Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success


K.M. Weiland - 2011
    But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will: Help you choose the right type of outline for youGuide you in brainstorming plot ideasAid you in discovering your charactersShow you how to structure your scenesExplain how to format your finished outlineInstruct you in how to use your outlineReveal the benefits:Ensures cohesion and balancePrevents dead-end ideasProvides foreshadowingOffers assurance and motivationDispel misconceptions:Requires formal formattingLimits creativityRobs the joy of discoveryTakes too much timeEven if you're certain outlining isn't for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:Can you describe your outlining process?What is the greatest benefit of outlining?What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?Do you recommend "pantsing" for certain situations and outlining for others?What's the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy


David Gerrold - 2001
    Offers advice for would-be science fiction writers, covering such topics as setting, plot, character, and dialogue, as well as the mechanics of grammar, tense, sentence structure, and paragraph transition.

Writing the Breakout Novel


Donald Maass - 2001
    Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.You'll learn to:- establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place - weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story - create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page - explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers - sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish - develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competitionThen, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.

Is $.99 the New Free? The Truth About Launching and Pricing Your Kindle Books


Steve Scott - 2013
    <br> <br><h2>DISCOVER: Launching and Pricing Strategies That Work in 2013</h2><br>Kindle publishing offers a rare opportunity to make money with your words. Simply write a good book and you'll tap into the world's largest online store. But it's not the utopian business model that some Internet gurus claim. You have to work hard and you have to constantly adapt your marketing strategies if you want to be successful. <br><br>One tactic in particular that doesn't work like it once did is the "free day promotion" that Amazon provides through the KDP Select program. In the past, you could give away a book and see an immediate bump in sales. Moreover, many authors were able to launch their book for free and see it climb the charts once it switched to paid. Unfortunately, recent changes to Amazon's algorithm has led to diminished success with this strategy. Some people are even saying, "KDP Select is dead."<br><br>The question is, if KDP Select no longer works, what can an author do to launch or increase sales? <br><br>A possible solution is the "$.99 pricing" strategy." Rather than giving away a book, some people market it at a discounted rate (usually $.99), which ultimately leads to lots of sales at a higher price. <br><br>These two choices leave many authors confused. Do the free days still work? Or should an author use the $.99 pricing strategy? In other words, is $.99 the new free? <br><br>With the booklet, "<b>Is $.99 the New Free</b>" you'll get a detailed case study of the launching and pricing techniques that <i>actually</i> drive sales on Amazon.com. <br><br><h2>INSIDE:: Is $.99 the New Free? - The Truth About Launching and Pricing Your Kindle Books</h2><br><br>Inside "<b>Is $.99 the New Free</b>" you'll get short and actionable content that answers the following questions:<br><ul><li><b>Why is it important to track your Kindle book sales?</b></li><br><li>What authors benefit best from offering free books through KDP Select?</li><br><li><b>Is it better to launch a book for free or sell it at $.99?</b></li><br><li>How does "visibility" work on Amazon?</li><br><li><b>How can you make a book permanently free on Amazon?</b></li><br><li>When should you move a book to other platforms?</li><br><li><b>How can you build an author platform?</b></li></ul><br>Kindle publishing is constantly evolving. What you need is a strategy guide to keep up with these changes. <br><br><h2>Would You Like To Know More?</h2><br>Download now and start getting results with the projects you delegate.<br><br>Scroll to the top of the page and select the <i>buy</i> button.

5,000 Words Per Hour: Write Faster, Write Smarter


Chris Fox - 2015
    5,000 Words Per Hour also has a companion app available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch! The fastest way to succeed as an author is to write more books. How do you do that with a day job, family, school or all your other time commitments? The secret is efficiency. 5K WPH will help you maximize your writing time by building effective habits that both measure and increase your writing speed. - Create an effective writing habit - Track and improve your Words Per Hour - Stop the endless editing and tinkering so you can finish your draft - Use voice dictation software to dramatically increase words per hour. It’s time to shift your writing into high gear.

