Over the last twenty years, Andrew Peterson has performed thousands of concerts, published four novels, released ten albums, taught college and seminary classes on writing, founded a nonprofit ministry for Christians in the arts, and executive-produced a film—all in a belief that God calls us to proclaim the gospel and the coming kingdom using whatever gifts are at our disposal. He’s stumbled along the way, made mistake after mistake, and yet has continually encountered the grace of God through an encouraging family, a Christ-centered community of artists in the church, and the power of truth, beauty, and goodness in Scripture and the arts.   While there are many books about writing, none deal first-hand with the intersection of songwriting, storytelling, and vocation, along with nuts-and-bolts exploration of the great mystery of creativity. In Adorning the Dark, Andrew describes six principles for the writing life:  serving the workserving the audienceselectivitydiscernmentdisciplineand community  Through stories from his own journey, Andrew shows how these principles are not merely helpful for writers and artists, but for anyone interested in imitating way the Creator interacts with his creation.   This book is both a memoir of Andrew’s journey and a handbook for artists, written in the hope that his story will provide encouragement to others stumbling along in pursuit of a calling to adorn the dark with the light of Christ.

    He describes what it was like to interview the mighty Robert Moses; what it felt like to begin discovering the extent of the political power Moses wielded; the combination of discouragement and exhilaration he felt confronting the vast holdings of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas; his encounters with witnesses, including longtime residents wrenchingly displaced by the construction of Moses’ Cross-Bronx Expressway and Lady Bird Johnson acknowledging the beauty and influence of one of LBJ’s mistresses. He gratefully remembers how, after years of loneliness, he found a writers’ community at the New York Public Library’s Frederick Lewis Allen Room and details the ways he goes about planning and composing his books. Caro recalls the moments at which he came to understand that he wanted to write not just about the men who wielded power but about the people and the politics that were shaped by that power. And he talks about the importance to him of the writing itself, of how he tries to infuse it with a sense of place and mood to bring characters and situations to life on the page. Taken together, these reminiscences–some previously published, some written expressly for this book–bring into focus the passion, the wry self-deprecation, and the integrity with which this brilliant historian has always approached his work.

    L. Doctorow, and Frank Rich, into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best foot forward in writing prose. Dreyer offers lessons on the ins and outs of punctuation and grammar, including how to navigate the words he calls "the confusables," like tricky homophones; the myriad ways to use (and misuse) a comma; and how to recognize--though not necessarily do away with--the passive voice. (Hint: If you can plausibly add "by zombies" to the end of a sentence, it's passive.) People are sharing their writing more than ever--on blogs, on Twitter--and this book lays out, clearly and comprehensibly, everything writers can do to keep readers focused on the real reason writers write: to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. Chock-full of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts on the rules (and nonrules) of the English language, this book will prove invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people's prose, and--perhaps best of all--an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language.

    Keep Playing. Keep Creating. In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself—for life. The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it’s a loop—so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself—sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, ”The demons hate fresh air”). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you’re doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them.Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.

    There are a thousand of those out there and you've read them all.What this book is: a mindset shift book. If you want to stay in this industry, there are some things you need to quit. And I'm not going to tell you "how", but I am going to tell you why.

    In On Writing and Worldbuilding, we will discuss specific and applicable ideas to consider, from effective methods of delivering exposition and foreshadowing, to how communication, commerce, and control play into the fall of an empire.

    This is my attempt to change that.But first….I need you help.I NEED REAL WRITING-RELATED QUESTIONS FROM REAL TEENS!If you’re a teen and you like to write… Or if you know a teen who likes to write….PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR WRITING-RELATED QUESTIONS, and I’ll go through them all and–hopefully–yours will end up in the finished book!The book, btw, will be published by Scholastic in the fall of 2018–just in time for NaNoWriMo!If you want your question considered, just go to AllyCarter.com/DearAlly and let me know what you’d like to know. --from Ally Carter's blog

    It gives you a step-by-step guide to creating your first ads and shows you how to optimize your campaigns until you are achieving excellent results.Not only that, this guide will also show you how to level up and truly master the platform, with tons of strategic advice on how to use BookBub ads to support launches, promote backlist, create an international audience, push an entire series, or build up your readership at any retailer. You will also learn a series of ninja tricks and killer moves to help take your sales to the next level.NOTE: all purchasers of BookBub Ads Expert get access to a whole bunch of extra resources at DavidGaughran.com:*visual step-by-step guide to building campaigns*gallery of successful ad images in a wide range of genres*embodying the winning principles from the book*detailed optimization advice to improve your results*links to even more tips and resources too.Praise for BookBub Ads Expert :"David Gaughran knows more about book marketing than anyone on the planet. He's always on the cutting edge of what's working in a market that is constantly changing. Skip his wisdom at your peril."--USA Today bestselling author Ernest Dempsey.PART I--BOOKBUB BASICS1. How BookBub Ads Work2. General Strategy3. Two (or Three) Ingredients For SuccessPART II--ANATOMY OF A KILLER AD4. Attractive Images5. Discriminate Targeting6. CPM BiddingPART III--TEST PREP7. Creating Clickworthy Images8. Generating Author Targets9. Bidding To Be The BossPART IV--OPTIMIZING FOR VICTORY!10. Building A Test Campaign11. Evaluating Results12. Tweakers Of The World UnitePART V--DEPLOYING THE TROPES13. When To Use BookBub Ads14. Running A Promo15. Tackling ProblemsPART VI--NINJA TRICKS...16. Also Bought Insurance17. Get Out Of Jail Free18. Filling The FunnelPART VII--...AND KILLER MOVES19. Turbocharge Series Sales20. Riding The Launch Slipstream21. Do It Again (And Again)

    But the truth is, you can learn how to sell more . . . a LOT more . . . when you discover the right words that make people buy.Copywriting is selling. Whether online, offline, in video, direct mail, on Facebook, or from the stage, copywriting is how you put words together that make people click, call, or pull out their wallets and buy from you.Whether you’re a coach, author, “funnel hacker”, ecommerce seller, or real estate agent, your ability to create sales copy that drives people to buy determines your paycheck, your lifestyle, and your family’s future.In the fast-paced, attention-starved, social media driven world of business today, two facts about your ability to create sales messages (copywriting) stand out:Fact #1: Great Copywriting = Incredible lifestyle, plenty of money, and freedom!Fact #2: Poor Copywriting = Struggle forever and die poor!Putting The Right Words On Paper And OnlineIs The Single Most Profitable Skill Everyone Can Learn.This book teaches you street-smart copywriting, which means this book teaches you how to get results today. (Because we all need to make more sales today . . . not tomorrow, not next week!)If you’ve tried to write ads, emails, and sales letters for your business before and failed, this book is for you. If you need to make more sales—no matter what you sell or who you sell it to—this book is for you.Bottom Line: If you want to make a lot more money, have a lot more time off, and enjoy a lot more freedom, this book is for you . . . especially if you’re not making as many sales as you want to right now.

     You've heard the term "Rapid Release" and you're wondering if it's a viable strategy for you. This book has everything you need to get started writing and releasing quicker, as well as half a dozen case studies outlining 6 different Rapid Release Launches Elana has tried for herself. There's something for every Indie author, in every stage of their self-publishing career, though this isn't a how-to book on self-publishing. You'll get tips and tricks to organize a Rapid Release, as well as an entire chapter dedicated to the how-to of writing faster. Elana is transparent with her numbers, and she outlines many marketing strategies while detailing her thoughts behind her Rapid Release strategies that can be applied to any launch, regardless of how quickly the books come out. Get inspired in your Indie career with Elana!

    In Essays I, Davis has, for the first time, gathered a selection of essays, commentaries, and lectures composed over the past five decades.In this first of two volumes, her subjects range from her earliest influences to her favorite short stories, from John Ashbery's translation of Rimbaud to Alan Cote's painting, and from the Shepherd's Psalm to early tourist photographs.

    But how do you get them to work?Have you bought books that promised answers, or paid hundreds of dollars for courses, yet still struggle to profit? Do you belong to a secret Facebook group . . . but fear you're being ripped off?Amazon ads are hard to master. But if you do, they’ll reward you. They tap into an audience hungry for books, and willing to pay full price.The ads follow a standard pay per click advertising model. Marketers have had two decades to figure out how that model works. There’s a skillset for the job.This book explains it.If you’re tired of rumors, guesses and secret strategies, this book shows you: How to tap into a buying audience The neuroscience behind clicks that don’t convert (and how to get more that do) The tactics of expert optimization Ad types to avoid (and why) Why scaling is so hard This book gives you the knowledge to advertise at profit. It’ll surprise you, and bust the myths holding you back.You’ll never look at advertising the same way again. Are you ready to unleash your Amazon ads? What writers think about this series… “This is, by far, the best indie how-to guide I have read.”“Best advice I’ve seen yet.”“Brilliant!”“This author's expertise is truly awesome, as is his flair for communicating complex concepts painlessly.”“This guy SO knows what he's talking about.”“Wow, powerful stuff. Loving this series!”“Game changer.”

    You can be successful with either. Publish your books in a way that brings you the most readers.Put the experience of over one hundred book launches to work for you. Right here. Release Strategies. It’s how successful indie authors get ahead. Plan. Prepare. And Execute. With checklists, recommendations, and candid discussion, you’ll find everything you need to determine your best publication strategy. Implement it and keep your foot on the gas. It’s time to take the ride of your life. Release Strategies. The book you didn’t know you needed.

     Learn to monitor, analyze, and optimize. Packed with tips and strategies to improve the quality of your advertising. This book explains the latest Amazon Advertising tools since significant upgrades throughout 2019. Last updated January 2020.

    For many, they make the difference between a writing dream and a writing career.” Zoe York/Ainsley Booth, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author For the first time ever in print, Zoe York breaks down how she plans a series—something she has done ten times over. Romance Your Brand is an adaptation of an intensive four-week course, now available to authors everywhere. This book covers:
 • high-concept pitches 
• world-building 
• taglines and blurbs 
• building a cast of characters
 • writing the first book in a series 
• finding comparable series 
• covers 
• how to write towards future marketing 
• and why ALL OF THE ABOVE should be considered before you write a single word

    People click to it from the cover. They click to it from ads. They click to it from other books. But how do you write one that turns views into sales?Do you get conflicting advice on how to write a blurb from books, blogposts and internet comments? Have you tried gimmicks from blurb gurus only to see no difference in sales?This book delivers methods that will work for you. It studies blurbs from a copywriting, neuroscience and artistic perspective.Because a good blurb is all these things.This book will dispel blurb myths, and explain effective tactics. Finally, it’ll deconstruct great blurbs so you see their moving parts.Enter the cutting-edge world of advanced blurbs and learn: The neuroscience behind persuasion The bad advice that’s killing your sales Copywriting super-hooks other than teasers How blurbs really work Distilled here is decades of knowledge from a full-time author who used to be employed to persuade people.You’ll never look at blurbs the same way again. Are you ready to unleash the power of yours?

