Great storytelling is making readers care about your characters, the choices they make, and what happens to them. It's making your audience feel the tension and emotion of a situation right alongside your protagonist. And to tell a damn fine story, you need to understand why and how that caring happens. Using a mix of personal stories, pop fiction examples, and traditional storytelling terms, New York Times best-selling author Chuck Wendig will help you internalize the feel of powerful storytelling. In Damn Fine Story, you'll explore:Fretytag's Pyramid for visualizing story structure--and when to break away from traditional storytelling formsCharacter relationships and interactions as the basis of every strong plot--no matter the form or genreRising and falling tension that pulls the audience through to the climax and conclusion of the storyDeveloping themes as a way to craft characters with depthWhether you're writing a novel, screenplay, video game, comic, or even if you just like to tell stories to your friends and family over dinner, this funny and informative guide is chock-full of examples about the art and craft of storytelling--and how to write a damn fine story of your own.

    This book helps students, academics and nonfiction writers to get more done, write intelligent texts and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward. The Take Smart Notes principle is based on established psychological insight and draws from a tried and tested note-taking-technique. This is the first comprehensive guide and description of this system in English, and not only does it explain how it works, but also why. It suits students and academics in the social sciences and humanities, nonfiction writers and others who are in the business of reading, thinking and writing. Instead of wasting your time searching for notes, quotes or references, you can focus on what really counts: thinking, understanding and developing new ideas in writing. It does not matter if you prefer taking notes with pen and paper or on a computer, be it Windows, Mac or Linux. And you can start right away.

    The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach. The model, also known as The Hochman Method, has demonstrated, over and over, that it can turn weak writers into strong communicators by focusing on specific techniques that match their needs and by providing them with targeted feedback. Insurmountable as the challenges faced by many students may seem, TWR can make a dramatic difference. And the method does more than improve writing skills. It also helps: Boost reading comprehension Improve organizational and study skills Enhance speaking abilities Develop analytical capabilities TWR is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There's no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt the TWR strategies and activities to their current curriculum and weave them into their content instruction. But perhaps what's most revolutionary about the TWR method is that it takes the mystery out of learning to write well. It breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.

    McCann asks his readers to constantly push the boundaries of experience, to see empathy and wonder in the stories we craft and hear.A paean to the power of language, both by argument and by example, Letters to a Young Writer is fierce and honest in its testament to the bruises delivered by writing as both a profession and a calling. It charges aspiring writers to learn the rules and even break them.These fifty-two essays are ultimately a profound challenge to a new generation to bring truth and light to a dark world through their art.

    In Hollywood, a movie is given a single weekend to succeed before being written off. In Silicon Valley, a startup is a failure if it doesn't go viral or rake in venture capital from the start. In publishing, a book that took years to write is given less than three months to sink or swim. These brutally shortsighted attitudes have choked the world with instructions for engineering a flash-in-the-pan and littered the media landscape with fads and flops. Meanwhile, the greats, the stalwarts, the household names, are those who focus on a singularly different, possibly heretical, idea: that their work can and should last. For instance, Zildjian has been one of the premier makers of cymbals since its founding in 1623--and shows no signs of quitting. Iron Maiden has filled stadiums for forty years, moving some 85 million albums without the help of radio or television. Robert Greene's first book, The 48 Laws of Power, didn't hit the bestseller lists until over a decade after it was first released, and since then has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. These works Ryan Holiday calls Perennial Sellers. They exist in every creative industry--timeless, dependable resources and unsung moneymakers, paying like blue chip annuities. Like gold or land, they increase in value over time, outlasting and outreaching any competition. And they're not flukes or lucky breaks--they were built to last from the outset. Holiday shows readers how to make and market their own classic work. Featuring interviews with some of the world's greatest creatives, and grounded in a deep study of the classics in every genre, this exciting new book empowers readers with a foundational set of innovative principles. Whether you have a book or a business, a song or the next great screenplay, this book reveals the recipe for perennial success.

    A finished book—or even steady journal articles—may seem like an impossible dream. But, as Joli Jensen proves, it really is possible to write happily and productively in academe. Jensen begins by busting the myth that universities are supportive writing environments.  She points out that academia, an arena dedicated to scholarship, offers pressures that actually prevent scholarly writing. She shows how to acknowledge these less-than-ideal conditions, and how to keep these circumstances from draining writing time and energy. Jensen introduces tools and techniques that encourage frequent, low-stress writing. She points out common ways writers stall and offers workarounds that maintain productivity. Her focus is not on content, but on how to overcome whatever stands in the way of academic writing.Write No Matter What draws on popular and scholarly insights into the writing process and stems from Jensen’s experience designing and directing a faculty writing program. With more than three decades as an academic writer, Jensen knows what really helps and hinders the scholarly writing process for scholars in the humanities, social sciences,and sciences. Cut down the academic sword of Damocles, Jensen advises. Learn how to write often and effectively, without pressure or shame. With her encouragement, writers of all levels will find ways to create the writing support they need and deserve.

    In this book, Sarah explains what “content design” really means, and tells you how to put those techniques into your organisation and your web project.This book is short, lively and practical. Using real-world examples and imagined examples, it takes the reader through the content design process one step at a time, explaining everything along the way.If you’re new to content design, or want to get better at it, this book is what you need to get started.

    Build your brand. Change your life. Mastering Amazon Ads will let you reach your goals. You'll learn what it takes to understand how to manage your ad dollars to maximize your return-on-investment. Whether you're an Indie author self-publishing for the first time or an experienced author working on your book marketing skills, this book will help you build an advertising and marketing plan that will find readers and end up selling lots of books. Learn how to: - run ads - manage ads - analyze ads - optimize your description for improved conversions - build a long-term plan This book will give you the road map to success you need to quit your day job and get back to writing.

    New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Probst reveals her pathway to success, from struggling as a new writer to signing a seven-figure deal. Write Naked intermingles personal essays on craft with down-to-earth advice on writing romance in the digital age. Probst will teach you how to:Commit to your current work-in-progress, get focused, and complete it on scheduleReveal raw emotions and thoughts on the page to hook your readersAssemble a street team to promote and celebrate your booksOvercome writer's block with easeDevelop themes that tie together your books and seriesWrite the most difficult elements of romance--including sex scenes--with skill and styleRegardless of the genre, every novelist faces a difficult task. Creating authentic characters and an engaging plot are challenging enough. But attempting to break into the hotter-than-ever romance genre, which is constantly flooded with new titles and fresh faces? It can feel impossible. This is where Probst's Write Naked comes in. To survive--and thrive--you need the help and wisdom of an expert. Written in Probst's unmistakable and honest voice, Write Naked is filled with the lessons and craft advice every writer needs in order to carve out a rewarding career.

    In over 30 essays, written over 20 years, one of the world's great story-tellers meditates on story-telling. Warm, funny, generous, entertaining, and above all, deeply considered, they offer thoughts on a wide variety of topic, including the origin and composition of Philip's own stories, the craft of writing and the story-tellers who have meant the most to him. The art of story-telling is everywhere present in the essays themselves, in the instantly engaging tone, the vivid imagery and the striking phrases, the resonant anecdotes, the humour and learnedness. Together, they are greater than the sum of their parts.

    I was there too, but now I have quit my day job and make a living selling fiction. Both my initial success and the sustainability of my book sales have come from Facebook ads. In this book, you'll learn how to find the cost per click and sales volumes you'll need to hit to know if an ad is profitable. You'll learn how to target your ads and how to tweak them for maximum returns by age, gender, region. You'll see how to write plot-based ads, character based ads, pure marketing ads, the whole bit. Stop losing money every time you run and ad and instead turn them into book-selling machines.

    Here, Stephen Rosenfield lays out a clear plan for achieving success, candidly explaining what works, what doesn’t, and why. Including a 12-item “Successful Comedian’s To-Do List,” Rosenfield states, “Get undeniably good at each of these and you can kiss your day job good-bye. You will be a pro.” The New York Times heralded Stephen Rosenfield as “probably the best known comedy teacher in the country.” His alumni include some of today’s most prominent comedians and comedy writers, such as Lena Dunham, Jim Gaffigan, Eric Slovin, and Jessica Kirson. Rosenfield has directed, coached, and/or written for these and hundreds of other comedians. As a pioneer in the field of teaching comedy, he founded the American Comedy Institute, the premier stand-up comedy school in the United States, in 1989.

    Zapruder argues that the way we have been taught to read poetry is the very thing that prevents us from enjoying it. In lively, lilting prose, he shows us how that misunderstanding interferes with our direct experience of poetry and creates the sense of confusion or inadequacy that many of us feel when faced with it.   Zapruder explores what poems are, and how we can read them, so that we can, as Whitman wrote, “possess the origin of all poems,” without the aid of any teacher or expert. Most important, he asks how reading poetry can help us to lead our lives with greater meaning and purpose. Anchored in poetic analysis and steered through Zapruder’s personal experience of coming to the form, Why Poetry is engaging and conversational, even as it makes a passionate argument for the necessity of poetry in an age when information is constantly being mistaken for knowledge. While he provides a simple reading method for approaching poems and illuminates concepts like associative movement, metaphor, and negative capability, Zapruder explicitly confronts the obstacles that readers face when they encounter poetry to show us that poetry can be read, and enjoyed, by anyone.

    Danticat circles the many forms death takes, shifting fluidly from examples that range from Toni Morrison's Sula to Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, to deliver a moving tribute and work of astute criticism that will profoundly alter all who encounter it.

