6 Self-Editing Hacks to Make Your Manuscript Shine
There’s a lot you can do to edit your book without hiring a professional editor So you’ve finally written that book you’ve been working on for what seems like your entire life. You’ve followed your outline precisely or, if you’re…
I Tested Out Paid Beta Readers So You Don’t Have To
To beta read, or not to beta read, that is the question Oh, beta readers. If you’re a writer in the midst of writing and editing a novel, you’re probably quite familiar with the term. It’s the idea that you…
The Ins and Outs of Book Pitch Events
Is pitching your novel — online or in-person — a worthwhile endeavor? If you’ve written a novel, you’re probably familiar with something that all writers dread: the pitch. Summing up a novel you’ve spent countless hours revising, proofreading, and developing…
Why Not Writing is the Best Way to Ultimately Write
Sometimes taking a break from writing is the only way to actually end up writing. We all have those moments — seconds, minutes, hours, days, or weeks that slip by without a single word coming to mind. I’ve had stretches…
The Art of the Flashback
Flashbacks in your story can be useless, or they can be an incredible way to add characterization or further your plot. The choice is up to you. Do you know something that bothers me when I am reading a novel?…
How to Write a Logline for Your Novel
Condensing your story into one sentence is nervewracking, but not impossible I recently attended a writing conference where there were pitch appointments available for all attendees. This is one of the biggest perks of attending a writing conference in my…
4 Steps to Write a Novel Manuscript in 4 Months With No Plan
The key is to actually write So you’re writing a novel. Or thinking about writing a novel. Either way, you have dreams of becoming a published novelist one day and making the New York Times best-seller list (don’t we all?)…
5 Ways to Make Writing a Less Lonely Business
Writing may be an individual sport, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop your own team to weather the industry Writing is a solitary business. If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard that adage before. Writing is, simply by nature…
Is Novel Writing Software Worth It?
As a pantser who is wholly (and woefully) unorganized, I say yes If you’ve been in the writing world for long, you’ve probably heard about the various writing software out there that is tailored specifically to writers. Long gone are the…
We Need to Do Better with Simultaneous Submissions
And by we, I mean all of us as writers, because small presses, journals, and magazines deserve better To date, my most viewed story is “An Editor’s Tips on Submitting to Literary Journals.” The people of Medium seem to like…