    For years, I've been asking myself: How can a guy whose native language is not even English be one of the best U.S. copywriters in history? Now I have the answer... nicely reduced to a simple, understandable formula. And the best thing is that it’s a usable formula. Anyone seriously interested in copywriting should discover Evaldo's secret.” —Bill Bonner, Founder of Agora. “It’s not often that I come upon a copywriting strategy that feels new to me. And even less frequently do I encounter one that is both new and exciting. Evaldo Albuquerque’s “16 Word Sales Letter™” is such a strategy. I’m going to recommend this as a must-read to all my copywriting proteges.” —Mark Ford, best-selling author and chief growth strategist for Agora. “Evaldo is the world’s greatest copywriter you’ve never heard of. Why haven’t you heard of him? Because while others are selfpromoting ... heck, while they’re eating, sleeping and relaxing... he’s cranking out the next blockbuster. He never stops. He’s a 9-figure sales machine and our business’s secret weapon. This book is your blueprint to how the machine dominates. Read it and put it into action. Your royalty check will thank you.” —Peter Coyne, founder of Paradigm Press, Agora Financial’s largest imprint “I'm recommending this book to everyone in my company, and making it required reading for all new hires. When it comes to books on "writing" I try to read everything new, and no matter how many books I pick up, I rarely find any ideas that are innovative (or even useful), but this book shattered my expectations—I found page after page packed with fresh ideas. It's engaging to read, and very easy to implement the writing techniques. “Evaldo has uncovered a new way to write sales copy that is perfect for today's buyers; I really love this book, and after you turn the first two pages, you'll see exactly why. It’s a must-read primer for anyone who writes sales copy…. Read this book—and learn from one of the best.” —Oren Klaff, best-selling author of Pitch Anything and Flip the Script “Few people know his name. Yet, those at the highest levels of direct response advertising consider Evaldo Albuquerque the Michael Jordan of modern financial copywriting. His new book, The 16 Word Sales Letter™, reveals for the first time the secret to his astonishing success. In split tests, the selling formula Evaldo reveals in his book has won, repeatedly, against ad copy written by the world’s top copywriters. When asked at a recent seminar I gave what are the two best books I’ve ever read on copywriting, my answer was Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz and The 16 Word Sales Letter™ by Evaldo Albuquerque.” —Caleb O’Dowd The 16-Word Sales Letter™ is a copy system that has generated over $120 million dollars for Agora Financial in the last two years alone. It’s a simple formula that could help you generate millions in online sales... No matter how competitive your niche is….No matter what kind of product or service you’re selling…And no matter your level of experience. That’s because it can not only help you identify a new big idea for your market, but also help you structure your sales message for maximum emotional impact. And now, for the first time ever, Evaldo Albuquerque is revealing the details of this system in this brand-new book.

    They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions, and shape our politics and beliefs. We use them to construct our relationships, to keep order in our law courts, to interpret events in our newspapers and social media. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human.There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story – from Joseph Campbell’s well-worn theories about myth and archetype to recent attempts to crack the ‘Bestseller Code’. But few have used a scientific approach. This is curious, for if we are to truly understand storytelling in its grandest sense, we must first come to understand the ultimate storyteller – the human brain.In this scalpel-sharp, thought-provoking book, Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us, leading us on a journey from the Hebrew scriptures to Mr Men, from Booker Prize-winning literature to box set TV. Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories – and make sense of our chaotic modern world.

    The stories she loves most follow other organic patterns found in nature―spirals, meanders, and explosions, among others. Alison’s manifesto for new modes of narrative will appeal to serious readers and writers alike. As Jane Alison writes in the introduction to her insightful and appealing book about the craft of writing: “For centuries there’s been one path through fiction we’re most likely to travel―one we’re actually told to follow―and that’s the dramatic arc: a situation arises, grows tense, reaches a peak, subsides. . . . But: something that swells and tautens until climax, then collapses? Bit masculo-sexual, no? So many other patterns run through nature, tracing other deep motions in life. Why not draw on them, too?”W. G. Sebald’s The Emigrants was the first novel to show Alison how forward momentum can be created by way of pattern, rather than the traditional arc―or, in nature, wave. Other writers of nonlinear prose considered in her “museum of specimens” include Nicholson Baker, Anne Carson, Marguerite Duras, Jamaica Kincaid, Clarice Lispector, Gabriel García Márquez, Susan Minot, David Mitchell, Caryl Phillips, and Mary Robison.Meander, Spiral, Explode is a singular and brilliant elucidation of literary strategies that also brings high spirits and wit to its original conclusions. It is a liberating manifesto that says, Let’s leave the outdated modes behind and, in thinking of new modes, bring feeling back to experimentation. It will appeal to serious readers and writers alike.

    But it can get better. In this primer on nonfiction writing, Andrew Le Peau offers insights he has learned as a published author and an editor for over forty years, training, guiding, and cheering on hundreds of writers. Here are skills that writers can master--from finding strong openings and closings, to focusing on an audience, to creating a clear structure, to crafting a persuasive message. With wide-ranging examples from fiction and nonfiction, Le Peau also demystifies aspects of art in writing such as creativity, tone, and metaphor. He considers strategies that can move writers toward fresher, more vital, and perhaps more beautiful expressions of the human condition. One aspect of writing that rarely receives attention is who we are as writers and how writing itself changes us. Self-doubt, fear of criticism, downsides of success, questions of authority, and finding our voice are all a part of the exploration of our spirituality as writers found in these pages. Discover how the act of writing can affect our life in God. Whether you're a veteran writer, an occasional practitioner, a publishing professional, or a student just starting to explore such skills, Le Peau's wit and wisdom can speed you on your way.

    Maybe you’re frustrated with your writing progress or overwhelmed by creative doubt, burnout, or writer’s block. Maybe you just can’t seem to sit down and write.No matter the roadblock standing between you and writing success, here’s the good news: You’re capable of becoming the writer you want to be—and that work can begin today. In this actionable and empowering guide to personal writing success, Kristen Kieffer shares 25 insightful chapters designed to help you:• Cultivate confidence in your skills and stories• Develop a personal writing habit you can actually sustain• Improve your writing ability with tools for intentional growth• Discover what you (really) want from your writing life—and how to get it! By the end of Build Your Best Writing Life, you’ll know how to harness the simple techniques that can help you win your inner creative battles, finish projects you can be proud to share with the world, and work with focus to turn your writing dreams into reality.

    Now, with this inspiring, highly practical book, you too can learn from these acclaimed Masterclasses.Playwriting reveals the various invisible frameworks and mechanisms that are at the heart of each and every successful play. Drawing on a huge range of sources, it deconstructs playwriting into its constituent parts, and offers illuminating insights into:Structure an in-depth exploration of the fundamental elements of drama, enabling you to choose instinctively the most effective structure for your playCharacter advice on how to generate and write credible characters by exploring their three essential dimensions: story, breadth and depthHow to Write techniques for writing great dialogue, dynamic scenes and compelling subtext, including how to improve your writing by approaching it from unfamiliar directionsWhat to Write how to adopt different approaches to finding your material, how to explore the fundamental 'Nine Stories', and how to evaluate the potential of your ideasWritten by a true master of the craft, this authoritative guide will provide playwrights at every level of experience with a rich array of tools to apply to their own work.This edition, edited by Maeve McKeown, includes a Foreword by April De Angelis.

    The last page sells your next book.” –– Mickey Spillane What are the secrets for writing a great ending for your novel? How do you leave readers so satisfied that they'll want another book by you—right now? What tools and techniques can shape your last fifty pages into a powerful, unforgettable experience? In this book, International Thriller Writers Award winner and #1 bestselling writing teacher James Scott Bell reveals: • The five types of endings. • What needs to happen in Act 3. • How to use the Ah and Uh-Oh emotional wallops. • A simple technique for crafting twist endings. • The most important secret of all—resonance. • The Stew, Brew, Accrue, Do brainstorming method. • The best way to tie up loose ends. • The most common ending mistakes, and how to avoid them. And more. Read this book and you will come away with a thorough knowledge of why great endings work and how to create them for every novel you write.

    They want more. But no matter what they do, those sales remain elusive. Worse, the publishing environment is getting harder every year, crushing their dreams day by day.But somehow, some authors succeed. How do they do it? Is there a secret? Is it blind luck? Do they all have teams of ghostwriters behind them churning out novels while one person claims the glory?It’s none of those things. It’s a combination of hard work and correct knowledge.This book gives you that knowledge. You’ll learn things like: How professional marketers write blurbs How to decode Amazon webpages for clues to buyer behavior Why great books sink into oblivion and ordinary books sell How to go beyond accepted practice and find best practice This book gives you the knowledge to sell, and to sell at a high scale. Much of it will surprise you, even if you’re a veteran of indie publishing.You’ll never look at publishing the same way again. Are you ready to unleash your author career?

    But how do you choose the right words? And how do you know if they work? With this practical book, you'll learn how to write strategically for UX, using tools to build foundational pieces for UI text and UX voice strategy.UX content strategist Torrey Podmajersky provides strategies for converting, engaging, supporting, and re-attracting users. You'll use frameworks and patterns for content, methods to measure the content's effectiveness, and processes to create the collaboration necessary for success. You'll also structure your voice throughout so that the brand is easily recognizable to its audience.Learn how UX content works with the software development lifecycleUse a framework to align the UX content with product principlesExplore content-first design to root UX text in conversationLearn how UX text patterns work with different voicesProduce text that's purposeful, concise, conversational, and clear

    It’s an old-fashioned “vade mecum” (pronounced vahday maykum). That’s Latin for “travel with me” and was used to describe a book that was a constant companion – perhaps a condensed book of prayers for traveling priests, or a handbook for quick reference – something you could take with you anywhere.

    His passion for the genre, along with a refreshingly open and honest relationship with his fans, shows why he is such a unique talent.In About Writing, Powell shares his insights and tips from the world of fiction. More than just an instructional how-to, this is a practical, inspirational field guide, and a unique, invaluable insight into what it takes to be a successful author.

    In this collection of letters, bookish fangirl Laura A. Grace addresses topics related to every writer’s journey. From “character conversations,” to embracing one’s unique writing style, to celebrating a release day—there is a letter for every author no matter where they may be in sharing their story with others.“Dear Author” includes six illustrations by Hannah S.J. Williams.

    But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant.In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls.- In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft. - Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person). - Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: What really happens in fights on the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles? - Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them. - In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further.By taking into account where your character is in the world, when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye.