    Each writer begins with a favorite passage from a novel, a song, a poem—something that gets them started and keeps them going with the creative work they love. From there, incredible lessons and stories of life-changing encounters with art emerge, like how sneaking books into his job as a night security guard helped Khaled Hosseini learn that nothing he creates will ever be truly finished. Or how a college reading assignment taught Junot Díaz that great art can be a healing conversation, and an unexpected poet led Elizabeth Gilbert to embrace an unyielding optimism, even in the face of darkness. LIGHT THE DARK collects the best of The Atlantic‘s much-acclaimed “By Heart” series edited by Joe Fassler and adds brand new pieces, each one paired with a striking illustration. Here is a guide to creative living and writing in the vein of Daily Rituals, Bird by Bird, and Big Magic for anyone who wants to learn how great writers find inspiration—and how to find some of your own.CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Elizabeth Gilbert, Junot Díaz, Marilynne Robinson, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Mary Gaitskill, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Roxane Gay, Angela Flournoy, Jonathan Franzen, Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, Claire Messud, Edwidge Danticat, David Mitchell, Khaled Hosseini, Ayana Mathis, Kathryn Harrison, Azar Nafisi, Hanya Yanagihara, Jane Smiley, Nell Zink, Emma Donoghue, Jeff Tweedy, Eileen Myles, Maggie Shipstead, Sherman Alexie, Andre Dubus III, Billy Collins, Lev Grossman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Charles Simic, Jim Shepard, T.C. Boyle, Tom Perrotta, Viet Than Nguyen, William Gibson, Mark Haddon, Ethan Canin, Jessie Ball, Jim Crace, and Walter Mosley.“As [these authors] reveal what inspires them, they, in turn, inspire the reader, all while celebrating the beauty and purpose of art.” –Booklist

     Let bestselling novelist and host of the popular Worried Writer podcast, Sarah Painter, show you how to skip past negativity, free-up writing time, cope with self-doubt, and beat procrastination. Along with mega successful authors such as C.L.Taylor, Mark Edwards, and Julie Cohen, Sarah will show you how to: smash writing blocks to finish stories faster, handle self-doubt so that it doesn't stop you creating, trick yourself into being more productive, schedule your time, and much more. Packed with honest, supportive, and hard-won advice, this is your practical guide to getting the work done. Don't let creative anxiety kill your writing dreams: Stop Worrying and Start Writing today! 'Inspiring, comforting, warm and wise. Both new writers and established authors will find something helpful here.' Keris Stainton, YA author. 'The best book on writing and productivity I have read in a long time. It tackles the fear and self-doubt we all feel when it comes to our writing in such an engagingly honest way, that there are times when I was laughing aloud because here was someone who truly understood. Written with such heart, Sarah, in her characteristically kind, and gentle way that listeners of The Worried Writer podcast have come to love and appreciate, offers solid, actionable advice that will inspire you to approach your writing with enthusiasm and renewed determination!' Lily Graham, author of The Cornish Escape

     All her books reached #1 within just a few days of publishing and over time, she developed a Step-by-Step, proven and easy-to-follow System that can help you reach Bestseller status with your very first book. "Kindle Bestseller Publishing" is part 5 of the “The Sassy Way…..when you have NO CLUE!” series, that teaches Internet Marketing to total beginners. You might not think of Kindle Publishing as a marketing tool, but it is actually: One of the fastest, most efficient ways to build a following online! For your blog, your social media platforms, your business or any service you are offering. In addition, KINDLE PUBLISHING offers the following BENEFITS: - The Prestige of being a published - or even Bestselling - Author - Instant Authority in your Field - New clients and customers on auto-pilot who will trust you a lot more, because you have already proven yourself - Passive Income - Automatic List Building. Email marketing is widely considered the most powerful marketing technique of all, more than Facebook and Google Ads combined. Publishing a book on Amazon can help you build your mailing list on auto-pilot - and Amazon even pays you to do it….. This book will teach you STEP-BY-STEP how to go from zero to published - and - possibly a Bestseller! It is NOT an in-depth WRITING COURSE although some basic instructions and tips are provided. “Kindle Bestseller Publishing” focuses on the Marketing aspects of publishing a book on Amazon and in particular, what it takes to reach Bestseller status - the “science” behind it. Important areas that will be covered include:: - Researching profitable Book Ideas - Understanding Amazon’s Algorithm and how new readers can find you - How to optimize your meta data, including your book title to trigger Amazon’s algorithm to promote your book heavily - Category and Keyword Research and how Bestseller ranking on Amazon works - How to market your book during Launch Week and much more….

    Using 30 years of legal experience, Sedwick shows writers how to • Set up their business • Protect their copyright • Avoid infringement • Spot scams • Save on taxes This second edition covers additional topics including • Choosing a pen name • Using lyrics and images • Fighting content theft • Minimizing defamation and privacy risks • Expanding beyond the book Don’t lose your copyright by signing a bad contract, or waste money by buying into a scam, or lose sleep by getting sued for defamation. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook helps writers navigate the legal aspects of writing and independent publishing.

    Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella’s methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression. Each of the techniques, prompts, and exercises she presents helps us “to unravel the knot inside and to make sense of loss.”

    Incorporating his own misadventures as a developing writer, Gantos inspires readers to build confidence and establish good writing habits as they create, revise, and perfect their stories. Pop-out text boxes highlight key tips, alongside Gantos's own illustrations, sample stories, and snippets from his childhood journals. More than just a how-to guide, Writing Radar is a celebration of the power of storytelling and an ode to the characters who--many unwittingly--inspired Gantos's own writing career.

    When you finish this book, you'll know how to use every word in your website or app to:Make the users fall in love and come backHelp them perform tasks easilyTurn every boring screen to a positive experienceIncrease conversionsMicrocopy (sometimes written micro-copy) is the words on sites and apps that accompany the user's actions: text on buttons, website sign up, error messages (and preventing them), field labels, newsletter sign up, instructions, empty states, confirmation messages, and more. Microcopy: The Complete Guide gives you the knowledge and tools needed to write smart, effective and helpful microcopy for your digital interface. It includes principles, practical tips, and dozens of screenshots from actual sites and apps of corporations, start-ups and SMBs. Who will find this book useful? User experience professionals; Digital marketing managers; Website managers; Marketers and sales personnel; Small business owners; Bloggers; Product managers; UI designers Fascinated by the words that light up interfaces? You'll love this one.

    Type Fast. Make Dough. That was the formula of old-school pulp fiction—plot-driven, popular and gobbled up by a reading public hungry for more. And it produced many writers who hammered out a living selling “cash-and-carry” stories and novels. Some of these writers were among the best America has ever produced. Writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and John D. MacDonald. Others are numbered among the bestselling authors of all time, including Erle Stanley Gardner, Lester Dent, and Frederick Faust (better known by his pen name, Max Brand). What were the secrets of these successful pulp writers? And how can any writer, of any genre, use them to produce fiction that sells? How to Write Pulp Fiction will teach you: • how to be more prolific • the secrets of pulp plotting • how to elevate your pulp prose • the fiction “formulas” of some of the best pulp writers of all time • the bestselling genres • how to harness the power of the series character • the most effective publishing strategies • how to market your pulp fiction Added bonus! The Start-A-Plot Machine, a brainstorming partner that will help you instantly generate a story or novel idea. You’ll never again wonder what to write next. There has never been a better time to be a writer. By tapping into the vibe of the pulp writers of old, and making use of the tools of publication available now, any hard-working writer has a serious shot at realizing steady income from their fiction. “James Scott Bell is my go-to writing guru!” - Terri Blackstock, New York Times bestselling writer

    They follow “best practices” in marketing that never seem to pan out, don’t produce results, and make them feel lost and oftentimes, frustrated. Be the Gateway offers a powerful way to have an impact. If you want to share your voice and inspire people with your writing, art, craft, or creative idea, you have to be the gateway for them. Instead of throwing “products” out into the marketplace, you open them up to a new way of looking at the world, of knowing themselves, and connecting with others. You unlock new experiences for them -- not just through what you create, but through the unique way you share it with the world. Too often we think about the creative process as separate from the marketing process. Instead, view them as the same. Replace the inclination to “promote” with the desire to share and engage. How and why you create is a story — and your best asset to truly engage people. Be the Gateway shows you how to use that gift with joy and with confidence.

    Amazon Marketing Services ads might have the most potential. They enable authors to reach readers looking to buy books on the world's biggest online retailer. And, unlike other platforms, those readers are already looking to buy and can do so with just one click.This book, written by two leaders in the field of book marketing - Mark Dawson and Joseph Alexander - sets out precisely how Amazon ads can work for you.Also includes a free instructional video masterclass written and presented by Mark Dawson, the founder of the Self Publishing Formula.

    When they’re not nodding, they roll their eyes.Time to slash the Pinocchio strings and turn them into real people. Award-winning author Kathy Steinemann provides the tools. She cuts through the so-called rules and offers simple solutions.Too many repetitions of “little”? There’s a cure for that. Do you rely on “very” too often? There’s a cure for that too. You’ll find the remedies in this book’s dispensary.Should you ever use anything other than “said” to attribute dialogue? Are exclamation points taboo? The answers might surprise you.Learn how to harness body language, purge hackneyed adjectives, and draw on the environment for ambience. No more wooden characters. You’ll transform them into believable personalities that your readers will learn to love. Or hate.Get in the driver’s seat, relax, and enjoy your journey—with Kathy Steinemann’s book as your GPS.

    It has its origins in a mode of self-examination and even self-obsession - 'it is many years now that I have had only myself as object of my thoughts', writes Montaigne in his essay 'Of Practice' - but it is just as accurately defined by its vagrant and curious scope, its capacity to suborn any and every object to its elegant remit. It may not in fact be 'well made' at all, but a thing of fragments and unfinished apercus, or an omnium-gatherum like Robert Burton's capacious but recognizably essayistic Anatomy of Melancholy. The essay may not even be written, but instead a photo essay, film essay, radio essay or some hybrid of these and the literary archetype. It may belong to a self-conscious genre and have been written by an essayist who self-declares as such; or it might be conjured from a milieu where the labels 'essay' and 'essayist' would make no sense at all. The essay, in short, is a varied and various artefact. Its occasion might be scholarly - there are academic essays, though they tend to be essays to the extent that they wish to stop being academic - or it may be journalistic, institutional or 'creative'. The essay can be tethered to a specific (perhaps polemical) context or written with an ambition to timeless or universal import. Whatever its motivation or avowed theme, the essay possesses a style and a voice. Generic, structural and contextual definitions will vary, but the essay is at least recognizable by its having a certain texture - the essay alters or interferes to some degree with the language of non-fiction. Essayism is a personal, critical and polemical book about the genre, its history and its contemporary possibilities, itself an example of what it describes: an essay that is curious and digressive and at the same time held together

    From keeping your story simple to staying in the character's head, Elizabeth and Mark will take you through the essential steps to creating propulsive and entertaining fiction. Also includes an additional book: 'Musings From the Writer's Desk'

    Your villain is.Are you fed up of drowning in two-dimensional villains? Frustrated with creating clichés? And failing to get your reader to root for your villain?In 13 Steps to Evil, you’ll discover: • How to develop a villain’s mindset• A step-by-step guide to creating your villain from the ground up• Why getting to the core of a villain’s personality is essential to make them credible • What pitfalls and clichés to avoid as well as the tropes your story needsFinally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create superbad villains. Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned writer, this book will help power up your bad guy and give them that extra edge.These lessons will help you master and control your villainous minions, navigate and gain the perfect balance of good and evil, as well as strengthening your villain to give your story the tension and punch it needs.

