Add Color to Your Manuscript – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Sept. 15, 2026

Craft of Writing: Add Color to Your Manuscript
Even if your story offers a lot of dramatic tension and the sentences are tightly constructed, it still can feel a bit monochrome or colorless. When that occurs, the writing probably is not particularly vivid. Rather than read like a piece of fiction, the story instead will feel like a work of dry journalism. READ MORE

Free Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Promotion Guides 
I’m offering free pdfs of each book in my Storytelling 101 Quick Read series in exchange for an honest review. The series consists of brief, easy to understand, and practical guides addressing a number of problems authors face when writing, self-publishing and promoting their books. I’d ask that reviews be posted on Amazon or Goodreads. If interested, choose from this LIST OF BOOKS and then EMAIL ME the title for a free copy.

Writing Tip: How to Overcome Annoying Writer’s Block
Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to create the right environment to end your writer’s block. Here are some methods used by writers whose books I’ve edited READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Select Different Fonts for Paperback, Ebook
You’ll want to use different fonts for the paper and any ebook/Web versions of your book. That’s because the eye responds differently to varying platforms for reading. A billboard likely will use large blocky letters while a magazine can get away with using typefaces in which the letters are thin. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Should You Write a Happy or an Unhappy Ending?
When writing the climax your story, you’ll need to decide if the ending will be happy or unhappy. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Place Social Media Addresses in Your Book
While not everyone who reads your book will like it, most will – and some will absolutely fall in love with your writing and become a fan. Such fans are likely to purchase more of your books or to tell others about your titles. One way to ensure those fans stay up-to-date about your writing (such as when that next book is coming out) or mention you in casual conversation is to keep them informed via social media. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Castooli County to DC: Monster Hunt” by Mark Policinski 
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of editing this political thriller story, which would make for a perfect election year read. Mark Policinski’s Castooli County to DC: Monster Hunt tells the story of two different worlds. One is the hard life of Capitol Hill, where Joe Hickcock, top aide to the next President of the United States, is dogged by an evil that is with him every day and who he knows excruciatingly well. The other world is a bucolic county in Michigan where Sheriff Arthur Bract must confront and solve a most hideous murder. The two worlds are not disconnected. 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 Sept. 22, 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.