    Thomas Kemeny made a career at some of the best ad agencies in America. In this book he shows how he got in, how he's stayed in, and how you can do it too. He breaks apart how to write fun, smart, and effective copy-everything from headlines to scripts to experiential activations-giving readers a lesson on a language we all thought we already knew.This book is not a retrospective from some ad legend. It's a book that should be instantly useful for people starting out. A guide for the first few years at a place you'd actually want to work.Traditionally, advertising books have been written by people with established careers, big offices and letters like VP in their titles. They have stories from the old days when people could start in the mailroom. They are talented. That's been done. Who wants another book filled with seasoned wisdom? This is a book written by somebody still getting his bearings. Someone who has made an extraordinary number of errors in a still short career. Someone who has managed to hang onto his job despite these shortcomings.

    A best-selling author himself, winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the Christy Award for Suspense, plus the author of the number-one best seller for writers, Mr. Bell has been teaching the principles of best-selling fiction for over 20 years, principles that apply to any genre or style.In the 24 lectures of How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, Mr. Bell provides a comprehensive, eye-opening, and illuminating survey of the entire writing process, as well as a full breakdown of how dozens of best-selling authors have implemented these best practices in their own writing. Any aspiring author will gain a wealth of tools that that will not only improve their ability to write, but will also increase their enjoyment of the craft.Great ExpectationsDo you have a best seller in you? Mr. Bell believes you do. But tapping into your creativity isn’t always easy. When best-selling authors such as Stephen King, Michael Crichton, or Janet Evanovich deliver success after success, it can appear as if creating worlds where ghost-infested hotels drive people mad is something that some writers can just … do. We all have creativity in us, but sometimes we need help getting in touch with it. Mr. Bell gets you started by offering several fun, challenging, and mind-expanding exercises that help you flex and develop your creative muscle. Grab a pen and give these a try:What-If Moments: We all have crazy what-if thoughts that cross our minds from time to time. Likely, most of us simply just laugh them off. Try making the most of what-if moments. The next time you wonder, “What if this plant I’m looking at suddenly started talking to me?”—roll with it. What would it say? Would you talk back or run away? There is a story here. Weird Job Situations: Giving people insight into the daily life that only a few select people could provide can be a fascinating read. And putting your characters in jobs with tremendous tension helps keep your reader on edge. What does a day in the life of a bomb disposal technician look like? How does this person deal with facing death on a regular basis? Would she try to find love and start a family? There is a story here. Hear the Headlines: But don’t go much further than the headlines. Work with just a limited amount of information and use your imagination to fill in the details. “Scientists Discover New Fish That Walks on Land.” What would that look like? Do you go fishing or hunting? There is a story here. The First-Line Game. As Mr. Bell points out throughout the course, the first sentence of a novel is one of the most important. One good line can not only hook your reader into buying the book, it can hook you into a story you never imagined. Experiment with fun, funny, weird, cool, intriguing first lines and see where they take you. “Today I learned you should never travel to Jupiter without an extra pair of underpants.” Who is going to Jupiter? Why underpants? Wait, WHAT? There is a story here. Don’t get caught up in the realities of our world, the illogic of your ideas, or the fear that someone might laugh. Audiences are eager to suspend their disbelief for a world that captures their imagination. It’s just like Field of Dreams claimed: “If you build it, they will come.” Remember, at some point, Michael Crichton wondered, “What if a mosquito that was stuck in a rock resulted in an amusement park full of real-life dinosaurs? There is a story here…” LOCK and KeySo, now you’ve got an idea—or a couple dozen. What next?Mr. Bell demonstrates how famous writers such as Harper Lee, Michael Connelly, Jim Butcher, Margaret Mitchell, David Baldacci, John Grisham, Suzanne Collins, and dozens more apply time-tested best practices to their writing. But even more valuable, he reveals his own secrets and methods for developing page-turning books that readers can’t get enough of.His helpful LOCK system provides the structure you need to create an engaging story:L - Lead: Your protagonist can be:positive—the hero, someone who embodies moral codes of a community, someone who readers root for;negative—does not adhere to the moral code, we root for them to change or to get their just desserts; or ananti-hero—has own morals, usually dragged into a community kicking and screaming. You want to bond your reader to your lead by putting them in a terrible situation, a hardship, or inner conflict to evoke sympathy or empathy.O - Objective: Your lead has a mission: to get something or get away from something.C - Confrontation: Ramp up engagement by pitting opposition and/or outside forces against the lead accomplishing his or her objective.K - Knockout: Give your reader a satisfying conclusion that resonates. There are five fundamental endings to best sellers. You will probably recognize them from movies and television shows as well:Lead wins, gains objective;Lead loses, missing objective;Lead loses objective, gains something else of value;Lead wins objective, loses something of value; orOpen/ambiguous ending.Once you’ve locked in your LOCK, you have the start of a best seller. The Sense of an EndingHow to Write Best-Selling Fiction is jam-packed with techniques to help bring power to your plot, charisma to your characters, drama to your dialogue, and vitality to your voice. Even for the “pantster” writers—those who reject the planning and plotting approach to writing a book—this course is chock-full of tips for charts, exercises, shortcuts, diagrams, and grids that help you to organize your story, keep your characters unique, and ensure you meet all the fundamental points that a best-selling novel requires. You will walk away with a toolkit of methods to create stories that feel realistic and that resonate with your readers. And no matter what type of writer you are, these insights will take your writing to the next level, with concepts you may not have considered.For example: the last chapter. Many writers get to that pivotal point and just breathe a sigh of relief as they try to tie up all the loose ends. But as you round the corner of bringing all the pieces together in your ending chapter, Mr. Bell underlines the importance of not underestimating the ending, making sure you have the “Knockout” of the LOCK system. As Mickey Spillane noted, “The first chapter sells the book. The last chapter sells the next book.” Mr. Bell has already provided you with masterful means to get your reader hooked with the first chapter—and potentially the very first line! And now, he reveals five strategies that will help you finish your book in a way that gets your reader craving your next title.The CorrectionsAhhh, the revising and editing stage of your book. This process is where so many potential writers fall off the rails. Because there is no denying it: It’s hardto find fault in your baby. As Mr. Bell puts it, to be successful you must “write like you’re in love, edit like you’re in charge.”Revisions are extremely important and take a lot of discipline. Mr. Bell introduces you to the two most important rules of writing and then his own corollary to those rules. Looking at the practices of famous writers such as Robert Crais, Lawrence Block, Dean Koontz, Ridley Pearson, and more, Mr. Bell offers a treasure trove of insights for this important stage.He gives you suggestions for creating a revision schedule versus revising as you go, and tells you why it’s imperative that you take a cooling-off period before you take a first pass. Discover tricks for helping you to re-read your own work with fresh eyes. Learn shortcuts for marking places you need to come back to so you can read your book straight through. Mr. Bell provides you a valuable list of questions to ask yourself as you read, a list of reminders to check off as you read, and tricks to ensure you are not overusing words or terms. If you consider using outside readers, he also offers a list of questions and points that you can ask them to be aware of so you receive constructive feedback—because your mom will always love your book. He also gives you advice regarding the use of a professional editor. Finally, he offers a wealth of tips about polishing your second draft.EducatedOnce your book is done, Mr. Bell doesn’t just leave you on a cliffhanger. He gives you a final series of lectures that cover the pros and cons of using an agent; a breakdown of the query, synopsis, and sample chapter; the benefits and pitfalls of self-publishing; and more. After the 24 lectures of How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, you’ll feel empowered to take your finished novel in whichever direction you feel most comfortable with, whether it’s using an agent or self-publishing.The famous writer Somerset Maugham once said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” And maybe no one knows the “rules,” but there are writing techniques, practices, and fundamentals that writers have used for decades to become best-selling authors. And as Picasso proved, once you master those fundamentals, you can then create your own rules. With How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, you get an intimate introduction to the fundamentals of how to write your best seller, from a best-selling author who has mastered the secrets to success.Now get writing.

    She’ll reveal in a humorous, yet effective, manner how she keeps her focus and has managed to publish one or two stories each month consistently for over five years. In this easy-to-read book, you’ll learn to retrain how you think and new habits to help you become productive in a few simple ways by: Identifying Your Problem Making a Plan Being Accountable Staying Focused Sticking to a Schedule Staying Productive Using short exercises in each section, you will begin to understand how to put into practice what you’ll learn in this book. **This is a quick and effective 12,000-word guide meant to cut through the fat and get straight to the meat so you can get back to writing!**

    Plus, the academic environment can feel as cold and harsh as the South Pole. But just as penguins form social huddles to survive the Antarctic winter, researchers can form writing groups to help them learn how to write more, write better and be happier in academia. The Writing Workshop tells you everything you need to know about forming and running a successful writing group, and provides invaluable tips on how to become better at and more comfortable with academic writing. Written by a professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, this friendly guide is aimed at early-career researchers such as PhD students, postdoctoral scholars and new faculty members. Chapter topics include: How to form and run a writing workshop; how to plan research and writing projects over the long (one to five years), medium (ten to fifteen weeks), and short (one week) terms; how to establish and maintain a regular daily(ish) writing practice; how to write a literature review, research article, funding proposal or presentation; and how to revise for clarity at the document, paragraph, sentence and word levels. There are templates to help students set writing goals and log their writing practice, plus in-class exercises to help writers learn to hear the difference between effective and ineffective writing. Running through the book is the theme of well-being, and the idea that creativity comes from self-compassion rather than self-punishment. Writing is not only a way of producing scholarly output, but also a way of thinking, learning and generating new ideas. A regular writing practice grounded in a supportive community is something that every early-career scholar deserves and, with this book, it's something every early-career scholar can have.

    It's the marketing and branding that make authors pull out their hair.And yet, what if you could approach marketing and branding confidently, knowing you can attract loyal readers for life? What if you could use social media without feeling sleazy? What if book marketing could actually be--gasp!--fun?Friendly and pragmatic, The 10 Commandments of Author Branding is the solution for writers who don't want to trade their souls for a few book sales. Shayla Raquel entertains with her quirky wit while offering common sense wisdom to help authors feel excited and prepared when marketing their books. Each commandment includes a list of action tips for readers to implement their new strategy immediately.Shayla's commandments teach authors how to: Be yourself, not a marketing robot. Choose a social media platform that works for you. Launch your book without slamming your head against a wall. Find book ambassadors who fangirl over your book. Practice consistency rather than giving up after a month. By providing authors practical tips on her award-winning blog, teaching overflowing writer workshops, and walking alongside novice writers from first draft to Amazon's best-sellers lists, Shayla Raquel has coached countless authors over the last decade as an editor, marketer, and indie publishing advocate.Get ready to embrace authenticity, gain book ambassadors, and create your tribe. #1 Best Seller in:--Authorship--Authorship Reference--Writing Skills

    This book will help you discover the path to becoming a productive writer. Learn how to: Identify what’s really stopping you from reaching your goals Say no and set boundaries for others — and for yourself Find more time to write Make the most of your writing time Dictate your words for a more efficient and healthy writing life Use outsourcing to buy yourself more creative time Work with co-writers to produce more books Use tools for specific aspects of productivity Focus on physical and mental health to boost your productive time I’ve been writing and publishing for over a decade and in this book, I’ll share my lessons learned in order to help you become more productive and, hopefully, save you time, money and heartache along the way. If you want to become a more productive writer, download a sample or buy now.