    Whether you're a fledgling writer or a veteran with years of experience, fearlessness--that elusive blend of self-acceptance, confidence, and curiosity--is the defining quality of those who find fulfillment and success. Truly fearless authors banish writer's blocks with ease, receive critiques gracefully, and infuse their passion for the craft into every word they write. Filled with insightful wisdom and practical advice, Fearless Writing teaches you how to thrive as a writer, no matter your genre or career path. You'll learn how to: Find and enter a Flow state in which writing is a natural, deeply satisfying process. Quiet both internal and external critics and embrace the inherent value in your work. Use love, emotional engagement, and curiosity as the guiding principles for what you write and how you share it with others. Overcome rejection, procrastination, and other obstacles that stifle your creativity. From the blank page to the first draft, and from querying to marketing, the writing life is filled with challenges, roadblocks, and new experiences. With Fearless Writing, you'll find the inner strength to embark on a bold journey--and build a lifelong career in the process.

    Editors strive to create books that are enlightening, seamless, and pleasurable to read, all while giving credit to the author. This makes it all the more difficult to truly understand the range of roles they inhabit while shepherding a project from concept to publication. In What Editors Do, Peter Ginna gathers essays from twenty-seven leading figures in book publishing about their work. Representing both large houses and small, and encompassing trade, textbook, academic, and children’s publishing, the contributors make the case for why editing remains a vital function to writers—and readers—everywhere. Ironically for an industry built on words, there has been a scarcity of written guidance on how to actually approach the work of editing. This book will serve as a compendium of professional advice and will be a resource both for those entering the profession (or already in it) and for those outside publishing who seek an understanding of it. It sheds light on how editors acquire books, what constitutes a strong author-editor relationship, and the editor’s vital role at each stage of the publishing process—a role that extends far beyond marking up the author’s text. This collection treats editing as both art and craft, and also as a career. It explores how editors balance passion against the economic realities of publishing. What Editors Do shows why, in the face of a rapidly changing publishing landscape, editors are more important than ever.

     If you feel like you’re floundering in the deep end (Not waving, drowning!), and anxiety over the complexity and enormousness of your creative projects overwhelms you, stop scrambling to fit everything in and feeling stretched thin. DIVE DEEP AND SWIM Sustain the energy you feel when thinking of how awesome your projects could be. Value your own creative work as highly as work you do for other people. Build a reusable structure and process that will consistently get you to the finish line. Blast through your stuck-ness. Focus. Finish. Move on to the next project. You’re a creative person. Even if you have a hard time calling yourself a “writer” or an “artist” in public, making your creative work is core to who you are and how you see the world. You may be harboring a big, ambitious idea for a project. Possibly a lot of them. And it’s killing you. You lie awake thinking about it…and hating yourself for not doing more to make it real. And then in the morning you’re exhausted, and you can’t believe you “wasted” more time on this stupid idea. Who ever told you you were creative anyway? You try to shove your idea away, to forget it. But your creative work is what keeps you sane. You can’t not do this. So you live with guilt and anxiety all the time. You’ve tried to carve out the time and attention you need to devote to your creative work. You’ve made ambitious goals, you’ve written lists, you’ve scheduled calendars…you’ve installed shackles on your desk chair. But chaining yourself to your work only seems to make you more distractible and more miserable. (And those unsightly leg sores!) Maybe you've even tried to borrow time-management tips from the business world. Get things done! Build seven habits! Eat that frog! But following business-minded productivity systems just doesn’t work for you. The issue isn’t simply getting “things” done, it’s allowing yourself to devote precious time and attention to the vital, self-generated creative work that builds toward your vision for the future. The problem is, the life you’re living is already full. You’ve made a lot of promises, to yourself, your family, your friends, and your community, that you’ll be there for them. You probably have a job; you may have kids. You may well have many competing ideas for your creative work. Where, exactly, can you find that mythical Creative Focus Unicorn? In Growing Gills, you’ll discover that the power is already within you to make your work. The biggest obstacles to your getting your important creative work done lie in the unknowns you’re facing. Growing Gills takes you step by step through the process of pinning down exactly what’s stopping you from finishing your beautiful, inventive, and potentially game-changing projects. Using the power of conscious decision, you’ll build your own unique system for fitting creative work into your existing life, taking into consideration how you work best.

    Best read by candlelight.

    Get Your Content to Work Harder For You. Does any of this sound like you? 1. You NEVER know what to write On most days you struggle to come up with blog post ideas and haven’t planned in advance what your content is going to be about. You're always looking to fill a publishing queue.   2. You chase after content trends You go after what you think will make your post go viral or get more shares. There isn’t necessarily a thread in any of your content pieces. 3. Your content doesn’t have a strong link to the products or services you offer You’re not sure how to create content to promote your products or services. If you’re nodding yes to any of the above, The 1- Hour Content Plan will help you generate COUNTLESS ideas. To be exact, a full year’s worth of traffic building and sales boosting content ideas in 60 minutes or less.  Here’s what’s packed in this how-to guide:  Three core ways to INSTANTLY generate content ideas with ease. Ditch the content overwhelm and never ever struggle with what to write again.  5 types of content that will inch your subscriber towards becoming a buyer and sell your products and services with ease. (And why you need ALL five!)  The fastest way to determine your BRAND VOICE so that you create content that fits you like a glove. No “whishy-washy” ideas. No guessing.  8 MUST-NOT neglect elements that either make or break your blog posts and how to optimize each of them.  The trap that bloggers and solopreneurs fall into with producing content and how ways to HOOK more eyeballs on your content.  Imagine for a minute how your blog and business would change if you NEVER run out of blog post ideas…You know exactly what to create, when and what results it’ll drive.Your offers (paid and free) become SEDUCTIVE magnets of YES! that readers cannot resist. Every single piece of content has a purpose in growing your blog and business, sells your products and services for you and builds your online presence… That’s the power of a content strategy and the promise behind the ‘One Hour Content Plan.’ Intrigued yet? Then scroll to the top and click or tap "Buy Now". Get your content to work harder for you with the One Hour Content Plan!

    But not just any kind of practice will do. You've got to bring the joy! In Joy Write, beloved writer and teacher Ralph Fletcher shows you how."A writer needs wide latitude so she can bring all her intelligence to the task," Ralph observes. "Assigning a particular format-a hamburger essay, for instance-would curtail this play, if not eliminate it entirely." That's why, instead of teacher-driven assignments, Joy Write shares the whys and the how of giving students time and autonomy for the playful, low-stakes writing that leads to surprising, high-level growth.First Ralph makes the case for carving out classroom time for low-stakes writing, despite pressure to focus on persuasive essays and test prep. Then he shares five big ideas for choice-driven, authentic, informal writing-deeply engaging work that kids want to do. He also provides numerous suggestions for helping students build and flex their writing muscles, increase their stamina, and develop passion for expressing themselves with the written word."We don't teach students to write," Ralph Fletcher advises, "so much as create a safe space where they can teach themselves by doing." Trust Ralph and find out how to bring the joy to your writers.

    And while patience and resilience must come from you, the essentials of craft and the plan to execute them are right at your fingertips with Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel. This completely revised and updated edition features solid strategies for drafting, revising, and selling an intriguing novel that grips your readers and refuses to let them go.New York Times best-selling author Hallie Ephron shows you how to:- Create a compelling sleuth and a worthy villain - Construct a plot rich in twists, red herrings, and misdirection - Bring the story to a satisfying conclusion - Sharpen characters and optimize pace during revision - Seek publication through both traditional and indie pathsFilled with helpful worksheets and exercises for every step of the process, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel Revised and Expanded reveals the keys to writing a memorable story that will have fans of mystery, suspense, and crime clamoring for more.

    Have hope and keep at it! Designed to kick-start creativity, this handsome handbook from the executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) gathers a wide range of insights and advice for writers at any stage of their career. From tips about how to finally start that story to helpful ideas about what to do when the words just aren't quite coming out right, Pep Talks for Writers provides motivation, encouragement, and helpful exercises for writers of all stripes.

    The letters cover everything from what it feels like to sign a book contract to the times writing draws out emotion we didn't realize to the need for space in our daily lives. The letters are intimate and honest, each written with love for the writers Cumbo-Floyd holds dear.

    But thanks to the unusual method invented by Plimpton and the other founders of the Review in the early fifties, and still in use today, the conversation is never limited to a discussion of craft or structure. The dialogues turn into stories of their own.” —Ottessa Moshfegh, from her prefaceWomen at Work, the first anthology from the Paris Review Editions imprint, features interviews with Margaret Atwood, Simone de Beauvoir, Elizabeth Bishop, Joan Didion, Isak Dinesen, Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison, Jan Morris, Grace Paley, Dorothy Parker, Claudia Rankine, and Marguerite Yourcenar.

    Romance author Serenity Woods and best selling author Mark Dawson provide ten short tips to help the eager beginner interested in turning their hobby of writing romance stories into a way to earn a living.

    "Writing Hard Stories" encourages all writers as they work through their challenging stories. It features some of the country s most admired writers discussing their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments, and it demonstrates the healing power of putting words to experience. A unique compilation of authentic stories about the death of a partner, parent, or child; about violence and shunning; and about the process of writing, the book will serve as a tool for teachers of writing and give readers an intimate look into the lives of the authors they love."

    The truth lies somewhere in between: yes, we are all special, and no, people will notcare—unless we write with them in mind.Joanne Fedler, a beloved writing teacher and mentor, has written Your Story to help all people, even those who don’t necessarily identify as “writers,” value their life stories and write them in such a way that they transcend the personal and speak into a universal story. This book shows how to write from your life, but for the benefit of others. Each human life is unique, and the meaning we each make from our joys and suffering can, if written with a reader in mind, be an act of generosity and sharing. Filled with practical wisdom and tools, the book tackles:mindset issues that prevent us from writingways to develop trust (in yourself, the process, the mystery)triggers or prompts to elicit our own storiesJoanne’s original techniques for “lifewriting” developed over a decade of teaching and mentoringand much more“Joanne understands the writer’s loneliness,” says one such writer whose life she’s touched, the award-winning Israeli author Nava Semel. “In this book she has created a menu of encouraging possibilities on how to overcome our fears and dig deep into our souls, so that our true voice can emerge.”

