Writing Motivation: I Refuse to Give Up on My Writing Because I Haven’t Explored Every Possible Way to Revise It
Since writers are close to their work – the universe for the story that is in a writer’s head always is larger than the universe for the story that is on paper – they often may not recognize that a passage needs to be revised. Because of this, a troubled paragraph or chapter may go unrecognized by the writer…and even if it is recognized, the writer may have no idea how to revise it. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: 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: Establish Characters’ Intentions in Every Scene
Every time you start a story, you want to quickly establish a problem for the main character to solve and their intention of solving it. Maybe a hacked up dead body is found, and a detective intends to bring the murderer to justice. Possibly a divorced woman who’s been by her herself for the past five years sees a man she’s interested in and decides to meet him. Perhaps a starship captain finds a far-flung colony where his brother lived has been destroyed by some unknown force. READ MORE

Writing Course: Overcoming Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is real. There are many reasons people suffer from it. This course helps you understand the cause of your writer’s block then goes into detail on strategies for overcoming each one. Length of course: 12 lesson readings and quizzes; 2-3 hours. Homework is up to the student. CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Create Document to Build Your Paperback Cover
Just as construction workers follow blueprints, so should you when creating your book’s cover. If you don’t, you’ll probably build something that can’t be uploaded or that won’t pass your self-publishing company’s vetting process. You’ll then have to start all over or will end up paying someone to fix your errors. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Stay Inbounds When Writing Descriptively
Sometimes in our efforts to succeed, we overdo it – While training for a marathon, we run too many miles at first rather than build our strength, or while baking a cake we add too much of one ingredient in hopes of spicing it up. The results usually are disastrous and require that we start over. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Preparing Your Book Reading, Presentation
If you’re a little anxious about speaking in front of a crowd for a book presentation, that’s understandable; public speaking is one of the biggest fears people have. But with a little preparation – and after you’ve made a few public appearances – you’ll soon find that it’s actually a lot of fun! READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Mouse Who Lives in a Shoe” by Eka Parpas
A recent editing client, Eka Parpas, has just published her first children’s book, The Mouse Who Lives in a Shoe. The book tells the story of Naya, a brave mouse who loses their home in a rainstorm, as he goes on a thrilling journey of resilience and friendship. Chased by the mischievous cat Max, Naya discovers the true meaning of home and finds peace in unexpected places. This heartwarming story teaches valuable lessons about courage, kindness, and the joy of new beginnings. 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 Nov. 12, 2024. 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 350 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.

Writing Motivation: Your Best Writing Teacher is a Passage that Challenged You
The best way to learn how to write is actually writing. When that occurs, the writer suddenly becomes aware of the importance of diction, seeks ways to achieve a certain tone, and experiments with differing styles all to achieve a desired effect. READ MORE

Writing Tip: How to Overcome Writer’s Block!
There are many reasons people get writer’s block – their mind is preoccupied, the environment they’re writing in isn’t conducive to creating, the idea they’ve thought up isn’t particularly good, a lack of imagination or skill to develop the story, coming to the laptop with no idea to write about, and many more. My book Overcoming Writer’s Block helps you understand the cause of your writer’s block then goes into detail on strategies for overcoming each one. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Benefits, Pitfalls of Flat Characters
When a character doesn’t change and is fairly uncomplicated, it is said to be a flat character. The opposite is a round character, which has dimension and develops over the course of the story. READ MORE

Writing Course: Write Engaging, Natural Dialogue
This inexpensive, online course helps beginning writers better understand how to pen conversations between characters. If you’ve already written a story and know the dialogue is weak, the lessons in this course can help you diagnose and fix the problem. Length of course: 12 lesson readings and quizzes, 2-3 hours. Homework is up to the student. CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Ebook Covers Consist of Four Major Elements
An ebook cover suggests a lot to the reader about the pages that follow. A poor cover hints at unprofessional writing and vice versa. You’ll want to invest a little time working on the cover, even though you’re a writer; after all, you’re not a fashion designer, but you still wouldn’t dress your child in rags during her first public outing! Because of this, you’ll want to spend some time thinking about and working on your cover rather than slapping it together. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Think of Your Story as if a Stage Production
Sometimes when plotting your short story or novel, thinking of it in terms of a theatrical or film production is useful. That’s because theater and film relies heavily on physical action to make the story work; beginning novelists and short story writers sometimes lose sight of the necessity for action and so get lost in their word-heavy medium.  LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Potential Locations for Book Presentations
Once you’ve decided that a book reading or signing is a good way to promote your book, you’ll need to find some spots to hold your event. Identifying those locales can help you determine what kind of presentation (book reading, presentation about the topic, etc.) you’ll make then place you on the path for contacting the right people to set up such an event. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Twin Identity” by Cherie Brachter
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of editing Cherie Brachter’s debut novel, Twin Identity, a novel that still resonates with me. A story of innocence, love, betrayal, crime and passion, the novel begins many years ago when a young couple, Nora and Aubrey, fall in love. Aubrey’s mother blackmails him into breaking off their relationship. Nora’s suicide attempt nearly ends her life, but she finds the courage to move on. Several years later, the loss of a loved one and the truth behind the break-up puts her back in Aubrey’s arms…If they only knew twenty-one years later their two worlds would collide in a roller coaster ride of deceit and danger. Can they find their way back to each other or will their lies destroy any chance of happiness? 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 Nov. 5, 2024. 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 350 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.

