Craft of Writing: Step Down on Authorisms
Sometimes when writers just can’t think of what to put on the page, they resort to an inappropriate technique known as an authorism. An authorism – coined by American writer Thomas M. Disch – occurs when the writer places his or her physical environment, mannerisms and prejudices into the story.  READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tips: How to Upload Your Ebook
For those new to self-publishing, uploading your ebook often is a complex and frustrating process. Unfamiliar terms are used, questions that you as an author have never thought of answering are asked, and when errors occur there’s often no real explanation as to how fix them. And while online “tutorials” are offered, the articles either state the obvious or appear to have been written by software engineers rather than someone who actually understands your plight. My book Upload Your Ebook to KindleDP corrects all of that. The explanations in this book make the process easy to understand and to follow. After all, you just want to get your book uploaded so it’s up for sale, not wonder if you wasted your time writing it because of error messages! SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: My Words can Light the Way for Someone Else on a Dark Path
Even if your book never changes the world – let alone influence other authors in its genre – your writing still can make a difference just by affecting the lives of a few or even of a lone reader. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Create Bulleted Lists in Ebooks
One of the big problems with ereaders is that they lack the ability to translate fancy symbols used to make bulleted lists in Microsoft Word. The result is that a bullet point ends up being a letter or set of numbers, which looks unprofessional and can confuse readers. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Pitch Book through Back of Room Sales
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. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: 6 Tips for a Better Book Marketing Strategy
To maximize sales of your book, you’ll need a marketing strategy. here are six great tips for developing that strategy. Click the linked title for the full article. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Mind Readers and Marble Orchards” by Lasher Lane
Between writing novels, Los Angeles author Lasher Lane penned a number of short stories and essays for magazines during the 2010s, and I was proud to be a part of Lasher’s efforts as her editor. In 2021, she collected and published those stories and essays in an anthology. 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 7, 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.

Craft of Writing: Show, Don’t Tell
As a fiction writer, you’ll want virtually all of your sentences to show rather than tell. There a few instances when the author needs to “tell” – such as quickly providing a back story or to make dialogue sound realistic – but such occurrences should be rare. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Design Your Ebook Cover
Most potential readers of your ebook will first encounter it online as an image – the book’s cover. If that thumbnail doesn’t cause viewers to take a closer look at the accompanying text descriptions of your book, you are farther away from making a sale. How do you create an ebook cover? My new book Design Your Ebook Cover answers that question. Using easy to understand and short explanations, it describes what software/apps you need, moves on to the cover’s various elements, and finally looks at uploading it to a print on demand company like Kindle Direct Publishing. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: So Long as I Write, I’ll Never Truly Be Gone
What people from history can you name? Shakespeare? Julius Caesar? George Washington? Jesus? Galileo? The names likely fall into one of four categories – famous generals/political leaders (in most societies, the same thing), famous religious figures, famous scientists/inventors, and famous writers. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Should You Format Your Book While Writing It?
Formatting when writing to a small degree makes some sense. Many authors want to get a feel for what their book will look like in print. Or perhaps to get a “head start” while waiting for a proofreading to be completed, they start formatting. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Don’t Burden Reader with a Self-Indulgent Digression
Authors sometimes are tempted to get on their soapbox rather than allow the message to unfold with the story. When a diatribe or rant is inserted in the story, the author is guilty of a self-indulgent digression. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: How to Promote Multiple Books on Your Website
Previous entries here were predicated on the idea that you are promoting a single, new volume, particularly one that has just been published. However, it’s possible that you already have published other books. If so, you’ll want to promote those books, too, on your website. After all, if a reader really likes your new book, they are highly motivated to purchase your older volumes. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Deepest Silence” by John Roger Barrie
A long-time editing client recently published his latest work, a collection of insightful essays on issues in contemporary spirituality. In “The Deepest Silence,” which I also edited, John Roger Barrie examines the aims, pitfalls, and joys when walking the spiritual path. Barrie is the literary executor of influential author, historian, and philosopher Gerald Heard. His book is available in paperback or ebook. 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 June 30, 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.