    His essays on canonical writers (Gustav Flaubert, Herman Melville), recent legends (Don DeLillo, Marilynne Robinson) and significant contemporaries (Zadie Smith, Elena Ferrante) have established a standard for informed and incisive appreciation, composed in a distinctive literary style all their own.Together, Wood's essays, and his bestselling How Fiction Works, share an abiding preoccupation with how fiction tells its own truths, and with the vocation of the writer in a world haunted by the absence of God. In Serious Noticing, Wood collects his best essays from two decades of his career, supplementing earlier work with autobiographical reflections from his book The Nearest Thing to Life and recent essays from The New Yorker on young writers of extraordinary promise. The result is an essential guide to literature in the new millennium.

    Includes pep talks from today's biggest authors! John Green, Marissa Meyer, Jennifer Niven, Daniel Jos� Older, Danielle Paige, Celia C. P�rez, and Scott Westerfeld with an introduction by Jason Reynolds!Partly a how-to guide on the nitty-gritty of writing, partly a collection of inspiration to set (and meet) ambitious goals, Brave the Page is the go-to resource for middle-grade writers. Narrated in a fun, refreshingly kid-friendly voice, it champions NaNoWriMo's central mission that everyone's stories deserve to be told. The volume includes chapters on character, plot, setting, and the like; motivating essays from popular authors; advice on how to commit to your goals; a detailed plan for writing a novel or story in a month; and more!National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. They provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds--on and off the page. With its first event in 1999, the organization's programs now include National Novel Writing Month in November, Camp NaNoWriMo, the Young Writers Program, Come Write In, and the "Now What?" Months.

    From the author of Mastering Amazon Ads: An Author's Guide, comes a new book on the art of copywriting for descriptions.A typical description might convert one click in thirty into a new reader. After two years of research and hundreds of descriptions written, the data shows that properly written descriptions can get the job done in ten clicks.Would you rather pay for 10 or 30 clicks to get a conversion?With 40 descriptions across lots of genres, you'll find everything you need to understand and train yourself to write proper copy.* Powerful hooks* Engaging copy* Visually Appealing formatting.

     Unstuffy, hip, and often funny, The Copyeditor’s Handbook has become an indispensable resource both for new editors and for experienced hands who want to refresh their skills and broaden their understanding of the craft of copyediting. This fourth edition incorporates the latest advice from language authorities, usage guides, and new editions of major style manuals, including The Chicago Manual of Style. It registers the tectonic shifts in twenty-first-century copyediting: preparing text for digital formats, using new technologies, addressing global audiences, complying with plain language mandates, ensuring accessibility, and serving self-publishing authors and authors writing in English as a second language. The new edition also adds an extensive annotated list of editorial tools and references and includes a bit of light entertainment for language lovers, such as a brief history of punctuation marks that didn’t make the grade, the strange case of razbliuto, and a few Easter eggs awaiting discovery by keen-eyed readers.The fourth edition features updates onthe transformation of editorial roles in today’s publishing environmentnew applications, processes, and protocols for on-screen editingmajor changes in editorial resources, such as online dictionaries and language corpora, new grammar and usage authorities, online editorial communities, and web-based research toolsWhen you’re ready to test your mettle, pick up The Copyeditor’s Workbook: Exercises and Tips for Honing Your Editorial Judgment, the essential new companion to the handbook.

    Le Guin was one of our most imaginative writers, a radical thinker, and a feminist icon. The interviews collected here span 40 years of her pioneering and prolific career.When she began writing in the 1960s, Ursula K. Le Guin was as much of a literary outsider as one can be: she was a woman writing in a landscape dominated by men, she wrote genre at a time where it was dismissed as non-literary, and she lived out West, far from fashionable east coast literary circles. The interviews collected here--covering everything from her Berkeley childhood to her process of world-building; from her earliest experiments with genre to envisioning the end of capitalism--highlight that unique perspective, which conjured some of the most prescient and lasting books in modern literature.

    Combined with the cover of a book, it's the most essential piece in an Indie author's arsenal that can help increase conversions and sell more books. And the best part? Authors have ultimate control over their cover copy! You can write killer cover copy that will increase your bottom line, and it's time to stop thinking you can't. This short guide isn't bogged down with stories or fluff. It lays out the essential parts of winning cover copy in easy-to-understand language with actionable steps. Get inspired in your Indie career with Elana, a multiple USA Today bestseller, Kindle All-Star Author, and author of over 120 novels! Other books in the Indie Inspiration series: 1. Writing and Releasing Rapidly 2. Writing Killer Cover Copy 3. Writing and Marketing Systems (coming soon!)

    Let it spark your imagination and remind you that your creative possibilities are truly endless.

    But although ever-growing numbers of INFJs are waking up to the power of our intuitive gifts, we continue to struggle mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in a culture that does not value intuition. Lauren Sapala explores the roadblocks that are still holding many INFJs back and tackles the most important questions for INFJs today. How can we find our purpose? Where and why do we give away our power? And how can we use our unique gifts and innate passion in order to create a better world? Only by moving beyond limiting mindsets and beliefs can INFJs move forward to fulfill our purpose as the healers of the world, and then reclaim our power and step into the role of the leaders we were always meant to be.

    Pricing Strategies is about making the most from your work by understanding what your genre will support. It’s not hard, but you have to have a plan. Over the course of a year, you might change your book’s price five or ten times. That’s perfectly fine, when done for the right reasons as part of an overall marketing strategy. What is one reader worth to you as an entry point into your author world? What is that reader worth if they stay on board?Pricing Strategies explains why and how you would vary price points, whether you are exclusive to Amazon or distribute on multiple platforms. Book pricing is about getting the most money from your book or box set, not just one time but for the long term. It is how you can be a successful indie author. Without buyers for your books, self-publishing is just a hobby. Look at your words as your profession and earn your just desserts by pricing your books appropriately and intentionally to improve your bottom line.That’s what Pricing Strategies is all about. Understand the why and let the money flow. Pricing Strategies. The book you need.

    Second Edition updated with new strategies such as audience stacking, personalized audience creation, and more. Have you put up Facebook ads to sell your books time and time again, only to spend a pile of money and not see any sales? You're not alone. We were there too, but now we've have quit our day jobs and make a living selling fiction. Both our initial successes and the sustainability of our 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 an ad and instead turn them into book-selling machines.

    His mission? To give practical, easy-to-apply answers to the most vexing plot questions writers face, such as: • How do I plan a plot if I'm not a plot planner? • Does my plot need a prologue? • What if I hit a plot wall? • What if my plot is getting away from me? • Why ins't my plot more gripping at the start? • Why is my overall plot dull? • What should I do if my plot is implausible? • Do I really need to think about plot structure? • How do I deepen the emotional impact of my plot? • What's the best way to plug a plot hole? • How do I keep my plot from ending with a thud? And more! With bonus material on how to find and utilize beta readers; and several plot generating methods you can put to use at any time. Whether used as a reference guide or refresher course, this book will strengthen your storytelling muscles and help you elevate every novel you write. Because Plotman, along with his faithful sidekick Subplot Boy, has sworn to uphold plot, story, and the bestselling way.

    They don’t approach, handle, or react to violence in the same way. Aiki Flinthart is a long-time martial artist, archer, knife-thrower, assault-survivor, and author of 11+ novels - all with kick-ass heroines and heroes. In Fight Like a Girl, she brings her own experience, plus the results of extensive research and interviews, to the table for fellow authors.You should come away with an excellent understanding of the differences between males and females, how they fight, react, and think. What weapons and techniques work well for smaller physiques. How it feels to be involved in a fight. You’ll also get a deep understanding of how to apply that knowledge to an actual fight scene. A step by step guide to how to write and pace your fight scene, word choices, foreshadowing, character arcs, and how to pack an emotional punch.Make sure your readers devour your fight scenes. Pick up a copy of Fight Like a Girl. Review Quote: "Flinthart's 'Fight Like a Girl' is a considered, credible, and practical writer's guide to crafting believable fights for female protagonists, as well as creating fights that serve the best interests of the story.' - Angela Slatter, author of the World Fantasy Award-winning "The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings"

    This is the story of Wall Street Journal-bestselling author Jeff Wheeler’s journey to publication, from writing his first million words to obtaining the publishing deal that ultimately enabled him to leave his career at Intel and has resulted in over four million books being sold. It’s a story of the pivotal moments that have shaped his life and his novels, some of them inspiring and some cringe-worthy, seasoned with meditations on creativity and what drives and quells it. Through sharing his own story, he also provides invaluable insights about the writing process, and the process of becoming a writer. Whether you’re a fan of his worlds or someone seeking practical tips on how to write your own first million words, this book will offer both entertainment and encouragement.

    This inspired award-winning, bestselling author Meghna Pant to write a book filled with the advice she wishes someone had given her when she was starting out. Including never-before collected essays from experts in their field, including Jeffrey Archer, Shobhaa De, Twinkle Khanna, Ashwin Sanghi, Meena Kandasamy, Durjoy Datta, Preeti Shenoy, Rashmi Bansal, Ravi Subramanian and many more, India's first-ever book on publishing busts myths and answers questions as varied as which publisher would be best for your work, where to find inspiration for a short story, how to manage your finances if you plan to write full-time, how to write a cover letter, how to successfully promote your book, and how to become a bestselling author. Launched at the Jaipur Literature Festival, here’s what India’s top author Amish Tripathi has to say, “Getting your book published is not easy, especially in India. This book will give you the finest advice available on how to get published. I wish I had this book when I started my career as an author. Do read it."