Writing Motivation: Strive for Originality when Writing Fiction
When writing fiction, you want to be original; that is, your plot, characters, setting and ideas should be fresh or novel (no pun intended). But is there, as some say, “nothing new under the sun”? READ MORE

200+ Writing Prompts That Lead To Stories
You’re stuck on what to write so check out some writing prompts to spur your creativity. But they don’t help you out of your writing rut…sure, there are some neat ideas, but none of them actually lead to a story. That’s because writing prompts all too often miss a key element: conflict. Conflict is the heart of every story, and without it you’re just writing a journal entry. My book Storystarters presents more than 200 writing prompts centered on exciting and interesting conflicts for your protagonist to solve. The prompts are divided among more than 50 topics and pit your story’s hero against nature, another person, society, God and himself in various scenarios. Don’t settle for prompts that at best make interesting writing exercises for middle school students – instead opt for prompts that will get you writing something publishable! SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Show Rather Than Tell the Backstory
Among the major errors some novice writers make is waiting to tell readers a story. Those writers begin their tale with a lot of background information, such as the main character’s personality, where that character lives, what she does for a job, who are the members of her family, and so on. They believe that readers need to know this information before the story can be told. READ MORE

Affordable Writing Courses That Will Help You Dramatically Improve Your Fiction Writing
Topics include the craft of writing, plotting your story, overcoming writer’s block and more! Each course consists of 12-20 lessons and will take about 2-3 hours to complete. Optional homework allows you to create or improve your own story! CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Paperback Cover Consists of Three Major Parts
An paperback cover – perhaps wrongly – tells the reader a lot about the pages that follow. A poor cover hints at unprofessional writing. Designing a great cover starts with understanding its parts. READ MORE

No Time to Read? Check Out My Podcast
Sometimes you just want to listen. Explore my library of more than 750 podcasts about writing, self-publishing and marketing your book. All podcasts are brief with no wasted chit-chat. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Entice Readers with Excerpt from Next Book
If you’ve already started writing the next book you plan to publish, the back of the one you’re about to release is a great place to promote it. You might do that by offering readers an excerpt of your next book. This is particularly popular among novelists. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Desperate Summer” by Sean Connors
A few summers ago, I had the pleasure of editing Sean Connors’ debut novel. Part historical fiction, part spy thriller, Sean’s The Desperate Summer weaves a tale of love, courage and betrayal during the long, hot summer of 1940 and the Battle of Britain. Tense, twisting and turning, the novel follows Hatfield Watkins’ journey from innocent Kansas farm boy to deadly ace, aging Luftwaffe fighter pilot Erwin Eichmann’s fight against the arrogance of the Third Reich, and the dark struggles of a conflicted Rachel Towning, a beautiful but deadly spy. As they fight a battle that they did not ask for but desperately need to win, they are forced to face the truth about themselves…and each other. 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 Oct. 29, 2024. 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 350 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.

Writing Motivation: You Cannot Improve as a Writer until Actually Revising Something You Wrote
As writers, often we are our own worst critics. We’re typically either too ruthless or not critical enough of our own stories and articles. Worse, we sometimes even hate the good parts of our manuscript and love the poorly written sections. READ MORE

Marketing Tips: How to Build Your Author’s Website
You need a website if you’re a serious author. A website is the hub where readers can go to find out about your books, a little about you, where to find you on social media, how to contact you, and more. Fortunately, you can construct a website for very little cost right in the comfort of your own home. My book Build Your Author’s Website explains how, using easy to understand, practical explanations. It covers such diverse topics as finding a Website host, deciding what your website will look like, pages needed for your website, share buttons, pictures, your website text’s readability, and driving traffic to your website. The tips here come from an author and professional editor who began building websites more than two decades ago and has advised hundreds of his writing clients about the process. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Describe Setting from Characters’ Perspectives
Novice writers often possess a good understanding of how to write a great description of a story’s setting and of how to present evocative details. Indeed, the ability to create beautiful imagery through words often is a skill that encouraged many aspiring writers to want to write a book in the first place. READ MORE