     Written by a paramedic and writer with a decade of experience, 10 BS Medical Tropes covers exactly that: clichéd and inaccurate tropes that not only ruin books, they have the potential to hurt real people in the real world. In this book, you’ll discover why these ten clichés make readers throw their books across the room and their remotes at their TVs, from the ever-present “gunshot to the shoulder” to the ubiquitous “knocking out the henchmen.” You’ll learn why they’re so incorrect, with easy-to-read medical explanations that may just spark your creativity. But more importantly, you’ll be inspired about what to write instead, to solve the same plot point challenges in more believable—and interesting—ways! Download 10 BS Medical Tropes that Need to Die… TODAY!

    In this short book, Gisela Hausmann, a 29-year industry veteran, author of the naked (no-fluff) book series, and Amazon top reviewer reveals 53 rarely published facts that will help indie authors to avoid costly mistakes and market their books cheaper and more effectively. Topics: • Basic Warnings • Legalities • Editing & Covers • About Influencers • Book Promotions on Social Media Platforms • Book Reviews • Communicating with Influencers • Book Marketing • What's Overrated and What's Underrated

     DOWNLOAD:: Write Your Book on the Side - How to Write and Publish Your First Nonfiction Kindle Book While Working a Full-Time Job You'll learn:     How much money you can make from a kindle book     The only thing that matters in the entire book-writing process     How to launch your book to Amazon #1 Best Seller status     How to pick a topic that people actually want to read     How to define your audience and outcome to narrow down your book's topic     How to write your book quickly using 13 time-saving strategies     How to design a cover for your book     How to publish it on Amazon KDP in 20 minutes And much, much more...Here's are the steps that are covered in the book:     Step 1: Choose a General Topic     Step 2: Narrow It Down     Step 3: Choose a Title and Subtitle     Step 4: Test and Iterate     Step 5: Outline Your Book     Step 6: Write Your Book     Step 7: Edit Your Book     Step 8: Format Your Book     Step 9: Design a Cover     Step 10: Publish Your Book     Step 11 [Optional]: Launch Your Book     Step 12 [Optional]: Turn Your Book into an Amazon #1 Best Seller     Step 13 [Optional]: Gather Emails from Readers     Step 14 [Optional]: Expand Into Other Formats Would you like to learn more? Download the book now and start writing your book today.

    Neuburger highlights the many paths into journaling. Her 60 interactive writing prompts and art how-tos help you to expand your imagination and stimulate your creativity. Every spread invites a new approach to filling a page, from making a visual map of a day-in-my-life to turning random splotches into quirky characters for a playful story. ​It’s the perfect companion to all those blank books and an ideal launch pad to explore creative self-expression and develop an imaginative voice — for anyone ages 10 to 100!

    

     That's the power of a hook. And, it just worked on you. A book hook is a statement or question designed to generate immediate curiosity and entice readers to want more. Why is a hook important? Language is the power of the book sale. As an author, you don’t sell books to machines. You sell books to human beings. A book hook uses powerful language that naturally piques a person’s interest. Book marketing expert, Rob Eagar, has coached over 450 authors and worked with several New York Times bestsellers. In this concise guide, he skillfully explains: • How to create a book hook • The difference between fiction and non-fiction hooks • Where to use a book hook to maximize sales Mastering Book Hooks for Authors will teach you how to create attention-grabbing language for your book, regardless of the genre. Capture more reader interest for free by using the power of a hook. Also includes free access to “The Ultimate Book Marketing Plan Template for Authors” by Rob Eagar that takes the guesswork out of launching your new book.

    With techniques and prompts for both the seasoned and novice writer, it will lead you to tap into your creativity through storytelling and poetry, examine how life-changing experiences can inspire writing, pursue self-examination and self-discovery through the written word, and, understand how published writers have been transformed by writing.

    You’re not selling very well and wonder why not. You feel you should be doing something, but the thought of “marketing” gives you nightmares. You don’t want to become one of these people shouting “Buy My Book!” on Twitter. But you would still love to start selling some books, and pay some or even all of your bills with your writing income. The good news is that this is ever more possible when self-publishing, if you set yourself up right. This is where the three-year plan comes in. The Three Year, No-Bestseller Plan For Making a Sustainable Living From Your Fiction has been a popular forum and blog post on the subject of career and audience building vs chasing sales and rankings of individual books. People have long asked me if I’m going to turn the post into a book. The post itself is about 1500 words long, but it covers only an overview of the strategy and is intended for people who are already familiar with many of the tactics discussed. There is much I could add and explain in more detail. Enter the books! Self-publishing Unboxed is a 101 guide to self-publishing and selling your self-published books, and it will show you: --The basics of self-publishing --How to optimise your book’s listings --How to decide which services to use (and how to pick scams!) --How to decide what you need to spend your time on besides writing --Easy and cheap ways to promote --And much more It is ideal for people who are at the beginning of their publishing career, as well as those who have dabbled a bit, but are ready to take it seriously. Take control of your writing career and get your copy now.

    Midwest Book Review Do you feel like you have no time to market your book? What if I told you that you could market a book in only FIVE MINUTES A DAY? It’s True! Yes you CAN market a book in only 5 minutes a day! This book is set up so that you can do ONLY 5-minute incremental work but it also includes instructions for when you are ready to dig deeper and spend more time. So it’s really two books in one! Here’s what you’ll learn: • How to Optimize Amazon in only 5 Minutes a day • How to power up your Goodreads profile • How to create eBook Promotions that sell books • How to simplify your social media • How to sell more books on Amazon! And so much more! I can personally guarantee if you spend just 5 quality minutes a day marketing, you WILL sell more books!

    With targeted and revelatory questions, you’ll be prompted to explore your own personal narrative—to write honestly about your deepest wounds, greatest challenges, hidden gifts, yearnings, and opportunities for growth—in order to discover a deeply authentic understanding of yourself and move toward a more liberated, truthful life.We each have our own story, a personal myth constructed from the content life presents us: we connect dots to shape the narrative, devise plotlines from circumstance, change characters, fashion conflicts, and adjust structure, settings, and themes as our lives unfold. But so often, over time, we come to believe that we are our story, identifying so strongly with the tales we’ve told ourselves and others that we cling to them for our very existence—even when they don’t quite fit. The realization that there’s a discrepancy between the narrative you’ve crafted and your authentic self can be disconcerting at first, but the exploration of that gap is a doorway to personal freedom, and this book will lead you through it.The writing exercises in this guide, one for nearly every week of the year, ask you to tell the whole truth about your experience. In doing so, you’ll come to realize that once you engage in this radical truth-telling, expressing yourself with complete honesty, your story changes; and when your story changes, your life is transformed. Rather than sticking with your illusive and tricky “Story of Me,” you’ll be prompted to go even deeper, piercing your personal myth and illuminating aspects of psyche and spirit that give way to profound moments of understanding and personal healing.This is not a how-to book for writers; it’s an invitation on a journey of self-discovery—a guide to facing yourself without flinching, accepting yourself as you are, surrendering to what is, and daring to question and transform what isn’t true. With Writing to Awaken, you’ll learn how to break free from the trance of mistaken identity and discover your essential, authentic self.

    Done well, revision returns us to our original love."In Living Revision, award-winning author and teacher Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew guides writers through the writing and revision process. With insight and grace, Andrew asks writers to flex their spiritual muscles, helping them to transform their writing as they in turn transform into more curious and reflective human beings. Her expertly honed techniques, exercises, and personal examples will help writers invigorate their work and themselves as they engage the human heart within and across the page. Living Revision is no mere guide with tips and tricks—although it does have those—but a deep and reflective well for writers to draw from as they strengthen their relationship to the creative source.

    That's where BEING INDIE begins.SOLO MEDALIST WINNER - Writing & Publishing, 2018 New Apple Summer eBook AwardsTo be a published author is an achievement few can brag about. But not all Indies are created equal. This book will give you the edge you need. Learn how to create a book that SELLS.~ Praise for BEING INDIE ~"This book demystifies the many aspects of self-publishing and presents them in a no-nonsense approach that I found refreshing. Other books might exist on the subject, but I have yet to read one that offers this level of clarification.""What I appreciate most about Being Indie is the experience, and knowledge the author has about the process and the honesty with which she speaks.""This is one of the best books any writer can read before venturing into the publishing industry. Matter of fact, to the point advice that I wish I'd read years ago. Ms. Lancaster also gives you the tools and a plan of action to be the champion of your work."~ WHAT'S INSIDE? ~INTRODUCTIONTHE AGE of the INDIE AUTHORPART 1 - PRE-PUBLISHINGTHE ENDSELF PUBLISH or VANITY PUBLISHERS?FROM MANUSCRIPT to BOOKSENDING the FIRST DRAFT to BETA READERSHOW TO CHOOSE BETA READERSTHE EDITING and PROOFREADING STAGEWHAT TYPE OF EDITOR DO YOU NEED?POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING AN EDITORPREPARING A MANUSCRIPT FOR EDITINGDO YOU NEED AN EDITOR OR A PROOFREADER?YOUR BOOK is BEING JUDGED by its COVERHOW TO APPROACH COVER DESIGNDO IT YOURSELF or DO IT RIGHT?DESIGNING a BOOK COVER YOURSELFUSING PREMADE COVERSBOOK DESIGN and FORMATTINGTHE PARTS of a BOOKMEET THE BOOK FORMATSPREPARING a BOOK for FORMATTINGEBOOK FORMATTING TIPS and REMINDERSFIXED LAYOUT OR PDFsCREATESPACE PDF - FORMATTING for PRINT BOOKSWHAT TO CHECK BEFORE UPLOADING A PDF MANUSCRIPT TO CREATESPACEPUBLISH!PUBLISH EXCLUSIVELY WITH AMAZONPUBLISH EVERYWHEREDO YOU PUBLISH an EBOOK FIRST or A PRINT BOOK?PRICING YOUR BOOKTHE COST of PUBLISHING a BOOKWHAT ARE PREORDERS FOR?PART 2 - BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORMWHAT is THE AUTHOR PLATFORM?THE ENEMY of INDIE AUTHORSYOUR WEBSITE or BLOGGUEST POSTINGADD YOUR BOOKS TO BOOK DISCOVERY SITESCREATING POWERFUL ONLINE PAGESYOUR ONLINE PRESENCEBUILDING an AUTHOR KITWEBSITES and SEOSOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE10 DOs and DONTs on SOCIAL MEDIABRAND CONSISTENCYPART 3 POST PUBLISHINGA RECAPReady? Let's Begin.

