While the publishing industry struggles to adapt to the rapidly changing digital world, independent artists now have the ability to build a successful and lucrative brand completely on their own with a little hard work and some Internet savvy. Now there's nothing stopping you from getting your book in front of thousands or even millions of people. Suddenly you can't blame anyone for not giving you a chance. You can only blame yourself for not trying. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils and fire up your Internet because we are about to make and sell comics! Jason Brubaker's graphic novel reMIND raised over $125,000 in pre-order sales on Kickstarter, won the Xeric Award and made ALA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List. This book is a collection of his thoughts, strategies and practical lessons developed during his experience writing, drawing and self-publishing reMIND.

    With anecdotes from over 20 VO professionals as well as practice copy and scripts, the book is jam-packed with facts and fun stories from working pros that will help steer you through the wild adventure that is voice-over.

     Does any of the following sound familiar? - You worry that the lyrics you write just don't deliver their full potential but can't figure out why, even though technically they tick all the right boxes. - You have great ideas but your finished lyrics somehow fall short of the emotional impact you wanted and, as a result, your songs get passed over. - You have a busy schedule with limited time to write and have wasted too many hours chasing un-writable lyric ideas. - You wonder how some professional songwriters always seem to get a particular dynamic in their lyrics, consistently writing songs better than 90% of what you hear on the radio. - You are perhaps nervous about going into a pro co-writing session because you fear your ideas aren't worth bringing into the writing room. - You know you have so many great titles waiting to be written but haven't found a way of systematically developing them into well-crafted lyrics. - After writing an amazing hooky Chorus and a great supporting first Verse, you hit the dreaded wall that is “second verse curse”. In Song Maps – A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics, I deliver simple, logical, well-defined solutions to these issues and more: I give you seven well-developed professional templates for you to bring your lyrics to life. I also provide you with a tried and tested process for writing lyrics using Song Maps. And I'll reveal the songwriter’s secret weapon. Much of this book contains new material. This is because, while I enjoyed building a firm foundation of knowledge about the craft from the songwriting programs at Berklee Music School and other sources, I discovered Song Maps afterwards, from my experience as a professional songwriter, writing either on my own or in the writing rooms of Nashville. Having been signed as a staff songwriter at Universal Music Publishing in Nashville, being nominated and winning awards for my songs including Grammys, Doves and hymn-writing awards, and after spending many years studying thousands of techniques and developing them in my own songwriting and in the writing room, I've had the privilege of teaching the material in this book to hundreds of songwriters and seeing a step change in their writing. I have been blessed to watch them find their authentic voice in writing ideas to their full potential, helping them achieve their dream to move from writing flat 2D lyrics to fabulous High Definition full-color 3D lyrics. As you assimilate Song Maps into your writing workflow, your songwriting will shift away from tentative, self-conscious, inhibited writing to strong, bold, intentional and vulnerable writing that does full justice to your original ideas, ultimately allowing you to make the impact you deserve as a songwriter. If you implement the simple, easy-to-understand concepts in this book, I promise you your songs will be better crafted than 90% of the songs you hear on the radio. It will also transform your effectiveness as a co-writer. Importantly, no matter where your songs end up, you will be confident you have written a brilliant lyric and you have served your co-writers well. Let this book help you transform your lyric writing by using Song Maps in your songwriting workflow and take your song ideas to their ultimate potential by writing your best, truly golden, spectacular songs.

    The Official Hunger Games Reading Group Guide from Scholastic includes a wide variety of questions that are sure to spark conversation in book clubs and among friends!

    Christine Amsden ~ "My Million Words of Crap" Darrell Bain ~ "The Story Behind The Pet Plague" Mayra Calvani ~ "Tips on Writing Your First Novel" Lee Denning ~ "Two Beginnings" Ginger Hanson ~ "Ten Lessons I Learned..." Toby Fesler Heathcotte ~ "The Manuscript from a Mystifying Source" Darby Karchut ~ "Wings" Linda Langwith ~ "The Serendipity Factor" Stephanie Osborn ~ "How a Rocket Scientist Becomes a Writer" Plus articles from Bob Boan, D Jason Cooper, Susan Goldsmith, Aaron Paul Lazar, Celia A. Leaman, Beverly Stowe McClure, Gerald Mills, Erica Miner, Bob Rich, Dorothy Skarles and Dan Starr.

