spirit Animal Wisdom from Eastern Astrology for Self-Discovery Your book’s Amazon purchase link: Spirit Animals of the Chinese Zodiac What is your book about? By using the principles of the Chinese Zodiac along with the Native American paradigm of spirit animals, you can […]
Recently there has been much discussion in the publishing community around whether authors should publish their books with both IngramSpark/Lightning Source and CreateSpace or choose just one publishing platform. Below we break down some of the pros and cons you should know about. But first, let’s clarify that IngramSpark is a publishing platform for indie […]
Leverage Social Media (Whether you like it or not)
Here’s the reality: social media is not a fad and isn’t going away. If you’ve been avoiding social media, consider this a gentle nudge to help you get serious. The good news is that social media is ideal for nonfiction authors—we write! And our readers want to hear from us! You also don’t have to […]
How Well Do You Balance the Business and the Art of Writing? by Rosanne Bane
You know how to take care of business as a nonfiction writer. You’re professional. You attend to all the details of putting your writing into the world from analyzing your audience to zeroing in on new ways to promote your writing. But all this serious business stuff is probably not why you started writing. You […]
“Start to” and “Decide to”: Are They Flooding Your Writing? by Barbara McNichol
When you look back at what you’ve written, take time to find how many times you start sentences with the word “start” or “begin.” For example, in a 5,000-word document I edited, those two words appeared 14 times, while only five were deemed necessary to the meaning. That’s a lot of extra words flooding your […]
Meet the Members: Elva Anson, author of Wondering Around God
Author Name: Elva Anson Book Title: Wondering Around God Synopsis Because my friend, Kiyo Soto, started her memoir at age 80, maybe I could, too. I launched “Wondering Around God” five years later. Here is how one reviewer, Elisabeth Kersten, retired Director of Calif. Senate Office of Research, describes it. “Elva Anson is a first-rate […]
8 Hints on How to Effectively Promote Your Book on Social Media by Brandon Stanley
The rise of social media changed the way writers promote themselves. We’re seeing non-fiction and fiction books being promoted on all platforms. Some of these campaigns are truly successful in terms of creating awareness. Others fail. Effective marketing is what makes the difference. You might be wondering: how do you effectively promote your book on […]
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