Show, Don’t Tell – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 23, 2026

Craft of Writing: Show, Don’t Tell
As a fiction writer, you’ll want virtually all of your sentences to show rather than tell. There a few instances when the author needs to “tell” – such as quickly providing a back story or to make dialogue sound realistic – but such occurrences should be rare. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Design Your Ebook Cover
Most potential readers of your ebook will first encounter it online as an image – the book’s cover. If that thumbnail doesn’t cause viewers to take a closer look at the accompanying text descriptions of your book, you are farther away from making a sale. How do you create an ebook cover? My new book Design Your Ebook Cover answers that question. Using easy to understand and short explanations, it describes what software/apps you need, moves on to the cover’s various elements, and finally looks at uploading it to a print on demand company like Kindle Direct Publishing. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: So Long as I Write, I’ll Never Truly Be Gone
What people from history can you name? Shakespeare? Julius Caesar? George Washington? Jesus? Galileo? The names likely fall into one of four categories – famous generals/political leaders (in most societies, the same thing), famous religious figures, famous scientists/inventors, and famous writers. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Should You Format Your Book While Writing It?
Formatting when writing to a small degree makes some sense. Many authors want to get a feel for what their book will look like in print. Or perhaps to get a “head start” while waiting for a proofreading to be completed, they start formatting. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Don’t Burden Reader with a Self-Indulgent Digression
Authors sometimes are tempted to get on their soapbox rather than allow the message to unfold with the story. When a diatribe or rant is inserted in the story, the author is guilty of a self-indulgent digression. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: How to Promote Multiple Books on Your Website
Previous entries here were predicated on the idea that you are promoting a single, new volume, particularly one that has just been published. However, it’s possible that you already have published other books. If so, you’ll want to promote those books, too, on your website. After all, if a reader really likes your new book, they are highly motivated to purchase your older volumes. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Deepest Silence” by John Roger Barrie
A long-time editing client recently published his latest work, a collection of insightful essays on issues in contemporary spirituality. In “The Deepest Silence,” which I also edited, John Roger Barrie examines the aims, pitfalls, and joys when walking the spiritual path. Barrie is the literary executor of influential author, historian, and philosopher Gerald Heard. His book is available in paperback or ebook. 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 June 30, 2026. 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 425 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.