     “It truly is the best time in history to be a writer. The are no longer any boundaries. You can work with whomever you want to, at your own speed, get paid monthly, write about anything you want, do very little marketing, and still reach readers.” ~ J.A.Konrath Kick Procrastination in the Butt and Create a Daily Writing Ritual In this book, I will show you how to avoid procrastination and create a daily writing ritual. I will reveal to you the same tools I used to write thirteen #1 best selling books in one year, while still maintaining my busy job as the chief commercial officer for a multimillion-dollar company. Yes, these tools even work for people who are extremely busy, have families and have full-time jobs. The reason I know these tools work is because they are based on simple techniques that are backed by hundreds of hours of intensive scientific research as well as my experiences as a writer. Double Your Word Count Using the anti-procrastination and productivity techniques in this book, I believe that you will not only be able to double your word count but also be able to create a consistent, daily writing habit. No more putting off writing your book till tomorrow! It’s time to kick procrastination and laziness in the butt and start fulfilling your potential as a writer.

    An imprisoned man receives an unexpected caller, after which "everything changed..."And the reader is hooked. But whether or not readers will stay on for the entire wild ride will depend on how well the writer structures the story, scene by scene.This book is your game plan for success. Using dozens of examples from his own work - including "Dropshot," "Tiebreaker" and other popular novels - Jack M. Bickham will guide you in building a sturdy framework for your novel, whatever its form or length. You'll learn how to: -"worry" your readers into following your story to the end -prolong your main character's struggle while moving the story ahead -juggle cause and effect to serve your story action As you work on crafting compelling scenes that move the reader, moment by moment, toward the story's resolution, you'll see why believable fiction must make more sense than real life. Every scene should end in disastersome scenes should be condensed, and others built big. Whatever your story, this book can help you arrive at a happy ending in the company of satisfied readers.

    You know the principles, the lectures, the "expert" techniques. And you've discovered that sometimes tried-and-true just equals tired.In Robert's Rules of Writing, successful author Robert Masello stomps out status quo writing advice and delivers 101 uninhibited techniques to improve your writing that include: Burn your journal (See rule 1) Strip down to your briefs (See rule 38) Spend time gossiping (See rule 61) Buy the smoking jacket (See rule 56) Skip the Starbucks (See rule 7) De-claim! De-claim! (See rule 63) Whether you're a fiction writer, freelancer, memoirist, or screenwriter, Robert's Rules of Writing gives you the unorthodox advice to transform your writing life and get published!

    Can't find that amazing idea in your pile of sticky notes? Distracted by blog posts, social media, and email? Looking for an easy way to keep track of your research?This booklet (about 30 pages) introduces handy--and often free or inexpensive--computer-based tools to help you eliminate distractions, track your progress, organize your research, capture new ideas anywhere, streamline your writing process, and safeguard your hard work.Lessons in this booklet are based on a week-long class Gwen taught for the Romance Writers of America in June 2013.

    Most people who try and write a novel give up or fail miserably. If you need help writing your novel, you need look no further. Publisher, editor and writer, Jim Driver, reveals many of the secrets the experts use to write bestselling novels. He says: "Taking inspiration from the Pulp Fiction writers of the 1940s and 1950s, showed me how to banish writers' block forever. I also discovered the easiest way to create and plot commercial novels." Know What Your Readers Will Buy Before You Write A Word "Writing your novel should be fun and it can be easy. But you have to know how to motivate yourself and reach a point where the words will not stop flowing out of you." How To Write A Novel – The Simple Way Take action now: use the LOOK INSIDE feature (above) to see how valuable the information inside this short eBook (less than 14,000 words). You need solid information, not useless flannel. I'm confident this will be the last book you need to read before you write your bestselling novel.

    With its intuitive organization, you'll easily find appropriate words for children of various ages, and discover substitute words that might work even better.This comprehensive resource keeps you in touch with reading levels for today's kids, and saves you valuable research time by putting all the information you need in one volume. You'll find:- Lists of specific words that are introduced at seven key reading levels (kindergarten through sixth grade) - A thesaurus of those words with synonyms, annotated with reading levels - Detailed guidelines for sentence length, word usage, and themes at each reading level - A thorough explanation of guidelines for national standards on reading This new edition also addresses important timely topics of the day, such as disability issues and sensitivity to race, religion, and culture. Other new additions relate to divorce, the concept of death, space exploration, the internet, fantasy and science fiction, ethnic and cultural pride, and much more.With Children's Writer's Word Book, 2nd edition, you can rest assured you'll be able to address your young audience with a vocabulary and style they'll understand and enjoy--and improve your chances with children's publishers.