     Unsure how to market your book or feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of author platform options out there (or not even sure what the term means)? Ever wish someone could break it down for you in simple steps? Then this is the book for you! Over the course of one month, Rachel provides you daily challenges containing a wealth of information, and easy to follow assignments to help energize your book sales. If you haven’t released your book yet, this book will help you set the stage necessary to build the strongest foundation possible for success. Topics include: * Twitter secrets * Facebook page must do's * Social media ideas you might not know or haven’t thought of * Promotion, giveaways, and other book marketing secrets * Website, blogging, and SEO tips designed just for authors All writers, bloggers, and small businesses can benefit can benefit from this guide. “When it comes to social media marketing for authors, no one knows more than Rachel Thompson. She practices what she preaches and has helped dozens of our authors enjoy significant leaps in their social media standing.” Steve Bennett, Founder & Creative Director, AuthorBytes “This book is an amazing compilation of data and resources that only someone with years of experience could pull together. As a book marketing specialist myself, I’m still blown away by the amazing content Rachel provides. If you’re writing or marketing a book, this is a MUST-HAVE. “ Alexa Bigwarfe, Author Coach & Owner of Kat Biggie Press Digital Media Co. Buy this book right now and get started. Your only regret is that you waited so long!

    If you’re struggling to learn English and speak it well in your work, business, teaching or daily life this is the book for you."Master English FAST – An Uncommon Guide to Speaking Extraordinary English", by Dr Julian Northbrook, will get you started on the right track by showing you step-by-step what to do as an intermediate or advanced English learner to speak English as a second language at a very high level.This is Julian's most complete and comprehensive guide on the topic and is the recommended starting point for all of his English improvement books.

    Earning bylines in magazines and literary journals is a terrific way to get noticed and earn future opportunities in both short- and long-form writing.Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays capitalizes on the popularity of these genres by instructing on the two key steps to publishing short works: crafting excellent pieces and successfully submitting them. You'll learn how to:Develop different craft elements--including point of view, character, dialogue, scene writing, and more--specifically for short stories and essays.Recognize the qualities of excellent short works, using examples from recently published stories and essays in major journals.Understand the business of writing short, from categorizing your work and meeting submission guidelines to networking and submitting to writing contests.Master the five-step process for submitting and selling like a pro.Featuring advice and examples from a multitude of published authors, Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays is a must-have for any writer's bookshelf.

    How? By elaborating parts of a story that matter most to you and your readers. By offering an organizational system that keeps your head clutter-free. By taking the fear and frustration out of writing. The Fool Proof Outline is filled with just the right amount of brainstorming prompts, both challenging you to engage readers emotionally and propelling your novel toward completion. Character, plot, and scene questionnaires are also included to keep you focused one step at a time.Even the most seasoned writer will appreciate the Fool Proof Outline, yet it offers an ease-of-use that will benefit writers of every level.The ebook contains a link to the Fool Proof Outline in both Scrivener and Excel. If you’ve been considering Scrivener, this is a wonderful place to start!You'll also get access to the Fool Proof Outline's online site, where you can ask questions and share your success. No registration necessary. The Fool Proof Outline is the result of an incredible evolution far beyond my earlier outline template, The Ultimate Novel Template. Those familiar with that early version will shout with joy at the improvements. I do!

    HARNESS THE POWER OF HOLLYWOOD STORYTELLING MAGIC Renowned Hollywood story expert Michael Hauge’s Six Step Success Story formula gives your potential clients and buyers the emotional experience of success—and will move them to take action.

    You'll learn what works best, what doesn't, and how a few simple strategies are all you need to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Marketing For Writers Who Hate Marketing will help you prioritize your marketing so you can concentrate on the handful of tools that are most effective, and eliminate the worry that you're never doing enough. It will teach you: • The #1 most effective marketing tool ... one you already love! • How to maximize the all-important first impression your book makes on a browser. • How to turn browsers into readers. • How to turn readers into fans. • Pricing as a strategic marketing tool. • How to grow and nurture an email list. • All the time-sucking practices you can avoid so you're free to write! • And more. Whether your are self-publishing or working with a traditional publisher –– or both –– you need to know how to market smart. This book will show you how.

     Veteran indie author Susan Kaye Quinn walks you step-by-step through the process, start to finish. In BOOT CAMP, you will find: • How to decide when to make the leap into self-publishing • How to make a gorgeous cover, write a killer blurb, and select the right categories for your book… all the things you need to publish a book that will sell • How to launch your novel, plus examples of successful book launches • How to build your fanbase and market in a way that will get your book in front of the people who want to buy it BOOT CAMP will start you on the career you really want. The one where your words will surprise and delight readers around the world. BOOT CAMP will give you the insider tips and marketing tools that really work. BOOT CAMP is the essential guide you need to start your author career. Get started on your journey today! ~*~ Join SKQ’S FOR LOVE OR MONEY Facebook Group and connect with over 2,500 fellow indie authors to keep on top of the fast-changing world of indie publishing: JOIN HERE: http://smarturl.it/LoveOrMoneyGroup Susan Kaye Quinn is a veteran indie author who’s published over 30 novels across two pennames. She makes a living with her fiction, and she wants you to live out your dreams as well. (BOOT CAMP is the third iteration of Sue’s Indie Author Survival Guide with 75% new content.) 10 Step Self-Publishing BOOT CAMP and 5 Steps to Self-Publishing FOR LOVE OR MONEY are the first two books in S.K.Quinn's Career Author series, meant to help you get started and grow your career as an indie author.

    The Yearbook is packed with advice, inspiration and practical guidance on who to contact and how to get published.Foreword to the 2018 edition by David LodgeNew articles in the 2018 edition on:- Writing popular history by Tom Holland- Editing and writing by Diana Athill- Ghostwriting by Gillian Stern- Writing Thrillers by Kimberley Chambers- The health and wellness market by Anita Bean- Self-publishing online by Harry Bingham- How to choose your agent by Jo Unwin- First Chapters by Emma Flint- Pitching your ideas by Mike Unwin- How to make a living by Alison BranaganAll articles are reviewed and updated every year. Key articles on Copyright Law, Tax, Publishing Agreements, E-publishing, Publishing news and trends are fully updated every year.Plus over 4,000 listings entries on who to contact and how across the media and publishing worldsIn short it is 'Full of useful stuff' - J.K. Rowling

                Davis Bunn, NYT bestselling author. The Key to Great Fiction Why is deep viewpoint vital for hooking and holding your readers? Who is narrating each scene of your story? What are readers really looking for when they pick up a novel? Where does the real action of a written story take place? What are the two most important rules of storytelling? When should viewpoint be established? Deep viewpoint can convince your readers that they have become your characters. This powerful writing-craft skill set includes showing instead of telling, maintaining story flow, attributing dialogue effectively, and showing characters interact with convincing antagonists and believable settings. Writing coach, editor, and New York Times best-selling author Kathy Tyers presents a short powerful set of writing-craft tools in Writing Deep Viewpoint.

    An author blog doesn't have to follow the rules that monetized business blogs do. This book teaches the secrets that made Anne R. Allen a multi-award-winning blogger and one of the top author-bloggers in the industry.And you'll learn why having a successful author blog is easier than you think.Here are some things you'll learn in this book:1) How an author blog is different—and easier to maintain—than a business blog2) What authors should blog about at different stages of their careers3) Choosing the right blog topics for your genre and audience4) How one type of blogpost can build your platform quickly5) Basic SEO tips that don't make your eyes glaze over with tech jargon6) How to write headers that will grab the attention of Web surfers 7) How to keep your audience by learning the tricks of content writing8) Essential blog and social media etiquette rules9) What happens to your blog when you die?

    This instructional book offers six lessons on how to write haiku based on examples from Issa and from twenty-first century poets who are following his creative path.

    Whether you're seeking a traditional press to publish your self-published book or trying to win over an agent for your graphic novel, memoir, or nonfiction title, you need an irresistible proposal. The better your proposal, the better the editor, publisher, and deal you will get. Nailing your proposal requires an understanding of how publishers work and how to brand yourself, build a platform, and structure your book. You'll learn it all in this breezy top-to-bottom revision of the classic 100,000-copy best-seller. Inside How to Write a Book Proposal 5th Edition, you will find:   • Examples of successful proposals that earned six-figure deals   • Guidance from agents, publishers, and writers   • Ways to customize your proposal   • Strategies for proposals in the Digital Age   • Effective structures for narrative writers   • A list of the "Top Ten Proposal Killers" This sassy, thorough guide from industry professionals Jody Rein and Michael Larsen will become your go-to for advice about publishing.

    How do you still complete your writer to-do list after all of that? It might seem like there's never enough time, but you can find a way to create. You can publish regularly while balancing all those other tasks in your life. I can show you how. Jim Heskett publishes hundreds of thousands of words of fiction every year while maintaining a day job, family, and friends. Want to know my secret? I'll show you: How to write fast and stick to a schedule How to prioritize all your tasks to regularly push your words out the door How to create time out of nothing so you can write Stop beating yourself up for not accomplishing your writing goals. Take control of your life and learn how to be a Juggling Author! But don't take my word for it. Here's what some titans in the industry had to say about this book: "This book introduces techniques that will help you tear through the first rough draft, and finally start publishing more books. No matter who you are or what kind of crazy schedule you have, you CAN become a successful writer. Jim’s tips will help." -Derek Murphy, bestselling fiction and non-fiction author and owner of creativindie.com "When you’re a busy author with a day job and other responsibilities, there’s never enough time in the day. The Juggling Author shows you how to get more writing done with limited time. Good advice from a guy who’s walking the walk." -J. Thorn, bestselling author and co-founder of Molten Universe Media<

    Born into a Christian cult in outback Queensland, Frazer escapes through literature and poetry, drugs and violence, sex and alcohol; and his ensuing rejection of religion, authority and the 'way things are' leads to adventures, desperation and, just possibly, redemption. Beautifully written and urgently told, Scoundrel Days is a visceral, compelling assault on the senses. An at times brutal story articulated with a poet’s sensibility, it portrays a walker of edges exploring the dark side while searching for the love essential to build a soul.