Craft of Writing: Generate Tension by Leaving Reader in Doubt
Any story you tell by definition has a plot, characters, setting, point of view and theme. But to really make a story pop, an author has to interweave and play these elements against one another so that the story has tension. READ MORE

How to Format Your Ebook
The best way to construct an ebook is as a unique document rather than running your paperback through meat grinder software. Fortunately, you can construct it right on your laptop without buying expensive software or hiring someone to code your ebook into a mobi or epub format. My Storytelling 101 book Format Your Ebook takes you through those steps. Among the many topics covered are your table of contents, headers, footers, page numbers, text, designing the cover, and uploading the ebook. Information is presented in brief, easy to understand explanations from someone who has formatted hundreds of ebooks. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Score Story Plot Points with Head Fake
Many readers enjoy books in which they attempt to solve the story’s central problem before the main character does. To add to such readers’ pleasure, authors sometimes will create “diversions” when plotting the book. These diversions are known as head fakes. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Ebooks: The Now of Publishing
I originally had titled this entry “Ebooks: The Future of Publishing” but after editing changed it to “Ebooks: The Now of Publishing.” My original title might have been accurate in 2010, but since then digital books have come to be a major portion of the book market. They are now the primary way a sizable number of people read books, whether it be a classroom text or the latest airport novel. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Appeal to Sense of Sound when Writing
When writing descriptions, one of the five senses that you can appeal to is sound. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Utilize Online Storefronts to Promote Your Book
One way to promote your book is to sell it on as many different websites as possible. While most people interested in purchasing a book will go to Amazon.com, you need not limit yourself to that one website or “online storefront.” READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “How the Gods Feast” by Robert Grains
The renowned British YouTube channel HorrorBabble recently published one of my editing clients’ short stories. “How the Gods Feast” is the opening story in Robert Grains’ horror anthology “Ossuary of Dreams.” You can catch the YouTube story here or see his anthology here.

$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 June 23, 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.

Craft of Writing: Create an Uncertain Outcome for Your Main Character
If you’re story feels flat, you may want to look at the plot and ask yourself, “Do my readers have a sense of anticipation yet uncertainty about what will come next?” If the answer is “No,” then your story lacks suspense. READ MORE

The Ultimate Guide to Self-Publishing Your Book
You’ve written a book that’s languishing on your computer hard drive. You don’t have time to pitch it to a literary agent or a major publisher … work or school is hectic, the house needs to be cleaned, the kids demand your attention … But we bet you can find just seven minutes a day to achieve your dream of getting it published. If you can, my book 7 Minutes a Day to a Self-Published Book is for you. This practical, how-to guide takes you step-by-step through the self-publishing process – with just seven minutes of work required a day. You’ll complete short, skillful exercises that allow you to self-publish your novel or nonfiction title as you read the book, all the while getting the encouragement and motivation needed to keep you going. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Consider Using Man vs. Nature Conflict in Story
When developing your story, you’ll want your characters to face a number of challenges or conflicts. One of the most basic of them is man vs. nature. In this conflict, the characters find their goals jeopardized by the natural forces of the universe: the cold of an ice age, dangerous plants and animals in an alien jungle, or the vacuum of space. READ MORE

Self-Publishing: Common Questions about Publishing Ebooks
As a book editor, I get a number of questions about publishing ebooks, especially since this is such a new field. Here are the answers to a few that have been asked a lot of me during the past few weeks. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: The ‘Thinking Step’ when Writing Your Book
If you’re putting your pen to paper or fingers to keyboard for the first time on a story, you really aren’t starting at all. You probably “started” writing the piece some time before – in your head. That “thinking step” is known in the ⁠writing process⁠ as brainstorming. 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

“The Zen of Kata” by Alex W. Tong
A recent editing client of mine, biomedical scientist and sensei Alex W. Tong, has published what without doubt is the book on traditional Shotokan Karate-dō. Chockful of photos, easy to follow instructions, and contemporary scientific insights, “The Zen of Kata” details all of the health benefits of this Eastern practice and explains how to do it. CHECK IT OUT

Get a Coloring Book for Your Kids – or Yourself!
My latest writing project is coloring books! I’ve just released 21 mostly nature-themed books about California, Arizona and Wisconsin. Books range from national parks to wildlife and wildflowers. There’s even one for my hometown, which I did just for fun! Thirty-three accurately detailed drawings wait to be colored in each book. Beneath every drawing is an interesting fact about the picture. They are intended for older elementary school children (grades 3-7) and adults who still have a little kid in them. All books are available on Amazon and for retailers at Ingram. I’ll be at Dragon Tale Books (Menomonie, Wisconsin) later this month to promote them. 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 June 16, 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.

