Author Archives: Rob Bignell

One of the best way to sell your books is through Back of Room sales. This occurs when you give a presentation and have copies of your book(s) for sale on a table nearby – usually at the back or side of the room or just outside it. Back of Room sales work because those attendingContinue reading “Pitch Book through Back of Room Sales”

Good stories center on the clashing of characters’ goals and motivations. Sometimes a character’s goals and motivations arise from desiring what another has, especially in a relationship. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on jealousy. Man vs. natureWhat if the antagonist’s jealousy leads him to banish a loved one to a wilderness. HowContinue reading “Four Writing Prompts: Jealousy”

Among the many words whose spellings appear to be changing is babysitter, confusing many a little firecracker of smartness. Is it one word, two words, or hyphenated? Older editions of dictionaries tend to hyphenate the word. Increasingly, though, newer editions are lopping off the hyphen and spelling it as one word, as in: We asked JaneContinue reading “Oh, you’re so smart: Babysitter vs. baby-sitter”

In every story, there comes a turning point or an ultimate moment in which the situation has become so intolerable that the main character must take a decisive step and emerge victorious. This scene is known as the climax. Also called a “final obstacle,” the climax comes at the end of the story’s rising action. TheContinue reading “How to Write Your Story’s Climax – Its Penultimate Scene”

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” – William Faulkner “My characters are fictional. I get ideasContinue reading “Five Great Quotations about Characters”

You may feel the reason your writing time isn’t productive is because you don’t have a way to measure it. If so, consider setting a goal each day for writing – word count, percentage of a page, number of paragraphs, or some other way of showing success. ______________ My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professionalContinue reading “Writing Inspiration: Set a Goal to Succeed”

Think about another project that you started but didn’t finish. Why were you unable to finish? Are those same obstacles the reason(s) you’re not writing regularly? During your writing session, jot down some ways that you might avoid or overcome these obstacles. ______________ My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality EditingContinue reading “Writing Inspiration: Overcoming Obstacles”

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing self-published writers is getting their name and book title in front of people. That’s especially difficult when hundreds of books are published every day. One long-term solution to help overcome this problem is to make the first book in your series permanently free. When you give away a book for free,Continue reading “Make First Book in Your Series Permanently Free”

As a published author, you’ll have to pay taxes on your earnings from book sales. If a self-published author in the United States, you are a self-proprietor, and that means you’ll need to fill out some additional forms with the IRS. A minimum of three forms have to be filed with the IRS:• 1040 – This is theContinue reading “Tax Forms Self-Published U.S. Authors Must File”