Writing Course: Mastering Show Don’t Tell
My new writing course Mastering Show Don’t Tell helps you write vibrant stories by teaching how to identify and fix all the places where telling – or exposition – rears up in your writing: backstory; info dumps; backfill; vague descriptions; irrelevant character details; emotional states; motivational tells; narration; summarizing; poorly written dialogue; and more! Length of course: 15 lesson readings and quizzes 2-3 hours. Homework is up to the student. CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Make Tables Readable in Your Self-Published Book
When self-publishing a nonfiction book, you probably will want to include tables of some sort. If writing a book about rock climbing, for example, you might include a list of the National Climbing Classification System. The problem with tables created in Microsoft Word is that they don’t resize well. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Add Reaction Shots to Heighten Dramatic Tension
Description in your stories shouldn’t be limited to landscapes and introductions of characters. While most description in a story will be devoted to those purposes, there are other times when a single phrase or line of description can be inserted amid action and dialogue with great effectiveness. One such insertion is known as a “reaction shot.” LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Promote Your Book by Guest Blogging
A great way to promote your book is by guest blogging, which is writing, for free, content that appears on another person’s blog. It’s sort of like being a guest host of a television program. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Be Limitless, Be Love” by Michael Toledo
This autumn I had the pleasure of formatting and uploading Michael Toledo’s short story collection Be Limitless, Be Love. From the cover: We all have a “calling.” Regardless of our age, race, sex, ethnicity, religious beliefs we all have “needs” that drive us as human beings. Much of the time, we aren’t aware of how these needs drive our behaviors.” The short stories in the collection address that by introducing readers to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs through symbolism. 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 Oct. 22, 2024. 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 350 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.

Writing Motivation: Each Draft of a Book Marks Another Year in the Building of a Cathedral
After you’ve brainstormed some ideas and made an outline of how you might organize those thoughts into a story or nonfiction piece, the next step is to get busy “drafting.” In many ways, drafting is like the multigenerational building of a cathedral in the Middle Ages. READ MORE

Self-Publishing: Everything You Must Know to Self-Publish Your Ebook
You’ve written a book and want to publish it as an ebook. 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 less than adequate, especially compared to all of the other books out there. My book Self-Publish Your Ebook 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 Ebook, Design Your Ebook Cover, and Upload Your Ebook to KindleDP. Those three titles take you through the entire self-publishing process, answering all of your questions in a brief, easy to understand format. SEE EBOOK

Writing Tip: How to Make Characters Three-Dimensional
Today’s sophisticated readers generally demand that your stories feature three-dimensional characters, that is, a protagonist who behaves like a real person and who probably grows by learning something along the way. But how do you create such a character? READ MORE

Writing Course: Write Your Story’s First Page
The first page of your story is its most important page. Those opening lines draw readers into your story, make them want to read on, and even allow them to put up with a scene they later find dull. Many readers won’t give you more than the first page to engage them in the story. My Write Your Story’s First Page course looks at the 11 must-have components of your story’s first 250 words. Length of course: 11 lesson readings and quizzes, 2-3 hours. Homework is up to the student. CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Use Stock Art to Create Cover Inexpensively
When creating a cover for your self-published book, you’ll probably need a single, striking photograph or illustration that draws in readers. Since you’re a writer and probably not a photographer or illustrator, this poses a problem: Where will you get such an image? Purchasing stock art can be a low-cost effective solution. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Work Off the Fat from Overwritten Descriptions
Fat writing, a term coined by CSFW’s Sarah Smith, is “unnecessary and grandiose verbiage.” You may have heard writing instructors refer to it as “verdant greenery” or “purple prose.” You want to trim the fat off your writing. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: How to Construct Your Website’s Home Page
The first page of your website that most potential readers and the media likely will see is your home page. This page serves as an introduction to your book(s). Here’s what should go on it. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Murder on the Bayou” by Drew Davis
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of editing Drew Davis’s crime and action novel Murder on the Bayou. Hot off ending a deadly mob war and the lucrative theft of $3 million in cash, Crime Boss Tom Hill plans a fun coastal escape with son, Eric, as fair reward. But trouble has a strange way of catching up to Hill, placing him and his son in grave danger. 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 Oct. 15, 2024. 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 350 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.