    In her latest #naked book Gisela Hausmann reveals strategic tricks how to find out • 3 Basic rules for effective networking on Goodreads • how to become a Goodreads Player – playfully • how to "improve your own profile" so real readers will want to connect with you • how to pick your quotes so you and your books get found in Google searches (for free, no SEO) • what to do when you lost track of what your groups are doing • Goodreads as a Data Library • and so much more... Step-by-step instructions and 47 instructional illustrations will help you to improve your Goodreads profile, connect with real readers who actually read and review books, and become a player on Goodreads. This is the latest book in Gisela Hausmann's series of Naked (no-fluff) books. Read it in 90 minutes and know what to do to find real readers. • NAKED REVIEW How to Get Book Reviews: What to do now that Amazon closed all loopholes • NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews: by Amazon Top Reviewer • Naked News for Indie Authors How NOT to Invest Your Marketing $$$ • NAKED WORDS 2.0: The Effective 157-Word Email • NAKED TEXT Email Writing Skills for Teenagers • NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Product Reviews on Amazon.com: 7 Insider tips to boost Sales • Naked Determination, 41 Stories About Overcoming Fear • Naked Eye-Opener: To Reach the Dream You Must Forget About It

    This guide offers an accurate and accessible overview of crime scenes and the investigative process.Written as a practical reference for authors in any genre, this helpful “Forensics for Fiction” title unpacks a range of authentic details:• Terms and techniques associated with crime scenes.• Methods used to search and document types of scene.• The various on-scene professionals and their duties. • Case studies in which crime scenes decide the outcome.• Laws and jurisdictions that regulate investigations.• Ways to incorporate crime scenes in any popular genre.Whether you’re writing CSIs or private eyes, this illustrated guidebook offers a comprehensive, user-friendly reference to cracking the scene of your crime.Forensics for Fiction: making your crime pay

    We email, text, and post; we craft memos and reports, menus and outdoor signage, birthday cards and sticky notes on the fridge.Get a Grip on Your Grammar is a grammar book for those who hate grammar books, a writing resource filled with quick answers and a playful style—not endless, indecipherable grammar jargon.Get a Grip on Your Grammar is The Elements of Style for the Twitter generation. Designed for student, business, and creative-writing audiences alike, its easily digestible, occasionally witty writing tips will finally teach you: The differences between “lay” and “lie.” The proper usage of “affect” and “effect.” Where to put punctuation around quotation marks. The meaning of “e.g.” versus “i.e.” The perils of overusing the word “suddenly.” That apostrophes should not be thrown about like confetti. And 243 more great tips.Writers owe it to themselves and to everyone who sees their written words to get it right. With Get a Grip on Your Grammar, they finally can (not “may”).

    The biographer--so often in the shadows, kibbitzing, casting doubt, proving facts--here comes to the stage. James Atlas takes us back to his childhood in suburban Chicago, where he fell in love with literature and, early on, found in himself the impulse to study writers' lives. We meet Richard Ellmann, the great biographer of James Joyce and Atlas's professor during a transformative year at Oxford. We get to know the author's first subject, the "self-doomed" poet Delmore Schwartz; a bygone cast of intellectuals such as Edmund Wilson and Dwight Macdonald (the "tall trees," as Mary McCarthy described them, cut down now, Atlas writes, by the "merciless pruning of mortality"); and, of course, the elusive Bellow, "a metaphysician of the ordinary." Atlas revisits the lives and work of the classical biographers: the Renaissance writers of what were then called "lives," Samuel Johnson and the "meshugenah" Boswell, among them. And in what amounts to a pocket history of his own literary generation, Atlas celebrates the luminaries of contemporary literature and the labor of those who hope to catch a glimpse of one of them--"as fleeting as a familiar face swallowed up in a crowd." (With black-and-white illustrations throughout)

    Her topics include: understanding what children want to read; balancing the combination of words and pictures; making an impact with your cover; choosing an illustrator, editor and graphic designer; learning the secrets to successful book fairs and book signings; planning school visits; seeking reviews and awards; launching your book with a blast; and many tried-and-true, creative marketing tips.

    The original was composed by William Strunk Jr., in 1918, and published by Harcourt, in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of 57 "words often misspelled". E. B. White greatly enlarged and revised the book for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of the so-called "Strunk & White", which Time named in 2011 as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.

    It gives practical advice on beating the fear of the blank page, plot structuring, choosing a viewpoint, creating characters, writing killer openings and perfect endings. It will support you as you start writing and keep you going through to getting people reading your stories.

    Story extends a lifeline to pull you out of the sinking swamp of "busyness" and back into the flourishing creative life you deserve.Today's demands on writers and other creative artists are overwhelming. Not only must you produce the work you love, but build and maintain a platform and market your finished products to the world--all while holding down a day job and/or caring for a family.You teeter on the edge. What waits on the other side are burnout, exhaustion, and a complete loss of creative motivation.Overwhelmed Writer Rescue provides practical, personalized solutions to help beginning and experienced writers and other creative artists escape the tyranny of the to-do list to nurture the genius within. You'll find ways to boost productivity, improve time management, and restore your sanity while gaining insight into your unique creative nature and what it needs to thrive.Ultimately, you'll discover what may be holding you back from experiencing the true joy that a creative life can bring.In this motivational and inspiring book, you'll learn: –Why you feel so rushed and how you can regain control of your time. –Your unique "time personality" and how to use it to get more writing done. –Practical steps to overcome distractions and focus faster. –The 7 "productivity saboteurs" that plague creative artists and how to outsmart them. –Your personal motivation style and how to use it to increase productivity. –How to tap into your unconscious mind to find "writer solutions" when you need them. –Why affirmations don't work and how to instill true belief in yourself. –Why it's critical to your overall health and well being to nurture the creator within. There's no reason to feel overwhelmed one moment longer. No matter how crazy your life is, you can find more time for your creative work, and start feeling more like yourself again.

    First, he asked biographer Nat Segaloff if he’d be interested in writing his life story. Second, he gave Segaloff full control. The result is the long-anticipated A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison, an Exploration. The expansive biography, which is the first such project in which Ellison has permitted large portions of his varied works to appear, is published by NESFA Press.Segaloff conducted exhaustive interviews with Ellison over the course of five years and also spoke with many of his friends and enemies in an effort to get inside the man and pin down the best-known “Harlan stories.” Their wide-ranging discussions cover his bullied boyhood, his storied marriages, his fabled lawsuits, and his compulsive writing process with more depth and detail than has ever before appeared in print. But it also delves deeply into the man’s deeply held principles, his fears, and the demons that have driven him all of his 82 (so far) years. Friends, colleagues, and admirers such as Neil Gaiman, Patton Oswalt, Peter David, Robert Sawyer, Michael Scott, Edward Asner, Leonard Nimoy, Ed Bryant, Alan Brennert, Robert Silverberg, and many other notables add their voices.Along the way the reader is treated to an analysis of the Connie Willis controversy, the infamous dead gopher story, allegedly pushing a fan down an elevator shaft, and the final word on The Last Dangerous Visions. What emerges is a rich portrait of a man who has spent his life doing battle with his times and himself, always challenging his readers to reach for a higher plane and goading himself to get them there. It’s funny, wise, shocking, and—well, it’s Harlan.

     A will or trust controls who inherits what. The Final Letter tells your heir(s) ways to maintain it, even make it thrive, once they’ve got it. The challenge with an estate that includes Intellectual Property (books, stories, plays, films, etc.), is it has a value that can last another 70 years after your death. This book is a practical guide for educating your heir on quite what they’ve just received and what their options are to manage it. Topics also include: basic vocabulary, income opportunities with Intellectual Property, the power of trusts in IP estate planning, and much more. Estate Planning for Authors will help authors create their Final Letter as well as help the heirs whose benefactor did not create one. It’s a guide on how to make sure your legacy remains profitable for decades after you’re gone!

    But the truth is that the world's most successful artists did not starve. In fact, they capitalized on the power of their creative strength. In Real Artists Don't Starve, Jeff Goins debunks the myth of the starving artist by unveiling the ideas that created it and replacing them with timeless strategies for thriving, including:steal from your influences (don't wait for inspiration),collaborate with others (working alone is a surefire way to starve),take strategic risks (instead of reckless ones),make money in order to make more art (it's not selling out), andapprentice under a master (a "lone genius" can never reach full potential).Through inspiring anecdotes of successful creatives both past and present, Goins shows that living by these rules is not only doable but it's also a fulfilling way to thrive.From graphic designers and writers to artists and business professionals, creatives already know that no one is born an artist. Goins' revolutionary rules celebrate the process of becoming an artist, a person who utilizes the imagination in fundamental ways. He reminds creatives that business and art are not mutually exclusive pursuits. In fact, success in business and in life flow from a healthy exercise of creativity.Expanding upon the groundbreaking work in his previous bestseller The Art of Work, Goins explores the tension every creative person and organization faces in an effort to blend the inspired life with a practical path to success. Being creative isn't a disadvantage for success; rather, it is a powerful tool to be harnessed.

    It is a book of opinions and guidance, collected as short essays. You can read selectively about subjects that interest you, or you can read the entire collection in any order you like. Information development is a multidimensional discipline, and it is easy to theorize. We have written this book from our direct experience, using the concrete insights and practices we apply to our work every day. If you work as an information developer, a manager in a documentation team, or in another part of product development that collaborates with a doc team, there is information in this book for you. Perhaps you are a technical writer in a small, high-growth company that is figuring out its processes. Perhaps you are an information-development manager in a large enterprise company with an expanding product line and an ever more complex matrix of cross-functional dependencies. You might work at a medium-sized company where your management is asking you to do more with fewer people, and you want some additional perspective that will help you find a leaner and more effective way to deliver what your business demands. Or you might work outside the technical documentation world, in another part of product development, and are wondering how to collaborate most effectively with the documentation team. The purpose of The Product is Docs is to provoke discussion, shine light on some murky areas, and—we hope—inspire our colleagues to consider their processes and assumptions with new eyes. All proceeds from the sale of The Product is Docs will go to charity.

    That's right. You won't be yawning or weeping as you read these writing rules, just rejoicing that you've finally found the answer to your prayers.So, go ahead, become the writer you've always dreamed of, and catapult yourself to the career you've always wanted. Because once you know how to make your words work for you, the world's your oyster.Hi there, I'm Rachelle Rea Cobb. and I have history with words. I'm a grammar geek with a knack for storytelling. I help authors (traditionally and self-published), bloggers, students, and ESL writers polish their pages until their words shine--so that they then can sign their own publishing contracts. Did I mention I signed my own book deal at age 22? And now I'd like to share my expertise with you.Write Well: A Grammar Guide is a short ebook designed to walk you through what you need to know so you can get back to the real work: actual writing!