Holly Lisle's How To Write Page-Turning Scenes


Holly Lisle - 2008
    Learn the five types of conflict that keep readers hooked, the two elements EVERY scene must have, know when scenes are going to be good (or bad) BEFORE you write them, discover how to misdirect most of your readers most of the time, and much more. Holly Lisle's How To Write Page-Turning Scenes is a funny, relaxed, and comprehensive start-to-finish course with a step-by-step process that includes worksheets, examples, and how-to advice for writers of every genre, and for every experience level---from absolute beginner needing basics, to the published pro looking to notch up suspense and bring in new readers while thrilling existing ones.

Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels (How to Write Kissing Books Book 1)


Gwen Hayes - 2016
    The romance arc is made up of its own story beats, and the external plot and theme need to be braided to the romance arc—not the other way around. Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat can be read like you are sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure. The way she does with her clients. Some of whom are regular inhabitants of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Romancing the Beat is a recipe, not a rigid system. The beats don’t care if you plot or outline before you write, or if you pants your way through the drafts and do a “beat check” when you’re revising. Pantsers and plotters are both welcome. So sit down, grab a cuppa, and let’s talk about kissing books.

Book Launch: How to Write, Market & Publish Your First Bestseller in Three Months or Less AND Use it to Start and Grow a Six Figure Business


Chandler Bolt - 2015
     Maybe you want to be an entrepreneur, speaker, coach, or writer. Maybe you just have the dream of making good passive income. Success of this magnitude does not have to continue to be a dream. It can be a reality. Book Launch reveals the proven approach that all the top experts and millionaires are using to become successful: writing your own best selling book. From Tony Robbins to Tim Ferriss, from Dave Ramsey to Donald Trump - and even Oprah...you’ll discover the new model they used to build their businesses and their brands - to earn respect and become instant experts - and ultimately to make millions of dollars. You may be asking yourself: How is it possible to write, market, and publish your first book? And how could can you get that book to be a #1 bestseller? How can you use your book to persuade an audience to want to do business with you? In this conversational, and action-oriented book, Chandler Bolt answers each of these questions and much more through a tried, tested, and proven book launch formula. As the #1 best selling author of The Productive Person, Breaking Out of a Broken System, and Productivity Hacks for Entrepreneurs, Bolt has personally used every piece of information in this book for himself. In this how to guide the reader will be given: A guide to getting your book written in record time without getting stuck How to build buzz and market your book in a way that is guaranteed for success A fail safe blueprint for self publishing on Kindle, how to launch your book, and top the charts in Amazon How to use your book to create passive income and grow your business No matter your writing level or ability, whether you feel like you have nothing to write about or you don’t have a following or influence — know that by following the information in Book Launch, you can successfully write a bestseller. Most importantly, you can use your bestseller to grow your business, make more money and help more people.

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master


Martha Alderson - 2011
    Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down--but you don't have to be one of them. With this book, you'll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers--one scene at a time.Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that's as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you'll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to:Use the power of the Universal StoryCreate plot lines and subplots that work togetherEffectively use a scene tracker for maximum impactInsert energetic markers at the right points in your storyShow character transformation at the book's climaxThis is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners that sell!

