Pen Engaging Dialogue – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Aug. 4, 2026

Craft of Writing: Pen Engaging Dialogue
No doubt your story will include dialogue in which characters speak to one another. Unfortunately, too many beginning writers drag their story into a furrow of tedium by poorly handling dialogue. The problem is that their characters’ dialogue mirrors actual conversations too closely. READ MORE

Everything You Need to Know to Self-Publish Your Paperback
You’ve written a book and want to publish it as a paperback. But how do you do that? Maybe you’ve watched a video about it, but your self-publishing house keeps rejecting what you’ve created. Or maybe they’ve accepted it, but its appearance is a bit ugly when compared to all of the other books out there. My book Self-Publish Your Paperback Bundle addresses all of those problems and more. A collection of guidebooks in the popular Storytelling 101 Quick Read series, this bundle includes Format Your Paperback, Design Your Paperback Cover, and Upload Your Paperback to KindleDP. The three titles take you through the entire self-publishing process. They answer all of your questions in a brief, easy to understand format and cut to the chase by providing practical, useful information that can be followed step-by-step. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Strive for Originality when Writing Fiction
If you started writing to simply retell others’ ideas and storylines, you’re only being imitative and are not much different than a painter who follows the master’s style. You may be skilled at replicating the master’s style, but you’ll always be in the master’s shadow. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Being an Indie Writer Means You’re a Business
Among the best things about being an indie writer is control. You control when your book comes out, you decide what the cover will look like, you determine if a chapter will be edited out, you select where you’ll go on any promotional tours. In short, you are the publisher. And that makes you a business. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Start Early on Your Book Marketing Campaign
That’s because the most important step you can take in promoting a book is building a network of potential buyers for it. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Include Note Asking Readers to Post a Review
One of the quickest ways to generate an online book sale is to ensure you have reviews posted about your title. So why not ask for one in your book? READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Two Facets of a Religion” by John Roger Barrie
A long-time editing client of mine has published his latest work, Two Facets of a Religion. In this short read, John Roger Barrie champions the need to combine the contemplative and active aspects of our spiritual lives. Barrie writes, “What is needed is a decompartmentalization of these two facets that would allow for both to exist simultaneously without conflict.” A thorough overview is given and many interfaith examples are cited in his convincing, easy-to-understand narrative. 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 Aug. 11, 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.