     Imagine if you could use Scrivener for Windows like a seasoned professional, knowing the keyboard shortcuts, what the tools on the toolbar do; flying through the application and creating an amazing story without being distracted by having to look up how to use a feature every time you want to use it. In the back of your mind you know that the Scrivener software you bought is going to simplify your writing process and help you become more productive. You have heard about the cool split screen views, virtual cork boards and the collections feature where you can process all instances of a document at once even though you have it in several different collections. But best of all you’ve heard that you can export your content to multiple platforms without having to change the original draft document! Imagine the time you are going to save. Not to mention that if you can format your own work for export you will no longer be held hostage to the whims and schedules of anyone else. The problem is, before you can do all that, you have to learn how to use the Scrivener software. This can be time consuming if you try to learn from the Scrivener users manual which is highly technical and includes every conceivable function and feature of the software. Don’t get me wrong. The Scrivener users manual has every bit of information you will ever need regarding Scrivener because it is supposed to be like that, but it sure is difficult to weed out the bits that pertain to the project you want to write. I know because that is the way I had to learn it. What I would have liked was a Scrivener essentials guide with: Plenty of pictures, so that you can instantly recognize the regions of the user interface. Arrows pointing right at the buttons mentioned in the instructions, making them easy to find. Instructions embedded into the images they refer to so that they don’t drift onto the next page because of the personal settings on your Kindle. No distracting instructions for Macintosh users that send you on a wild goose chase after functions that are not supported by Scrivener for Windows. So I wrote a guide just like that. In it you will learn to: Open a project and customize your workspaces. Toggle between normal Text Editing Mode, Cork Board Mode and Outlining Mode and how to use each of them as well as how to use the distraction free Full Screen Mode. Split your screen to have two documents or two versions of the same document open at once. Manage your files and folders, whether you are starting from scratch in Scrivener or want to import your content from another writing application pre-sorted into chapters or sections. Make use of Scrivener’s editing tools like collections and snapshots (which takes a snap shot of the current state of a document so that you can revert to it if you don’t like your subsequent edits.) Compile your work for export to your agent, as a paperback or as an eBook. How to download some tools so that you can preview your content before you send it out. If you are ready to improve your writing process, scroll up, click the buy button and start making the most of your Scrivener Software today!

    The book is divided into three parts: Out of the Gate contains easy ideas to help you get started, More Reasons to Write shows you how to teach across genre, both fiction and nonfiction writing, and Refining Writing addresses everything you need to know about revision, grammar, punctuation, and assessment. In every chapter you'll find two running features: 1) “Try This”, ready-to-use lessons for you and your students; and 2) “Yeah But” where Barry answers the real questions and concerns he's collected from teachers around the country.

    Its attachments and accessories make a stand mixer the quintessential food preparation machine-for everything from grinding meat to making pasta to kneading dough.The Mixer Bible has 300 recipes designed for the stand mixer and its attachments. These outstanding recipes range from appetizers to homemade sausages to divine baked desserts and treats. Here's a sampling:Appetizers Mediterranean Tart with Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables, Cheese Straws, Hot Spinach DipSoups Sweet Potato Soup, Coconut and Ginger Soup, Old Fashioned Chicken and Noodle SoupMain Dishes Turkey Pot Pie with an Herbed Crust, Herbed Cheese Ravioli, Scallops with Asian Noodle SaladSides Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, Zucchini Pancakes, Butternut Squash CasseroleSausage Country Pork Sausage, Chicken and Apple Sausage, Chinese Pork Sausage with Five-Spice PowderPasta Lemon and Black Pepper Pasta, Pumpkin Pasta, Gluten-Free PastaBreads Cinnamon Rolls, Walnut Potica, Chocolate Chip Macadamia BreadCookies Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies, Deluxe Lemon Bars, Pumpkin Spice CookiesDesserts Decadent Chocolate Mousse, Pear Frangipane Tart, Lemon Blueberry TrifleIce Creams Peach Sorbet, French Vanilla Ice Cream, Coconut Ice CreamSauces, Condiments and Extras Cinnamon Applesauce, Tomatillo Salsa, Whipped Horseradish Cream The Mixer Bible will become a standard cookbook reference for home cooks.

    Lyne's techniques, which he developed through twenty years of teaching poetry workshops, flow from an understanding that poetry is an art form open to everyone. We all can-and should-write poetry.In this enchanting and inspiring volume, Lyne will introduce you to the pleasures and surprises of writing poetry, and his methods and insights will help you tap into your own unique voice and perspective to compose poems of your own in as little as a few minutes. Whether you are an experienced writer looking for new techniques and sources of inspiration or a novice poet who has never written a poem in your life, Writing Poetry from the Inside Out will help you to craft the poems you've always longed to write.