     Maim Your Characters is the definitive guide to using wounds and injuries to their greatest effect in your story. Learn not only the six critical parts of an injury plot, but more importantly, how to make sure that the injury you’re inflicting matters. With in-depth analysis of nine different injury plots in popular fiction and a walkthrough of how to build your own, this book is the guide to using injuries in your story. Written by a paramedic with a decade of experience, Maim Your Characters will teach you what to do — and what not to. This book also includes a sneak preview of the upcoming Blood on the Page, a book of injuries to incorporate into your tales. If Maim Your Characters is the how and why of injuring characters, then Blood on the Page is the what. Are you ready.... to Maim Your Characters?

    The rules are always changing, and grammar advice from a century or even a few years ago may not apply today. If you want to communicate with clarity and credibility—if you want people to focus on what you’re saying, rather than how you’re saying it—then you need to use excellent grammar. Editor, linguistic expert, and self-proclaimed “grammar cheerleader” Lisa McLendon has spent her career finding ways to use language effectively and correctly. Lisa knows that the primary reason people are uneasy about writing and public speaking is because they aren’t confident in their grammar skills. With The Perfect English Grammar Workbook Lisa has developed a simple, well-organized grammar workbook that demystifies English grammar so you can use it with confidence and accuracy. In The Perfect English Grammar Workbook you’ll find: EASY-TO-FOLLOW LESSONS organized by how we naturally learn—simple instructions followed by self-directed quizzes RELEVANT, ENGAGING EXAMPLES that demonstrate grammar rules with wit, humor, and contemporary appeal RECENT, UP-TO-DATE RULES based on the English language we use today A WIDE VARIETY OF EXERCISES that make learning fun HELPFUL FEATURES FOR CLASSROOM USE including standalone answer keys for easy photocopying and color-coded pages for quick navigation Finding the best grammar workbook can be difficult. But The Perfect English Grammar Workbook provides everything you need to master the rules of grammar with ease and enjoyment. The Perfect English Grammar Workbook covers all English grammar rules including: Composition * Parts of Speech * Sentence Structure * Verbs * Determiners * Nouns * Adjectives * Prepositions * Conjunctions * Punctuation * and more.

    When writers are able to craft effective, engaging scenes, they can develop a complete, cohesive story--and a mesmerizing experience for readers.Make a Scene Revised and Expanded Edition takes you step-by-step through the elements of strong scene construction and demonstrates how the essential aspects of a compelling story--including character, plot and dramatic tension--function within the framework of individual scenes to give momentum to the whole narrative. You'll learn how to:- Craft an opening scene that hooks readers and foreshadows conflict. - Develop various scene types--from contemplative to suspenseful to flashback--that are distinct and purposeful. - Establish characters' intentions within a scene that drive the plot. - Transition into new scenes by clearly establishing details of setting, character, and point of view. - Create resonating climactic and final scenes that stay with readers long after they've finished your story.The revised and expanded edition includes brand-new examples, an increased focus on advancing plot and character development, and the same knowledge and clarity that writers have come to expect from Jordan Rosenfeld. Make a Scene is an essential part of any novelist's library--make sure it's in yours.

     Those that have just set up their first blog and are now struggling with the next steps and where to go from here. It was written in response to feedback I received from my first book, which teaches the technical set up to complete beginners. I noticed patterns of what people were struggling with - often just even deciding what topic to focus on - and how blogging works in general. This book will take you by the hand and guide you through the next steps - the solid, basic techniques that every successful blogger started with. If you are looking for advanced techniques, this book will not be for you! - It is meant for Beginners. There is no magic pill to suddenly attract thousands of followers - although there are a few techniques that can speed things up and we will cover them. Another area that is often underestimated is learning the WRITING STYLE OF BLOGGING, including how to format your posts. This book goes into detail and provides resources for further training as that is obviously not something you will learn overnight. We will also look at the characteristics of Viral blog posts, but - once again - don't expect a magic pill! Blogging is hard work and becoming a good blogger - a good blog writer - takes training and time, even if you are already experienced in writing. People read blogs differently than books and unless you adjust to that, you will have a hard time attracting an audience - no matter how experienced a writer you are. Finally, we wil go over the basic monetization strategies that are available to bloggers. If you are new to blogging and are willing to put in the necessary work - and do so consistently - this book will give you a good basic start and take out much of the confusion new bloggers face. Of course, blogging also involves the powerful marketing techniques of SEO and Social Media and they are discussed in depth in part 3 and 4 of this series. I have personally found Kindle Publishing to be another great way to grow a blog following quickly - faster than any other technique actually - and so it is included as part 5 of this series. Once again - if you are looking for advanced techniques, this book will not be for you - it is specifically aimed at beginners who have just started their first blog. __________________________________________ STEP-BY-STEP: A Proven, Easy-to-Follow System for Taking your Blog form Zero to Successful You have started your blog, but don't know what to do next? You wonder how to attract readers and subscribers - and how to set up your blog for optimal conversion. You would also like to earn some money with your blog and promote your services and products. This book will teach you how to start a cool blog the smart way - no prior experience is necessary - and you might even have fun along the way…. Building a Foundation for Success This is what we'll cover: YOUR FREE GIFT - How to pick a Marketable Name for your Blog CHAPTER 1 - Finding a Blog Topic that People Actually Want to Read...

    Finishing it is the goal. Like most goals, it can seem impossible to reach. Especially if you want to deliver a quality product that people will recommend to their friends. All published authors will tell you one thing—there is no one way to the finish line other than sitting down and writing. Arwen Lynch, published in fiction and non-fiction, knows how daunting it can be. She will show you how you can use a pack of cards to get your story line arced and sparked! She has been in your shoes with great ideas bouncing around her head but never quite living up to their potential when fingers hit keyboard. When she applied her knowledge of Tarot to the craft of writing, things took off. Her characters stopped talking and started doing. Every plot point could be mapped out using the Tarot, but not in the metaphysical sense. This book takes you through mapping your hero’s journey in a down-to-earth way. There’s no need for crystal balls and neon signs here. FINISH YOUR BOOK! The Hero’s Journey is a tried-and-true method of building your story. Every memorable tale can be filtered through this method. From Star Wars to Shrek to the 3 Little Pigs, the steps are the same. This book guides you from the Ordinary World to the Return effortlessly. Because the goal here is to activate your voice and to use your imagination, there is no need to memorize anything. The Tarot is your tool because you are your own boss. Let this book give you a secret weapon disguised as 78 cards. – No Memorization Necessary – Your Interpretations Are The Key – Easy-to-follow Instructions – Tailor Your Voice IMAGINE THE END! You want to get to “the end” efficiently and effectively. With so many rules, it can be hard to navigate the waters of writing. This book puts control in your hand. Rather than tell you how to write, you will be shown. By turning the esoteric art of Tarot reading into a practical tool, you can finish that book. – Learn How Mapping The Hero’s Journey Works – Use Tarot In A Completely New Way – Finish Your Book GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED You don’t have to be a punster or a plotter to use Tarot for your writing. Let this workbook take you point-by-point through creating your story’s arc. Vision boards can be created. Outlines defeated. You can even build a killer synopsis with this method. Because you aren’t using Tarot for prediction, your own creative voice comes out loud and clear.

    Book marketing expert, Rob Eagar, has coached over 450 authors and worked with several New York Times bestsellers. In this concise guide, he boils down his experience into the three best marketing tactics that any author can afford: • Find new readers using Amazon • Sell more books by giving away free content • Recruit people who spread word of mouth for free If you excel in these three areas, you will sell more books. Here’s the best part: nothing on this list costs a lot of money. But, you’ve got to know the specific nuances and best practices that make the difference between failure and success. Find Readers and Sell Books on a Shoestring Budget will show you how to do it right. This resource includes multiple examples and stories from Rob’s consulting work with top fiction and non-fiction authors. Also includes free access to “The Ultimate Book Marketing Plan Template for Authors” by Rob Eagar that takes the guesswork out of launching your new book.

    Every author calls on, crystallizes, and shades his or her life experiences to craft fiction, whether they're writing world-bending sci fi or a thinly veiled autobiography. It is precisely those most conflict-ridden moments of our lives--the tragedies, humiliations, and terrors--that shape the best stories. But how do we select and then write our most significant story--the one that helps us to evolve and invites pure creativity into our lives; the one that people line up to read? In Rewrite Your Life, creative writing professor, sociologist, and popular fiction author Jess Lourey guides you through the redemptive process of writing a healing novel that recycles and transforms your most precious resources--your own emotions and experiences.This fact-to-fiction process provides not only the essential building blocks of best-selling novels, but is also personally transformative. Based on the process the author developed and field-tested in the wake of her husband's suicide, Rewrite Your Life is devoted to the practice of discovering, healing, and evolving through fiction writing. It combines research, practical and engaging guidance, and personal experience to meet readers where they are and take their creativity and personal growth to the next level.Tender, raw, and laugh-out-loud funny, Rewrite Your Life offers both a map and a compass for those seeking to harvest their life experiences to heal, lead a more authentic life, and craft a rich, powerful work of fiction.

     Using the metaphor of a magic bakery, copyright becomes easy to understand, and the writing business makes far more sense. This book functions as a guide to help writers gain more from every story they write, protect their property, and understand how to expand their business into the future. Clear, easy to read, and full of insights from a forty-year-career writer who understands how every story contains magic. Want more sales, more money from your writing? Come on in to The Magic Bakery.

    Each chapter includes a corresponding set of guided exercises to help you find the ‘what if’ questions relevant to your story’s world.Fair warning, though: worldbuilding is addictive. Once you get started, you might never put your pen down again.

    It’s even worse when it feels like your whole future—or at least where you’ll spend the next four years in college—is on the line. It’s easy to understand why so many high school seniors put off working on their applications until the last minute or end up with a generic and clichéd essay. The good news? You already have the “secret sauce” for crafting a compelling personal essay: your own experiences and your unique voice.  The best essays rarely catalog how students have succeeded or achieved. Good writing shows the reader how you’ve struggled and describes mistakes you’ve made. Excellent essays express what you’re fired up about, illustrate how you think, and illuminate the ways you’ve grown. More than twenty million students apply to college every year; many of them look similar in terms of test scores, grades, courses taken, extracurricular activities. Admissions officers wade through piles of files. As an applicant, you need to think about what will interest an exhausted reader. What can you write that will make her argue to admit you instead of the thousands of other applicants? A good essay will be conversational and rich in vivid details, and it could only be written by one person—you. This book will help you figure out how to find and present the best in yourself. You’ll acquire some useful tools for writing well—and may even have fun—in the process.