    With Drinking from the River of Light, this bestselling poet and philosopher will lead you on a journey to discover just how art and authentic expression can bring our deepest truths to bear in the world.In this collection of interconnected essays and poetry—covering subjects ranging from the importance of staying in conversation with other forms of life to a consideration of how innovators such as Matisse, Rodin, and Beethoven saw the world—Nepo presents a lyrical ode to the creative urge that stirs in each of us. Whether it’s the search for a metaphor to reveal life’s beauty or the brushstroke that will thoroughly capture the moment, Drinking from the River of Light examines what it means to go “. . . beyond the boundaries of art, where the viewer and participant are one.”Here you will discover:· The importance of openly embracing the full scope of your emotions· The need for raw honesty and self-exploration in education· Why a new perspective always waits only a “quarter turn” away· The importance of staying in constant conversation with other creative voices· The crucial difference between giving and getting attention· Concrete guidelines for respectful peer review· What it means to channel the sound of your innermost being—and the universeIn Nepo’s words, “This book is meant to be experienced and journeyed with.” Including dozens of journaling prompts and personal exercises meant to enliven the reader’s creative instincts, Drinking from the River of Light traces the search for our most essential selves and the importance of the life of expression to bear witness to the sorrow, depth, and joy of life.

     There’s a better way. In How to Write Fast, Platt and Silver show you how to shift your approach to writing to dramatically increase your natural speed, while tapping into your inner storyteller and unleashing more of the stories you were born to tell. You will discover: * How to immediately improve your writing speed. * Why writing fast will result in better writing. * How to redesign your writing strategy to promote going faster. * The five simple hacks Platt, Silver and the entire story studio have used to repeatedly best themselves and move many of them to producing more than a million words a year. * Mental tricks to bypass your inner editor (and why using them will retrain your brain to write faster, while also creating the cleanest copy you’ve ever created). Isn't it time you did more than just write fast? Now you can. Start writing better words faster today!

    This book is 200 pages of lessons, exercises and metaphors designed by two teachers and performers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York and Los Angeles. Also, it's written as a fable where you are an "improv seeker" in an mysterious dojo hidden in the mountains. That's pretty fun! “Billy and Will love to do the ‘make’em ups’ and they’re quite good at it as well. I would read this book…if I could read.” - Rob Riggle (Daily Show, US Marine Corps)

    Along the way, it’ll help you form the foundation you need to write a novel you’re proud of. You’ll learn to:• Strengthen the ideas you have and discover new ones, even when inspiration seems far away.• Expand your original idea into a fully fledged story.• Develop a fleshed-out cast of characters, without overwhelming yourself with complex formulas and “best-practices."• Apply structure to your story in a way that honors and refines your original idea. • Bring it all together in a final Master Outline, designed to guide you through every stage of writing your novel.Each day of this outlining challenge comes with easy to follow prompts and intuitive goals, streamlining the outlining process. By the end, The Ten Day Outline will have taken the stress out of planning a novel, so you’ll be ready to set out on your own epic writing journey!

    It’s key to making writing dreams a business reality in the world of self-publishing. But most of what you’ve been told about it is … bunkum.A bold statement. But a true one. Authors are hungry for how-to information so they can make their way in a business world. But the standard advice comes from other authors with no professional background in copywriting. Sadly, it’s out of date, often wrong and holding you back.It’s time to explore modern copywriting that taps into the latest neuroscience. It’s time to discover real sales copy, and to dive deep where only a professional can take you. It’s time to unleash its potential to drive your career.This book takes you on that journey. Learn: How experts leverage front and backmatter Which part of the brain makes decisions, and how to speak to it The art of using neuroscience to persuade Why old marketing tactics are dying How, and where, to use cutting-edge sales copy that works in the digital age This book will surprise you, and bust the bubble of hack tactics dragging down your sales.You’ll never look at sales copy the same way again. Are you ready to unleash professional copywriting skills?

    Among other things, you’ll learn: How to spot (and fix) vague and self-centered copy How to sound trustworthy even without testimonials How to structure your homepage to make your message clear Why you should delete your Testimonials and FAQ pages Where to place call-to-action buttons to get more people to click What design mistakes get in the way of your message Who is this book for? This book is for you if you're: A business owner who takes care of their website themselves. You’ll learn how to write better copy and how to make sure that your design doesn’t kill your message. A copywriter who wants to sharpen their skill and also learn how to prevent designers from murdering their copy later on. You’ll learn to spot bad design decisions and discover powerful arguments to use in conversations with your clients and their designers. A web designer who wants to design not only pretty websites but also websites that convert. A business owner who is planning to hire someone to create their website for them. You’ll learn how to spot ineffective copy and sloppy design to make sure that the pretty website you’re paying for will also convert.

    This engaging prompt journal is the perfect tool to build mother-son relationships. Kids can record memories, swap stories, compare perspectives, and explore common and unique interests with their moms! Interactive lists and letters back and forth invite both mom and son to reflect, write, and doodle about topics timely to their lives as kids, build self-confidence, and improve their penmanship.

    It keeps readers guessing and characters on their toes. When you've got tension in place, stories leave readers breathless and wanting more. When it's missing, scenes feel inconsequential, plots drag, and characters meander.Learning the craft of writing can sometimes feel like a paint by numbers approach--connect compelling character A to plot event B. To avoid writing that's formulaic, predictable, and slow, How to Write a Page Turner will help you sew the threads of tension tight for an unforgettable story. You'll learn how to:- Recognize the essential tension elements of danger, conflict, uncertainty, and withholding, and add them to your fiction - Create levels of tension in your characters through flaws, dialogue, power struggles, and more - Build tension at energetic markers throughout the plot - Use intimate imagery, strong sentences, and well-chosen words to build tension in expositionWhile this book walks you through the key areas that need tension building, from character to plot, it also delves deeper, analyzing exceptional examples from contemporary fiction's most gripping page-turners. So as you dive into the inner conflicts of a character's deepest psyche, to the mechanics of how you reveal information to the reader, you'll also discover how to craft a story your readers can't put down!

     When novelist Jewel Allen's earnings tapered to a buck per month for each of her 11 books on her back list, she knew she had to change her self-publishing model. Applying the principles of rapid release, where an author publishes fast to keep readers’ interest before the dreaded 30-day cliff, she started a to-market series and recouped five times her investment in 30 days. She repeated it, not just once, but six times on her way to energizing her publishing career. In this book, learn how Jewel: *spotted a hot publishing trend for a series *wrote and published quality 50k-word novels monthly *overcame the mind games that shut down productivity *launched a series with a bang despite a small fan base *earned a profit from a series immediately With special guest commentary: Q&A with bestselling author Bree Livingston Rapid Releasing a Regency Series by Sally Britton Rapid Releasing a Multi-Author Series by Jo Noelle Rapid Releasing by stockpiling manuscripts by Eliza Boyd Rapid Releasing a Sports Romance Series by Brittney Mulliner

    You’ve accumulated hardwon knowledge and mastered the solution to a difficult problem. Now you want to put it out into the world— and be recognized for your expertise, like those you’ve watched reap the benefits of a published book. You know you have to write it. You’ve heard it from people for years: you should really write a book. They’re right. It’s time for you to write the book that cements your legacy and impacts other people—and maybe even the world. So why haven’t you done it yet? The truth is, writing a book is scary. Is your idea good enough? How do you structure it, write it, and stay motivated? What if you actually finish it, and it’s bad? Worst of all: what if you publish it, and no one cares? If this sounds familiar, The Scribe Method will help you navigate these fears on your journey to becoming a published author. Guided by experts Tucker Max and Zach Obront, you’ll overcome the obstacles that have held you back with a simple, time-saving, effective method to writing a great book, and learn the step-by-step process that has created hundreds of bestselling titles.

    Add to that the conditioning women internalize as part of growing up in society that propagates double standards and works to marginalize women writers, and the result is an entire class of writers who fight internal battles of self-worth as they struggle through their creative processes, often feeling quite alone in the process. In Write On, Sisters! Brooke Warner tackles this issue in two parts—first drawing upon research, anecdotes, and her personal experiences from twenty years in the book publishing industry to show how women’s writing is discounted or less valued than men’s writing, and then discussing how to overcome these challenges. In explaining how we got here and why the culture and the industry continue to erode women’s efforts for equal treatment as writers, Warner hopes to give women writers a sanity baseline: if you know what you face, you can work to overcome it. She dedicates the second half of the book, meanwhile, to encouragement grounded in real-world suggestions for how women can thrive as creatives despite these barriers. Inspiring and empowering, Write On, Sisters! is for every woman interested in championing other women writers, cultivating community, and refusing to accept imposed limitations.

    Story helps you break the spell of invisibility to reveal the author platform that will finally draw readers your way.There are more books out there than ever before, and readers have many other things vying for their attention. A writer can feel like a needle in a haystack, and throwing money at the problem rarely helps. What does work is creating a platform that stands out, but in a sea of a million platforms, how is one to do that?"Writer Get Noticed!" takes a new approach, dispelling the notion that fixing your writing flaws and expanding your social media reach will get you the readers you deserve. Instead, discover a myriad of strengths you didn’t know you had, then use them to find your author theme, power up your platform, and create a new author business blueprint, all while gaining insight into what sets you apart as a writer and creative artist.Writers need readers to achieve their highest potential. Find your way to stand out, and let it lead you to the writing career that fulfills all your expectations and more. In this motivational and inspiring book, you’ll learn:• Why improving your writing skills isn’t enough.• Why it’s critical you discover your strengths...and how to do so.• What’s stopping you from finding the readers who love your work.• What you really want from writing and why that matters.• Easy methods to help you build a more successful author platform.• What truly motivates you and how to use that to succeed.• The author theme that unites your creative work and fits your style.• How imposter syndrome can stall your progress, and how to overcome it.• How to make better decisions about your writing career as a whole.When you find the treasure that’s been inside you all along, don’t be surprised if it opens new doors you never thought possible.

     David Wright has garnered thousands of avid fans by writing dark stories that pull his readers in and keep them hooked to the last page. He masterfully balances darkness and light to create gripping stories his readers can’t put down, with just enough hope that they are left feeling satisfied and dying to read the next book. In Into The Darkness, Dave takes you into his world and shows you how he approaches adding darkness to his writing, while still always being able to return to the light. You will learn how to... Increase the tension in your stories to keep your readers hooked, give them a powerful emotional experience, and leave them wanting to read MORE of your books Add depth and believability to your characters by layering in personal darkness Mine your past and your own inner darkness to tell truer stories, without getting lost in your own pain Add realistic darkness through research Create more believable (and scarier) villains by balancing their darkness with light Insert humor and hope to keep your audience going when things get too dark Keep yourself feeling positive and hopefully, even when exploring dark themes If you’re ready to tell richer, fuller stories and create your own army of rabid fans… it’s time to go Into the Darkness.