The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile


Noah Lukeman - 2000
    If an editor or agent (or reader) loses interest after a page or two, you've lost him or her completely, even if the middle of your novel is brilliant and the ending phenomenal. Noah Lukeman, an agent in Manhattan, has taken this advice and created a book that examines just what this means, and I have to tell you, it's one of the best I've read. I've written (and seen published) pretty close to a dozen novels in as many years -- some are still to be published and will be out shortly; others are already out of print after four years. But I wish I had read Lukeman's book, The First Five Pages, when I began writing fiction. I'm glad I did now. It has helped, immediately. I'm already embarrassed about some of the goofs I made in my writing -- and I've been revising recent prose with his advice in mind. First off, Lukeman is a literary agent who once was an editor, and his editorial eye is sharp. If every novelist and short story writer in this country had Lukeman as an editor, we'd have a lot more readable prose out there. He writes: Many writers spend the majority of their time devising their plot. What they don't seem to understand is that if their execution -- if their prose -- isn't up to par, their plot may not even be considered.This bears repeating, because in all the books I've read on writing, this is an element that is most often forgotten in the rush to come up with snappy ideas and sharp plot progressions. You can always send a hero on a journey, after all, but if no reader wants to follow him, you've wasted your time. In a tone that can be a bit professorial at times, Lukeman brings what prose is -- and how it reads to others -- into sharp focus. He deals with dialogue, style, and, most importantly, sound. Sound. How does prose sound? It must have rhythm, its own kind of music, in order to draw the reader into the fictive dream. Lukeman's tips and pointers are genuinely helpful, and even important with regard to the sound of the prose itself. Lukeman also brings in on-target exercises for writers of prose and the wonderful advice for novelists to read poetry -- and often. Those first five pages are crucial, for all concerned. But forget the editor and agent and reader. They are important for you, the writer, because they determine the sharpness of your focus, the completeness of your vision, the confidence you, as a writer, need to plunge into a three- or four- or five-hundred-page story. The First Five Pages should be on every writer's shelf. This is the real thing.P#151;Douglas Clegg Douglas Clegg is the author of numerous novels and stories, including The Halloween Man and the collection The Nightmare Chronicles. In addition, Clegg is the author of the world's first publisher-sponsored Internet email novel, Naomi.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel


Jessica Brody - 2018
    Now, for the first time ever, bestselling author and writing teacher, Jessica Brody, takes the beloved Save the Cat! plotting principals and applies them to the craft of novel writing in this exciting new “workshop style” guide, featuring over 20 full beat sheets from popular novels throughout time.Whether you’re writing your first novel or your seventeenth, Save the Cat! breaks down plot in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method so you can write stories that resonate! This book can help you with any of the following:Outlining a new novelRevising an existing novelBreaking out of the dreaded “writer’s block”Fixing a “broken” novelReviewing a completed novelFleshing out/test driving a new idea to see if it “has legs”Implementing feedback from agents and/or editorsHelping give constructive feedback to other writersBut above all else, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL will help you better understand the fundamentals and mechanics of plot, character transformation, and what makes a story work!

On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel That Sells


Leigh Michaels - 2007
    From the origins and evolution of the romance novel to establishing a vital story framework to writing that last line to seeking out appropriate publishers, everything you ever wanted to know about writing a romance novel is here.In addition to a comprehensive breakdown of more than thirty romance subgenres, including such categories as historical, inspirational, Regency, and sweet traditional, you'll discover how to:Steer clear of cliches and stereotypes by studying the genreCraft engaging and realistic heroes and heroines readers will adoreConvincingly develop the central couple's blossoming relationshipAdd conflict by utilizing essential secondary characters like the "other woman"Use tension and timing to make your love scenes sizzle with sensualityGet your characters to happily-ever-after with an ending readers will always rememberlus, read a sample query letter, cover letter, and synopsis, and learn how to properly prepare you romance novel for submission to agents and editors. On Writing Romance has everything you need to leave readers swooning!

The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing


Jana DeleonDenise Grover Swank - 2013
    A book so raw it was banned in one small city in Iowa. If you are thinking about self-publishing or you just want to know all the juicy insider scoop this is a must read.

The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises


James Scott Bell - 2009
    Featuring timeless, innovative, and concise writing strategies and focused exercises, this book is the ultimate battle plan and more - it's Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" for novelists. Tactics and exercises are provided on idea generation and development, character building, plotting, drafting, querying and submitting, dealing with rejection, coping with envy and unrealistic expectations, and much more.

Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings (Author Tools Book 1)


Nicholas C. Rossis - 2016
    As soon as you name an emotion, readers go into thinking mode. And when they think about an emotion, they distance themselves from feeling it. A great way to show anger, fear, indifference, and the whole range of emotions that characterize the human experience, is through beats. These action snippets that pepper dialogue can help describe a wide range of emotions while avoiding lazy writing. The power of beats lies in their innate ability to create richer, more immediate, deeper writing. This emotional thesaurus includes hundreds of examples that you can use for your inspiration, so that you, too, can harness this technique to easily convert your writing into palpable feelings. Genre fiction authors can use Emotional Beat as a feeling thesaurus and watch their writing take off! Emotional Beats was an award-winning Finalist in the IPA 2017 Awards.