     Are you worried that your story won’t stand up to scrutiny from discerning readers? Do you want to make sure your characters' injuries feel real? Are you tearing your hair out to get the complications and recovery times just right? Paramedic Samantha Keel has over a decade of treating life-threatening injuries firsthand. She’s helped thousands of writers understand the medical aspects of storytelling, and now, she’s here to help you heal the accuracy of your stories. Blood on the Page: Volume 1 contains a detailed compendium of 31 injuries organized by type, lethality, and body part. From broken noses to detached limbs, Keel’s resource contains a diverse array of wounds that are ready to be added to your story. For each entry, you can delve into how the wound could be inflicted and how your characters would treat the wound with a variety of tools and technologies. In Blood on the Page, you’ll discover: How typical and atypical wounds would be treated and how quickly they would heal How to plot your injuries in stages Thorough sensory details to accurately describe each wound, including appearance, sound, and feel Medical terms and common slang used when describing each wound Insight into temporary and permanent disabilities, and much, much more! This handy resource is a must-have guide for writers whose characters live on the edge of danger. If you like easy-to-follow tools, expert opinions from someone with firsthand knowledge, and you don’t mind a bit of fictional bodily harm, then you’ll love Samantha Keel’s invaluable handbook. Buy Blood on the Page today to add a whole new level of realism to your story.

    Relax with this book. It will nourish your tired soul." --Robert WicksNoted Catholic editor and publisher Frank Cunningham shows how growing old -- all by itself -- can be a spiritual exercise that brings joy, peace, insight, gratitude, and love.

    Even worse, the publishing industry is full of predatory promotion services that don't work, or use old-school tactics that do nothing to sell books. Eager authors, frustrated by lack of sales, then resort to spammy tactics that give self-publishers a bad name. In Book Marketing is Dead I wrote that what passes for book marketing these days is virtually useless, but I didn't provide a way forward. I wanted to show that there was a more effective way to sell books, so I built a platform from scratch, grew a list of over 50K subscribers, got 1000+ book reviews, and sold over 20K books in less than a year. I even made some money (enough to rent a castle for Nanowrimo). I'm still doing a lot wrong, but I've proven that:  You CAN make a living with your writing  Book marketing isn't hard if you do it right  SELL MORE BOOKS WITH LESS MARKETINGThis book is a crash course on some of the more creative book marketing strategies I've discovered in my first year of publishing fiction. It will provide simple, actionable steps to publishing a high quality book quickly, doing only as much marketing as is necessary to launch your book like a rockstar, and keep it selling enough to support you while you write more books. I only mention the things I actually use, that I know work, and ignore all the other things that don't get results. We'll discuss:  how to write books readers love  self-publishing without getting ripped off  how to get hundreds of book reviews  paid advertising and release strategies  pricing and pre-orders  book giveaways for rapid listbuilding  how to target your audience  viral exposure and press coverage  setting up automated funnels so you spend less time promoting  marketing hacks so good they should be illegal  and how to reach your first $1000 on Kindle  LAUNCH BIG EVEN IF YOU'RE STARTING SMALL "Guerrilla" is a style of warfare intended to surprise and harass enemies. It can also mean using unconventional and usually inexpensive means to generate interest or raise concern among the public. That's basically how I'll use it: book marketing strategies from the trenches to help you win the publishing war. However, instead of "surprise and harass" I will focus on "surprise and delight." First you need to show up and get in front of the right people. Then you need to surprise and delight them. You need to be remarkable enough to be noticed. Few authors are using these strategies (yet) so it's relatively easy to outrank your competition, get more visibility and reach new readers. FREE BONUS WORKBOOK This book is mostly theory and ideas, and links to a lot of external resources, but I've recently finished a companion workbook that goes into more detail and gives exact, step-by-step plans to follow. For a limited time, this book includes access to the 67-page PDF.

    Most of them complain that many of their friends and fans don't see their postings. Gisela Hausmann, author of the naked, no-fluff book series for authors reveals 101 Clues to get more out of Facebook.

    published in 1920, with relevant updates for modern times. We have adapted Strunk's original Elements of Style to include essential exercises (with answer keys). These exercises help writers gain command of grammar as well as stylistic structures and devices through guided practice.Essential for today's writers, Strunk's original chapters regarding rules of usage and principles of composition are represented in this Elements of Style Workbook . These original lessons, along with style exercises that teach writers to flex their writing style at will, include grammar concepts, sentence writing, paragraph writing, and style writing exercises that amplify the impact of the original Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.True to Strunk's original masterpiece, this Elements of Style Workbook addresses the most common grammar and writing issues novice writers face, which are the same grammar and writing issues that have plagued English writers for over a century. We honor Strunk's identification of these main writing challenges, and do not dilute the prominence of these points with either less difficult lessons or more advanced lessons in regard to either grammar or writing. In this way, we retain Strunk's original focus on the essentials. We have reproduced these essential lessons here and provided targeted practice to enable writers to strengthen those skills.While holding true to the original Elements of Style , this Elements of Style Workbook also amplifies some troublesome yet vital stylistic points of practice with the following augmentations:- Grammar on past perfect- Expansive style section- Excerpts from literature masters as style examples and guidesNone of these highly useful components were present in the original Elements of Style, nor have they been represented in any Elements of Style edition since then.Style Types included The style section draws from Noah Webster's articulate delineations of style types. Each style type draws from a master of literature illustrating that particular style. Writers are challenged to imitate, recreate, and eventually alter the styles of the given passages by shifting the writing passages from one style to another. The following style types are included:1. Forceful writing style2. Vehement writing style3. Elegant writing style4. Brief writing style5. Copious writing style6. Precise writing style7. Neat writing style8. Loose writing style9. Feeble writing style10. Plain writing style11. Diffusive writing style12. Ornamental writing styleTogether, these style types represent the vast majority of writing styles used by literary masters in the English language.The Elements of Style Workbook--An English writing workbook like no otherWith its loyalty to the highly acclaimed and extremely successful original edition of Strunk's The Elements of Style , augmented by Webster's clearly defined articulation of style types and supplemented by ample, targeted, and clear exercises for both writing and grammar. The Elements of Style Workbook offers an essential grammar and writing resource like no other. Whether you are beginning your journey to quality writing or would like to refine your command of voice and style, you will find this updated version of a tried-and-true resource, The Elements of Style Workbook , a vital aid and guide to both grammar and writing.

     A standard pitch is meant for marketing and selling, but a Story Pitch is a powerful tool meant to be used when pre-writing and writing. It can help you jumpstart your novel, screenplay, comic, or whatever type of story you are trying to tell and it can be used as a corrective measure if you get off track during the writing process. In this book, you’ll learn: - The key elements to story - How those elements are connected - How to construct a Story Pitch - How to use a Story Pitch for outlining - How to use a Story Pitch to fix character problems - How to use a Story Pitch when lost during writing - How to use a Story Pitch for writing book blurbs If you like honesty, no bull, a bunch of humor, and tons of examples in your writing guides, then you’ll love Scott King’s Story Pitch. Buy STORY PITCH today and start writing your story!

    His search for the truth ends in a raucous gun battle between thirty ships, while the majority of the pueblo remains positioned on the beach, defending an ancient tradition. In the fray, a bunch of dysfunctional expats fight to keep their dreams of living in the sun alive. This enigmatic novel oozes glimpses of no-bull-truth, revealing the naked underbelly of being an expat living on the Costa Blanca. This raw novel stirs up a paella of murderous gangsters, eccentric Indian bar owners, a sociopathic hotel owner and a quirky xenophobic cop. The brutal murder of a young English woman - turned prostitute, forbidden love, a donkey named Pedro, and out of work sixty-something-gossipmongers ensconced in the local bar - paint a colourful, ragtag, group of characters. If you're not cringing, you're laughing and wondering, what the hell next?When I moved to Spain twelve years ago, I imagined the expats would be affluent go-getters searching for something new and strange. I pictured intellectuals working on books about their exotic travels and painting watercolour scenes of beach barbeques, backlit by the blue Mediterranean. All while discussing this evening’s meeting at the amateur dramatic society over chilled sangria and various tapas.Instead I was faced with desperate people chasing after the same crumbs, associating with English people they would normally avoid back in the UK. I never thought I would meet Romanian gangsters, British smugglers, property scammers, drug dealers, slave traded prostitutes and murderers. However, they all sat in my local bar wearing cheap flip flops and sawn off clothes. All of them blended in with the latest holiday makers. But this isn’t my story; this is Danny's.I first saw Danny running through the car park of our neighbourhood adjacent to the beach. He was flamboyantly dressed as El Zorro and chasing a breast-heavy woman in her fab-fifties as she desperately clutched a freshly baked baguette and skilfully jogged in her fluffy flip flops.

    Are you tired of feeling confused about the whole Indie Publishing business? How well does it work? Bearing in mind that our results may not be typical, we boosted our income to $10,000 per month using these easy-to-master techniques. How well you do depends on how well you write -- and how well you manage your investment in promoting your books. We may not be able to teach you how to write, but we certainly can teach you how to use simple math to boost your marketing efforts. Self-publishing has become a life changing industry for thousands of authors. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, romance or self-help, stories about heroes in magical kingdoms or warriors in board rooms conquering Silicon Valley, there are people who would love to read your book. Do you know how to find these readers? This is a book that will answer the questions you've not even thought of yet. Not knowing what you don't know to ask is what holds back most struggling authors. Isn't it time you take control? Honorée Corder is a non-fiction author and Brian D. Meeks makes his living in fiction. They both have consistent month after month sales and growth and are willing to share with you the concepts that don't make the blogs and podcasts. Earning five-figures month in and month out happens when you understand your readers beyond just that they gave your last book 5-stars. You'll learn: -The basic formulas you'll need to understand your results. -You'll learn how to look for trends in your data. -What questions to ask yourself to improve sales results. -You'll learn how to read your data to avoid making erroneous conclusions that cost you money. -We explain strategies for improving your conversions and an example of a description (old version vs. new) that converts. -You'll learn where to put your advertising dollars. Take charge of your writing career with just one click.

    Fletcher, a wise and witty writing companion, shows us why encouraging choice, purpose, and play helps students find their voices and produce strong, effective writing.

    And Indie authors frequently ignore a billion dollar library market that accounts for up to 50% of sales in some genres. It’s time for librarians and self-published authors to come together. This book covers the issues involved in getting self-published books into libraries from every angle – technology, cataloging issues, platforms, vendor access, librarian bias – and from the perspectives of BOTH self-published authors and librarians. Heavily researched (and backed up with 22 pages of citations), this book also reflects the author’s personal experience as a self-published author and her six years’ experience in library acquisitions and collection development.