     Johnny Truant and Sean M. Platt -- owners of the Sterling & Stone Story Studio and authors of the how-to-publish cornerstone Write. Publish. Repeat -- have spent the last eight years learning the ins and outs of professional storytelling. Between just the two of them, they've written 100 books. The studio as a whole, in 2020 alone, will publish nearly 200 more. To write and publish that much quality, reader-pleasing fiction, you can't just wing it. You need a formula to keep things streamlined and on-target. With a formula, you can be sure you're writing books that will sell. That you're enjoying writing them, and are doing so without writer's block. When you use the fiction formula, your success becomes predictable -- not a matter of luck. In their 2014 bestseller Write. Publish. Repeat, Platt & Truant showed a generation of indies the path to self-publishing success. In this long-awaited follow-up, they'll show you what they've learned since, plus all the fiction-specific stuff they didn't include the first time around: You'll learn: How to choose a genre that's commercial AND fulfilling The Sterling & Stone planning process that helps you write better books, faster. The complete start to finish path from idea to fully launched books and series Creating an author business that can withstand marketplace changes and last for years to come. The Fiction Formula will help you build a thriving indie publishing career no matter what type of writer you are ... so long as you're willing to do the work. If that's you, welcome aboard! The Formula could be your next step toward the author life you've only dreamed of before.

    My Publishing Imprint answers these important questions: Do you have to create a publishing imprint to publish a book? Do you need to establish an entity or register a business name if you want to be recognized as the publisher of a book? What are the legal and business considerations? Where does your publishing imprint name appear in public and industry records? How do you research names? What do other indie publishers do? What are the risks of using a free Amazon ISBN? My Publishing Imprint is your guide to understanding the facts, your options, and the key decisions you need to make before you publish a book. Once made, they cannot be reversed. You must republish your book.Scroll up now and order My Publishing Imprint today.

    You've read all the screenwriting books. But you're left wanting more. Here is a fresh book written by a screenwriter who has spent years in the trenches.That's Not The Way It Works is a no holds barred look at the craft and business of screenwriting, told in a "let's sit down and chat over a cup (or pot) of coffee" manner. So grab a cup of coffee and start reading. You'll get the inside scoop from a screenwriter who had more than a dozen produced screenplays between movies and television.

     Since the invention of writing, the written word has fueled humanity’s astonishing progress. Thus, the ability to write effectively and beautifully has long been revered and rewarded. And yet in the digital age, people have begun to believe that this talent is somehow obsolete: that writing is something unworthy of study beyond the basic mechanics of vocabulary and syntax and grammar, that mediocre prose is acceptable in a world crying out for clear and precise communication. Peter Yang believes otherwise. The Art of Writing is Yang’s highly practical treatise on the four key principles of dazzling, effective writing—economy, transparency, variety, and harmony. Far from your garden-variety style guide, the principles in this book apply to everyone, whether you’re writing an inauguration speech or a letter home to Mom. Great writing is a skill, and this book gives you the tools to make your words shimmer on the page (or the screen). Packed with real-world insights and advice, The Art of Writing is your ultimate guide to transforming your writing and unleashing your inner artist. Fans of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., On Writing Well by William Zinsser, The Little Seagull Handbook by Richard Bullock, and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott will love this book. This book is for anyone who likes reading about: How to write Writing nonfiction Writing fiction How to be a better writer Writing style Business writing Writing a book

     Has an industry professional told you not to dump character history at the beginning of your story? If so, you aren't alone. But what's the solution to this common advice? Most writers take the time to design interesting characters with troubled pasts. They long for readers to care about the characters' lives. However, the sad truth is on page one, readers don't care—yet. That's why industry gurus tell writers to stop overusing character history, also called backstory, at the beginning of stories. Have you ever wondered… How to use backstory correctly? What are the ways other writers successfully incorporate backstory into their work? Do tools exist to help writers better plan stories so the backstory isn't such a problem? In Focused Backstory: The Key to Writing Deep Character Journeys, you'll find answers to these questions and more. You'll learn how to avoid the dreaded info-dump and instead, harness curiosity so readers keep turning pages. This resource breaks down focused backstory into simple pieces to use flexibly in any story no matter what genre or length. Worksheets, tables, questionnaires, and templates will help you plan an engaging story with deep characters. Examples from popular stories will help you understand this method. You'll learn how to • design a character around a troubled past. • create additional characters around the main character. • weave interesting sub-plots within a characters' journey toward healing. • design proper obstacles which interfere with characters' goals. • guide readers' emotions so they have a satisfying reading experience. It doesn't matter which genre you write. All the characters worth reading about, even those in memoir and biography, have backstories that bring pain they must reconcile so they can become new. Don't believe me? Producers base reality television shows on this idea. Consider the woman whose baby died. Now she overeats to punish herself. There's the woman whose husband and son died in her house, so she hoards to bury the pain. What about the unloved bachelor who gets one more chance at love? Can you see it? Unsuccessful stories have something in common. They lack focused backstory. In these stories, characters may vaguely mention what happened in the past, but they don't fight or claw to forgive or acknowledge the pain over which they crave victory. As a result, viewers, or readers, care little about these stories. They might hang in there for the final kiss and feel-good scene, but they'll probably say the story was cheesy and forget about it. We want more for our writing, so we need focused backstory. Consider this quote about falling in love written by William Shakespeare. "But that I know love is begun by time, and that I see, in passages of proof, time qualifies the spark and fire of it." — Hamlet If you use focused backstory, it will give the reader time to fall in love with the characters so they long to know more. No matter what kind of writer you are, if you take the time to analyze the use of backstory, it will enhance your style. Focused Backstory: The Key to Writing Deep Character Journeys is the missing gadget in your writing tool kit.

    It's also challenging, and can be overwhelming if you're not prepared. Series authors need to consider many things that standalone title authors don't have to worry about. And everything is exponentially more complex once you're tackling more than one book! You might be wondering:What kind of series should I write?Which details do I need to keep track of?How much advance planning should I do?Is publishing strategy different for a series vs standalone titles?How can I get the most bang for my buck in marketing and promotion?Experienced series author Crystal Hunt will help you answer all these questions and more with this combination strategy manual and exercises that will get you applying what you've learned to your own series project.Whether you're a seasoned series author, or just starting to explore your options and thinking a series might be a good next step for you, this book can help you write and publish your series smarter from ideas through publication and promotion!This is the third book in the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series. Be sure to check out the rest of the guides for writers in this series.Scrappy Rough Draft by Donna BarkerBuild Better Characters by Eileen CookStrategic Series Author by Crystal Hunt

    You can see your idea play out inside your head in beautifully composed and communicated scenes. Then you start to write, but the words feel clunky. Your critical inner voice tells you your writing is not as good as it should be. You start to self-sabotage. You convince yourself that you don’t have enough time to sit down and do the work anyway. And your dream of writing this book remains as just a beautiful idea. With practical and proven exercises, author and coach Donna Barker connects behavioural science to the habits and mindsets that successful authors use to finish their first, second, and final drafts. Whether you're writing your first book or your fiftieth, Scrappy Rough Draft has the tools you need to build self-confidence, develop a writing habit that works for you, and identify the kinds of people you need in your writing community to help you get your story out of your head and onto the page.This is the first book in the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series. Be sure to check out the rest of the guides for writers in this series.Scrappy Rough Draft by Donna BarkerBuild Better Characters by Eileen CookStrategic Series Author by Crystal Hunt

    It can seem impossible. How do you know if you’re focusing on the right marketing tactics? How do you know which strategy will work for you? What if you’re missing something?We’re here to help! Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn have each successfully marketed multiple novels and want to help you discover the best marketing tactics for YOU—starting with the book itself.Your book is your MOST powerful marketing tool.In these pages, we’ll walk through the ten fundamental aspects of your book that can make or break sales, and help you get them right! We’ll discuss genre, covers, titles, blurbs, formatting, editors, taglines, keywords, categories, how to develop a marketing mindset, and how to choose the right marketing strategies for you. This book is PACKED with information to help you succeed. Get your copy now!From indie authors Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn, please enjoy the first book in this new series, Marketing for Authors.

    The "compass" of character motivation is composed of four points: Lack, Yearning, Resistance, and Desire. In The Compass of Character you'll learn to deeply consider the key question "What does my character want?" and learn techniques to answer that question by writing realistic and empathetic characters without falling into formulaic, unsatisfying results that only diminish the character. Bestselling author and acclaimed writing instructor David Corbett provides writers with the essentials for building characters with motivations that range from clear to complex by exploring topics such as:- human yearning - pathological maneuvers - the pain of life vs. the promise of life - backstory and behavior - mechanics of growth and transformation - dramatizing mistaken desire and misbegotten yearnings - moral arguments The key to fascinating characters is rendering subtle inner states in straightforward external circumstances, which requires a fundamental understanding of the simple building blocks of complex motivation as they manifest themselves in behavior, where complexity of purpose collides with the messy, indifferent world. The Compass of Character is the one book that can guide writers to that end with both instruction and inspiration.

    They’ve been a guide and an invitation. Whatever your personal style, Feyen’s multi-layered coming of age tale—which masterfully weaves timeless stories, writing, and clothes—will make you laugh, catch your breath, even cry. Then she’ll inspire you to decide who you want to be… and go for it. Try. You can always pick a new outfit—and find a new way, over time.

    

 No brand authority. No shares. Do you wish you had a yearly plan for your content based around your products and services—one that helps you create content that doesn’t just languish on your blog’s virtual shelves but that actually brings you sales? Do you desperately desire a content workflow that doesn’t seem crazy overwhelming? If you think your content does nothing for you and that it’s a waste of time…
 If you’ve been leaving the return on investment from the time you’ve spent creating content to chance or luck, then you could use the Profitable Content System! If you offer products or services and want to create content that directly drives sales, this book will be right up your alley. 
 Here’s what’s packed in this how-to guide: How to strategically create an array of content pieces that make your products and services fly off your virtual shelves. This ONE framework is all you need to seamlessly move your subscriber through his/her purchasing journey.
 The 8-step system that brought in $14,000 in sales and how you can replicate that for your own business. 
 Why content repurposing has NEVER worked for you and the minimum viable repurposing method that will change that. Grasp the ins-and-outs of how to map out and launch your own profitable content campaigns to skyrocket your business (no more confusion; just an actionable plan for results). Marketing blueprints that you can follow (examples for service-based, coaching, and digital-product businesses). Imagine delivering the right type of content that not only delights your audience but also leads to your Stripe and PayPal accounts pinging with joy…

Imagine having the confidence that comes from knowing that every month will be a solid four- or five-figure month even when you do minimum viable promotions…
 That’s the power of a profit-driven method of content planning. It’ll radically change how you approach content and plan your business. Ready to discover a system that supercharges the content you create and ties it directly to revenue? Then scroll to the top and click or tap “Buy Now.” You don’t just want random content pieces. You want sales. You’ll learn how to harness the Profitable Content System to deliver those in abundance.

