Establish Story’s Point of View in Opening Lines – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for April 22, 2025

Plotting Your Book: Establish Story’s Point of View in Opening Lines
Every story has an angle or perspective from which it is told. You establish this perspective, called point of view, in a story’s opening lines. Which point of view you select deeply affects the way the story can be told. READ MORE

How to Format Your Ebook
The best way to construct an ebook is as a unique document rather than running your paperback through meat grinder software. Fortunately, you can construct it right on your laptop without buying expensive software or hiring someone to code your ebook into a mobi or epub format. My Storytelling 101 book Format Your Ebook takes you through those steps. Among the many topics covered are your table of contents, headers, footers, page numbers, text, designing the cover, and uploading the ebook. Information is presented in brief, easy to understand explanations from someone who has formatted hundreds of ebooks. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: How to Stay Focused on Writing One Book
Sometimes inspiration strikes for an entirely different book than the one you’re working on. Unfortunately, this can create the problem of stopping one book and starting a new one so that your original work never gets finished. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Pay Attention to Your Author’s Bio Pic
One of the elements of a self-published book that shouldn’t be overlooked is the author’s photograph. While the photo often is a thumbnail or even smaller, it can subtly affect a reader’s decision to purchase your book. A blurry or a pixelated photo suggests (rightly or wrongly) that the rest of the book is unprofessional; a photo that makes you look mean or physically unappealing tells the reader that you’re creepy and so probably is your book. Further, the author’s bio pic can appear in a number of spots – the back cover, next to the author’s bio at the book’s end, on your website, on web pages selling or promoting your book (such as Amazon.com and Goodreads) and probably elsewhere. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Avoid Exposition (Show, Don’t Tell!)
Want to slow your story to a glacial grind and get readers to quit reading your story? Then load it with lots of exposition. Problems arising with exposition often (and rightfully) elicit cries of “Show, don’t tell!” from editors. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Offer Readers an ‘Interview with the Author Page’
Readers love to learn about the authors of their favorite books. You can help foster that love – and in doing so get them to purchase your next book – by including a page on your website in which you are interviewed. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Geo Girl Maxine” by Ann James
A recent editing client of mine has just published her latest children’s book! Ann James’ “Geo Girl Maxine” tells the story of Maxine – known to her friends as “Geo Girl” – who has a passion for geography that sets her apart. While others might yawn at maps and landforms, she finds adventure in every continent, ocean and river. Determined to share her excitement, Max dreams up fun ways to get her friends interested in the wonders of the world. CHECK IT OUT

$25 Off Your Next Edit!
For being a newsletter subscriber, please take $25 off your next edit with Inventing Reality Editing Service. When scheduling your edit, be sure to mention you’re a subscriber and give the email where you received this newsletter. Minimum order of $200. Offer expires April 29, 2025. SCHEDULE EDIT

My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of both aspiring and published writers and offers a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of a novel, the Storytelling 101 Quick Read series, four children’s books, more than 25 bestselling hiking guidebooks, and even a book of poetry. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.