Cut Card Tricks in the Dark – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for July 14, 2026

Craft of Writing: Cut Card Tricks in the Dark
No one likes a show off. Unfortunately, one way novice writers slow their story is by saying “Look see what I can do!” When they use such authorial cleverness for no purpose other than to show off, they’re guilty of using “card tricks in the dark,” a term coined by American science fiction writer Lewis Shiner. READ MORE

How to Protect Yourself Against Book Marketing Scams
I’m proud to announce the release this week of my latest book – Protecting Yourself Against Book Marketing Scams. Scammers – like locusts of biblical proportions, they’re filling your email inbox, posting on your social media threads, and sending DMs all the time. They promise big sales if you would just hire them to make a TikTok video about your book, feature it at a book conference, audit your KDP account, or perform any of dozens of other services. The truth is they provide no services and just want your money. They are the new scourge of self-published authors. Protecting Yourself Against Book Marketing Scams looks at who is running these scams, how a scam works, types of book marketing scams, how to identify a pitch as a scam, what to do if you’ve been scammed, and more. The book is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Advantages of Using Third-Person Multiple POV
Sometimes writers structure their book so that the third-person limited point of view alternates from scene to scene between major characters in a book. However, within each scene, only one of those characters’ point of view is used. This literary device is known as third-person multiple or third-person rotating limited. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Three Great Formatting Tips for Ebooks
Ebooks follow different formatting rules than books printed on paper. That’s because a book made of ink on paper is a different platform for presenting information than a book made of digital bits on an electronic screen. Even though the same content (your book) is being presented, the platforms will need to be handled differently, just as certainly different production methods are used for a play presented on stage and on a television screen. Because of that, there are a number of things you might do when formatting a paperback but never would do when constructing an ebook. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Make Story Interesting by Establishing Stakes
The plot of a story is more interesting and exciting if the characters have something to gain or lose. Because of this, the characters in your story should have something at stake, or some personal interest or involvement in solving the story’s conflict. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Add Share Buttons to Your Book’s Website
When building a website to promote your books(s), one element to include on each page is a share button. A share button allows visitors to literally tell the world about your page.  READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Extend Your Health Span – Without Prescriptions” by Roc Ordman
A client of mine has published his book that I recently edited. In Extend Your Health Span – Without Prescriptions, biochemistry Professor Roc Ordman explains how easily you can extend not just your lifespan, but your health span! He describes the inexpensive supplement that prevents depression and tells the safe inexpensive medications that will prevent baldness and restore hair. For two cents a day, Ordman says, you can dramatically reduce your risk of stroke. 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 July 21, 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.