     Named as one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine, Penny Sansevieri has also taught Amazon-centric classes and webinars to thousands of authors leading up to the release of this ultimate guide to mastering the Amazon marketing system. Follow her proven strategies and you’ll immediately start building your book’s target market exposure and dramatically upgrade your overall book marketing efforts!Don’t waste time with all the misinformation out there, instead, let Penny Sansevieri show you how to: • Increase sales through perfectly timed pre-order campaigns•Get your book ranked #1 in its category • Find the perfect keywords and categories that will help your book soar up the Amazon charts! • Achieve top visibility for your book with lucrative keywords • The secrets to running a successful Amazon ads campaign that won’t cost you a fortune! • Leverage a secret tool to get hundreds of reader reviews•Use Kindle Unlimited to your greatest advantage • Boost sales with strategic eBook strategies•Create book descriptions that convert more browsers to buyers • Identify and locate secret categories that drive bigger sales • Leverage Amazon-owned Goodreads so it’s working for you How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon is your must-read, go-to resource if you really want to use all the features Amazon offers that have proven to work. Buy it on Amazon and you’ll also receive these FREE BONUSES:Blogger and social media listings, sample templates, and dozens of additional resources to get started with smarter book marketing right away. A special code to get this great information in a step-by-step video format! Note: If you’ve bought one of my Amazon Truckload books in the past, this is the new, heavily updated, 2019 edition.

    But how to do you create characters that feel three dimensional and real on the page? Counsellor and author Eileen Cook shares common psychological techniques to help you build your characters and take your story to the next level.Covering understanding your character's backstory and how it impacts their choices in your book by doing a structured counselling interview, personality structure (Myers Briggs and Emotional Intelligence) and how that may lead to conflict, and understand dissecting the Stages of Change to see how your character moves through them .Filled with practical tips, examples and prompts this is a craft book you will return to over and over.This is the second book in the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series. Be sure to check out the rest of the guides for writers in this series.Scrappy Rough Draft by Donna BarkerBuild Better Characters by Eileen CookStrategic Series Author by Crystal Hunt

    Therefore, it is terrific for authors to have big ambitions as their book is being published, but, it is also important to be realistic and understand the world of publishing. W. Terry Whalin has worked with hundreds of authors and published a number of bestsellers, and he knows that it is important to focus on creating a good book and not realistic about the business aspects. Within 10 Publishing Myths, Terry focuses on giving authors a realistic picture of the book world then detailing practical steps they can take to succeed. Inside 10 Publishing Myths, authors learn the actions they can take to succeed, they get a step-by-step guide for practical results, and so much more!

    But it's often difficult to make space for it in our day-to-day existence, especially if we're not at the point yet where creating it is our job. Sometimes we have so many ideas it’s difficult to keep them all organized, much less maintaining a creative schedule or dedicated workspace. With all the clutter overwhelming your scattered brain (not to mention your desk), it's all too easy to fall into procrastination and disarray. From Chaos to Creativity is a series of glowing beacon. Jessie L. Kwak has written a Getting Things Done for artists and writers, drawing on her experience as a professional copywriter with a novel-writing habit, and from interviews with other authors, artists, musicians, and designers, to teach you how to focus on the good ideas, manage your project, make time in your life, and execute your passions to completion. Make great art by channeling your chaotic creative force into productive power and let the world see what you're capable of!

    It’s a book about how to be a successful writer.Inside, you'll discover the exact skills you need to make it as a writer including how to connect with people who will help your career grow, plus productivity tips for fitting everything into your already busy life. You’ll also explore how to keep your creative juices flowing and where to find other writers just like you.This book lays out a blueprint to help you get started and thrive in the world of words. With advice from over 120 writers, you'll tap into proven wisdom and find the path that will lead YOU to success!Chapter 1: Ready to be a writer?Chapter 2: Your first few steps into the world of writingChapter 3: What kind of writer do you want to be?Chapter 4: What skills do you need?Chapter 5: Finding your tribeChapter 6: Where to find ideasChapter 7: Dealing with other peopleChapter 8: Do you want to go on a date?Chapter 9: How to make time to writeChapter 10: How to be creative when you’re tiredChapter 11: Technology is your friendChapter 12: What do you really want?Chapter 13: Don’t just take our word for itChapter 14: So now what?So You Want To Be A Writer is a beginner’s guide for people who want to be writers. Like all good non-fiction books, we’ve broken it into sections so you can dip in and out as needed or read it from start to finish.We’ll walk you through each stage, from deciding what kind of writer you want to be (don’t laugh, this is a big question!), where to get ideas and how to share your writing dream with other people. We’ll take you through how to get the words written, finding your writing community (and why you need one), harnessing your creativity, how to use technology and the business of being a writer.You’ll discover tips about the writing process, getting the first publishing deal, dealing with editors, writing the book and everything in between, by authors such as Liane Moriarty, Michael Robotham, Nick Earls, Charlotte Wood, Jane Harper, Di Morrissey, Garry Disher, Jaclyn Moriarty, Andy Griffiths, Jackie French, Veronica Roth, Jay Kristoff and more.Literary authors, commercial fiction authors, non-fiction authors, publishers, agents, crime authors, romance authors, children’s authors, young adult authors, freelance writers, content writers – you name it, we’ve got them, Australian and international.This is a masterclass in writing and an incredible resource in itself. So what are you waiting for? If you want to be a writer, the time to start is now!

    Tossing her yoga pants and ditching her carpool, she escapes suburban life to write the next Great American Novel... or at least, finish a draft. In a secluded mountain cabin with nothing but her laptop and an endless supply of coffee, she writes the story of Lucia, a faithful woman from the eighteenth century who’s determined to live life by her own rules. But the eccentric locals, a stream of new story ideas, and a suitcase full of doubt threaten to sabotage the book. Can she push through to resurrect her dreams or does being a mom mean leaving it all behind? Alternating between laugh-out-loud and ugly-cry inducing moments, Light on Glass is a humorous and heartbreaking look at writing, motherhood, and the love we leave behind.

    Just look up the weak verb you'd like to replace, and choose a stronger verb from the alphabetized lists. For example: Weak: Sally walked across the room. Stronger: Sally scurried across the room. Weak: Harry lightly touched the edge of the book. Stronger: Harry trailed his fingers along the edge of the book. Weak: Karen ran as quickly as she could to her closet. Stronger: Karen charged her closet in a panic. Weak: Lucy hit her palm on the desk. Stronger: Lucy smacked her palm on the desk. Ready to weed out the weak verbs and not-so-helpful adverbs in your writing and replace them with strong verbs? Let's get started! Indie Author Resources Book 2

    Whether you’re writing your first story or you’re a professional writer, this book will help supercharge your hero and give them that extra edge.These lessons will help you master your charming knights, navigate your way to the perfect balance of flaws and traits, as well as strengthen your hero to give your story the conflict and punch it needs.First, there were villains, now there are heroes. If you like dark humor, learning through examples,and want to create the best hero you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting heroes. Read 10 Steps To Hero today and start creating kick-ass heroes.

     Are you a civilian crime writer who wants to use picture perfect law enforcement details? Do you worry that your mystery novel or screenplay lacks credibility? Fiction and nonfiction author Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell has seen it all in his 24 years working for one of the largest police departments in the country. Now he’s here to help your writing honor the men and women who risk their lives in the line of duty. Cops and Writers: From the Academy to the Street is your in-depth field guide for navigating the path from new recruit to seasoned patrol officer. Through O’Donnell’s accounts, you’ll get up close and personal with day-to-day challenges and out-of-the-ordinary emergencies including homicides, hostage situations, and bomb threats. Armed with this invaluable resource for decoding police jargon, tactics, and standard-issue gear, you’ll be well equipped to breathe new life into your stories. In Cops and Writers, you’ll discover: Stories from O’Donnell’s years on the force to help give your book credibility How the academy and field training shapes rookies so you can mold convincing characters Patrol officers' daily routines and working conditions to infuse your fiction with added depth Different techniques for arresting and defending against criminal threats to bring readers even closer to the action Different patrol units such as SWAT, K-9, Air Support, and Bomb Squad to add another layer of realism, and much, much more! Cops and Writers is your all-in-one reference guide for giving your novel or screenplay much-needed street cred. If you like candid stories told with cop humor, technical details, and peering into the minds of those who serve and protect, then you’ll love Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell’s must-have handbook for crime fiction writers. Buy Cops and Writers to make your storytelling more authentic today!

    Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of narrative and dialogue. In addition to the line-craft guidance, there are examples from published fiction that illustrate the learning in action. PART1: The different levels of editing. PART 2: CHECKING NARRATIVE. The importance of story structure. Holding narrative viewpoint. Choosing tense. Avoiding overwriting. Character description. Using and abusing filter words. Action beats. Playing with sentence length. Commas, conjunctions and rhythm. Anaphora: Purposeful repetition. Adverbs and adverbial phrases. Dealing with ‘seemed’ and other tentative language. Using ‘suddenly’ with caution. Free indirect speech. Showing versus telling. PART 3: CHECKING DIALOGUE AND THOUGHTS. How to write great dialogue. Other dialogue problems. Punctuating dialogue. Dialogue tags. Addressing others in dialogue. Conveying accents. Depicting thoughts. PART 4: PESKY PUNCTUATION. Apostrophes. Semi-colons. Dashes. Round brackets.PART 5: IS IT A RULE? Rules versus style preferences. The most common myths debunked.PART 6: TRACKING STORY. Style sheets. World-building wikis PART 7: INITIAL PREP AND FINAL PROOFS. Preparing your book file for editing. Checking final page proofs. GLOSSARY OF TERMS. WRITING-CRAFT BOOKS

    The Compendium includes thirty one prompts, each intricately unpacked so you’re never at a lost as to what to write. It asks you to excavate your soul, take control of your bullshit stories and recognise your magic.

     It’s time to move forward.Find a partner to share the workload. An individual (or team) who will strengthen your weak spots. Someone who will flourish with your strengths. You can be better together, when you do it right. Craig Martelle brings the experience of dozens of collaborations to this book, outlined in an easy-to-digest format that covers all the collaborating bases. And there are SAMPLE CONTRACTS, too.Set yourself up for success before you start writing.Isn’t that a life win? Improve your odds in all that you do, especially in your chosen profession. Be a Successful Indie Author. Figure out if collaborating is right for you, and then be a better collaborator. Right here. Read it today.

    A professional screenwriter’s master class in writing the most critical and challenging script element―the individual scene.

    From early notes to his mother, as an impoverished college student; to debates with the most distinguished American writers and thinkers of his time, including Romare Bearden, Saul Bellow, Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wright, and Alfred Kazin, among others; to exchanges with friends and family from his hometown of Oklahoma City, whose influence would always be paramount, these letters communicate the immense importance of Ellison's life and work. They show his metamorphosis from an impressionable youth into a cultured man of the world, from an aspiring composer into a distinguished novelist, and ultimately into a man who confronted America's many complexities through his words.

    Also included are immensely helpful resources, like lists of publishers and lists of online writing groups.At times, the focus shifts away from the technical elements of writing and considers philosophies and thoughts on writing, such as ways to help you maintain focus, how to defeat procrastination and methods of battling the demons of doubt that forever loom over a writers' shoulders.The book also covers in detail considerations that come after you’ve finished writing, such as building a website, formatting, finding beta readers, and getting published. It also guides writers through blogging and writing cover letters.By the end of the book, you'll know how to write fantasy novels and how to write fantasy stories with confidence. You'll also know what you need to do to create and build your author platform and how to get published. This book is also ideal for more experienced writers looking for fresh angles and perspectives, as well as being a mine of inspiration for their writing.Richie Billing also offers further advice, tools, resources and free books beyond A Fantasy Writers' Handbook via his Community of Readers and Writers, which anyone can join by heading to his website.

    Or finished.So why not try a different approach?Not Write Now isn’t like any book on writing you’ve read before. It won’t tell you to get your hiney in the chair and write. It will tell you to do the exact opposite.Acclaimed fantasy author Kyle Robert Shultz launches a reverse-psychology attack on your creative blocks that will leave you more eager and determined to write than ever. And he'll give you plenty of laughs along the way.This may not be the creativity book you’ve been looking for, but it’s definitely the one you need.

    Ricks (Churchill & Orwell: The Fight for Freedom; The Generals; Fiasco; The Gamble) Kate Germano (Fight Like a Girl: The Truth Behind How Female Marines are Trained) Peter Van Buren (We Meant Well and Hooper’s War) Kori Schake (Safe Passage; Warriors and Citizens) Max Brooks (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War) Jessica Scott (The Coming Home; Falling; and Homefront romance series) Carmen Gentile (Blindsided by the Taliban: A Journalist's Story of War, Trauma, Love, and Loss) Hugh Martin (In Country; Stick Soldiers; and So, How Was the War?) Robert L.

    Discover how to start an AMAZINGLY profitable blog in the next 60 days (even if you have no experience) Are you looking for a proven, step-by-step system that allows you to create a profit pulling blog on autopilot - with very little experience?Are you ready to start making income blogging, but don't know where to begin?Well, just imagine what it would be like if you easily saw money rolling into your bank account.Because once you master this process, you'll be able to work from anywhere in the world.You'll be able to quit your job for good.And you'll be able to build passive income business profits over the long-term.In this short but powerful book, I reveal my story of building a passive income blogging business.You'll discover how to do it, step-by-step.I'll show you how to get the same results as other ultra-successful bloggers.Even if you have a full-time job. In this book, you'll discover: The BEST Topics to Write About (the SECRET to a wildly successful blog) Getting Setup the Easy Way (step-by-step) - Hosting, Domain Names, and Content Management System The Secrets of Designing a Beautiful, Responsive Blog (quickly and easily) The #1 Secret to Instantly Building Rapport w/ Your Audience The MIND-BLOWING Content Strategy to Attract Hordes of Eager Readers How to Create FACE-MELTINGLY Good Blog Posts (they’ll go viral and generate massive traffic) The Step-by-Step to Get Featured on the Biggest Blogs, Podcasts, and Websites in Your Industry (and send a stampede of visitors to your blog) Email Marketing Magic And much, much more It's time to stop gambling with your hard-earned money.Join the thousands of smart professionals that are leveraging their expertise to make consistent passive income and make money from home from their blog.  I'm an Amazon best-selling author will show you exactly how I broke through fear, frustration, and self-doubt to make a consistent, passive income over the past 2 years (over $25,000)I reveal the secrets I used to profitably grow my income and watch the money and sales roll into my bank account - like clockwork. This strategy is powerful, and yet so simple to use.Even if you are a complete beginner, this strategy will have you earning income streams from your blog in no time.And if you ever get stuck, you can always reach out to me. So get started today. Scroll to the top of this page and click BUY NOW." This is book 3 in the "Digital Marketing Mastery" series.

    From British Fantasy Award-nominated author Chris Kelso comes The Dregs Trilogy, a transgressive odyssey in three instalments – Shrapnel Apartments (Ginger Nuts of Horror Book of the Year 2017), Unger House Radicals (Ginger Nuts of Horror Book of the Year 2016) and Ritual America – that will leave you dazzled, fascinated and shocked in equal measure.

     Wherever you are in your writing journey the Guide will help you find what you are looking for. Over 1,000 listings including more than 200 book publishers, 150 periodical publishers, 200 writers conferences and writers groups around the world, 40 literary agencies, 200 freelance editors and designers, 15 writing-related podcasts, and much more! "From beginning writer penning words that, as yet, have no home to a veteran writer staying abreast of the industry and watching for new opportunities, a serious wordsmith keeps the print copy or online link close at hand." ––Cynthia Ruchti, award–winning author of over 20 books and literary agent. "A required text in my writing–for–publication courses. This book has also been crucial to my own writing career." ––Joseph Bentz, author of Nothing is Wasted and professor of English at Azusa Pacific University.

    For the first-time ever, these voices are transported from the stage to the page, captured in print so that the spoken-word experience can be shared with a new and broader audience.Solid Air showcases the work of more than 100 performance poets - combining elements of slam, hip-hop and experimental performance poetry - to deliver an unforgettable reading experience that is both literary and loud. Poems capture themes of modern culture, identity and resistance.Contributors include: Ali Cobby Eckermann, Omar Musa, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Taika Waititi, Quan (Regurgitator), Claire G. Coleman, Tayi Tibble, Hera Lindsay Bird, Behrouz Boochani, Luka Lesson, Steven Oliver, PiO, Candy Royalle, Michelle Law, Courtney Barnett, Quinn Eades, Selina Tusitala Marsh and many more.

    A LIST OF 1,000 ADJECTIVES Indie Author Resources Book 3 Are boring adjectives leaving your writing dull, bland, and yawn-inducing? If so, this book is for you! Broken down into easy-to-navigate categories like "texture," "height," and "brightness," these adjectives will help you pack your writing with descriptions that will leave your readers asking for more!

    A path for female creators, activists and magicmakers.The Creative Doer offers a roadmap for women who are hungry for a more creative life and who are willing to ask a few burning questions:What if we stopped trying to follow in the footsteps of the Male Genius? What does devotion look like if it doesn't mean forsaking everything and everyone, including your kids, for your art? What would happen if we granted ourselves the permission we're waiting for and started doing our work, our way? In this insightful, no-bullshit guide you'll learn how to: - Redefine creative work and bust the old myths about The Artist- Zoom in on your dream until it's doable- Claim the time and space you need to do your work- Understand fear and how to flow with it- Do self-care in a way that will change your creative life forever- Share your work, truthfully, tenderly and courageously

    Designed specifically for undergraduate writing, this easy-to-use pocket guide is adapted from the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. It provides complete guidance for new writers on effective, clear, and inclusive scholarly communication and the essentials of formatting papers and other course assignments. New to This Edition:full color throughoutcontent relevant to a range of majors and courses, including psychology, social work, criminal justice, communications, composition, education, business, engineering, and morea new chapter focused on student papersa sample student title page, paper, and annotated bibliographystreamlined APA Style headings and in-text citationsa new chapter on writing style and grammarchapters on punctuation, lists, italics, spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, and statisticsthe latest bias-free language guidelinesnew sample tables and figuresguidance on avoiding plagiarism and self-plagiarismnew reference templates and examples

    Yet one of the most common questions new writers ask professional writers is about how the author wrote their book, what was their process for storytelling (and from this we get plotters and pantsers)? But really the question should be about the general principles and nature of story--does every part of a story have what it needs to keep readers turning the pages (regardless of how the author got there)? Does every scene, every part of the story support the strategic narrative objective of providing new information a scene will inject in the story (the key principle of writing fiction)? In Great Stories Don't Write Themselves, Larry Brooks has developed a series of detailed checklists backed by tutorial content for novelists of every level and genre to refer to as they write regardless of which writing method they prefer. Beginning with the broadest part of story, the early checklists help writers to ensure that their book is based on a premise (aka plot) rather than an idea, or how you can elevate your idea into an actual premise where other story elements can be developed. Great Stories Don't Write Themselves gradually hones in on other story elements like hero empathy, dramatic tension, thematic richness, vicariousness of story, narrative strategy, scene construction, etc. each with their own checklists with specific, actionable items that ensure that key principle (providing information to move the story forward) occurs.

    Write to Speak is a simple guide to creating content to connect with your audience.You will learn a repeatable system that has been proven to work for novice and experienced speakers. This book will help you. Can you relate to one of these questions or something similar? “What am I going to say?”  “I have so much to say that I don’t know what to say.”  “I’ve been asked to speak but don’t know how to get ready.”  “How do I write a speech!?” One thing is sure, you have some type of speech coming up!This could be a talk, a presentation, a sermon, a podcast, an interview, an update, a toast, or one of the many other forms of upfront communication. As your speech approaches your uncertainty encroaches on your peace of mind. You find yourself worrying “HOW DO I WRITE A SPEECH?” OR, you speak often and you need a system to speed up your writing. You give quarterly reports, you lead meetings, you regularly provide updates, you speak at a faith-based organization or a non-profit, or you are regularly invited to present on your expertise. You find yourself asking “IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS?”Whether you are trying to improve your current process or are trying to find remedial help, this book will take from start to finish crafting your speech. You will learn: How to have confidence before even beginning. How to pick an idea. How to come up with content. How to organize around points. How to write an intriguing introduction. How to write a compelling conclusion. How to make it better. How to have a method that you can do over and over. This booklet complements my Public Speaking School and other books in this expanding series on speech. Though this book is not meant to be exhaustive, it is thoroughly instructive.Receive this instruction while ready to write out your own ideas and plans. Use this to create content that connects and compels. As you work through this book, you will go from a blank page to being ready to speak on stage. Other books in this series: Speak With No Fear: Go from a nervous, nauseated, and sweaty speaker to an excited, energized, and passionate presenter Kindle Edition Speak With Confidence: Eliminate self-doubt, second-guesses, and weakness to excel in public speaking and succeed in life (coming soon) Other communication resources:  The Public Speaking School

     For the last decade, Platt and Truant have been writing and publishing fiction that continues to touch the hearts of readers around the world. They’ve built worlds now inhabited by a dozen authors and created characters that resonate long after the book has been closed. Their coaching, advice, and podcasts have inspired and motivated hundreds of writers and helped dozens find their way to becoming full-time authors. And now with The Story Solution, they bring their storytelling prowess to helping you to figure out what you want from your own, real world life. The idea is simple: you are the main character of your own story, so why not construct your story the way a writer does? The Story Solution will show you how! If you’re ready to take charge of your life the way a writer takes charge of their story, then pick up your copy today.