Craft of Writing: Sustain Dramatic Tension through Good Pacing
As developing your story, maintaining a sense of tension is vital. Without dramatic tension – a feeling of uncertainty in the reader about how the main character will solve (or even if he will resolve) the central problem – the story will be flat and vanilla. READ MORE

Writing Advice: Using a Writing Process When Writing Nonfiction
One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they’re following a process when writing a book. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every writer goes through five basic steps if they finish and publish their nonfiction book. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they’re having trouble writing. Maybe their book idea isn’t very good. Possibly they haven’t thought through it enough. Maybe they’re not revising it efficiently. My book Following a Writing Process for Nonfiction takes you through the five steps of the writing process. Among the many topics covered include brainstorming story ideas, outlining the book, drafting it, revising, and formatting. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Some Plots about Search for a ‘Macguffin’
Not all stories are about restoring order in the universe or overcoming some personal conflict. Sometimes the plot revolves around the search for an item that will elevate the main character’s position in the world or will prevent an evil force from gaining the upper hand. This item is called a macguffin. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: What is an ASIN (And Other Useful Things to Know)
Writers new to self-publishing often run into the abbreviation ASIN and find themselves confused. Is it the same as an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)? Does one need an ISBN if you have an ASIN? READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Submitting Do’s and Don’ts for Magazines
So you’ve got a story written and are about to send it to a magazine or a publisher. Congratulations! One of the largest barriers preventing beginning writers from becoming established is that they never finish their work. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Draw Attention to Book Via Article Directories
One way to draw attention to your book is by writing an article related to it, then getting it published. Fortunately, you don’t have to play the freelancer game to get the article published as you can post it for free at online article directories, such as Ezine Articles. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Dawn of the Cosmic Soul” by Gary German
An editing client has published his book that I edited this past spring. In Dawn of the Cosmic Soul, Gary German, presents a spiritual approach for embracing current world changes and challenges. He emphasizes that to navigate meaningfully and purposefully in the mundane world, embracing cosmic vision and a cosmic spiritual journey is vital. 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 June 9, 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.

Craft of Writing: Give Your Story Oomph! with Narrative Drive
Ever read a story before bed and find it so gripping that you stay up far later than you should just to find out what is going to happen? If so, you’ve been a “victim” of narrative drive. READ MORE

Writing Advice: Using a Writing Process When Writing Nonfiction
One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they’re following a process when writing a book. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every writer goes through five basic steps if they finish and publish their nonfiction book. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they’re having trouble writing. Maybe their book idea isn’t very good. Possibly they haven’t thought through it enough. Maybe they’re not revising it efficiently. My book Following a Writing Process for Nonfiction takes you through the five steps of the writing process. Among the many topics covered include brainstorming story ideas, outlining the book, drafting it, revising, and formatting. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Substantive Edit Needed Early in Writing Process
A substantive edit generally is needed after the writer has taken the manuscript through at least one draft. That is, the manuscript is “completed” with no missing parts. A substantive editor may find that additional parts need to be written, but before the edit begins, at least in the writer’s mind, the manuscript is “complete.” READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Pros and Cons of Using Draft2Digital for Book Sales
A number of self-publishing companies exist, and most are rip-offs. Yes, they may turn out a quality-looking product, but they don’t get you an Amazon.com landing page for your title or you’re unable to sell your title across several platforms such as iBook or Nook. Worse, they are extremely expensive. So what about Draft2Digital, especially with its new fees? READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Top 5 Habits All Writers Should Possess
Despite widely varying writing styles, almost all writers share several common habits that help ensure their success. Drawing upon my experience working as an editor with hundreds of authors and having read far more interviews of or essays by writers, I’ve noticed five common habits among them. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Sell More Books via Email Marketing Campaign
The key to selling books is to “make contact with” or reach potential readers of your titles. After all, if a reader doesn’t know about your book, she can’t purchase it. Among the best ways to reach readers is through email marketing. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Universal Intelligence” by Mike Steinle
A recent client of mine has published his book that I edited in spring, Universal Intelligence. Mike Steinle’s book posits that there is a universal intelligence that underlies everything that exists, and that you by accessing it, you can:
• Discover who you really are and why you are here.
• Achieve all of your goals and aspirations.
• Gain the knowledge you need to build and live your best life here and now.
• Protect yourself and the people you care about from the mayhem in the world.
• Find the answers to your questions about life and its true meaning.
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 June 2, 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.

Craft of Writing: Watch for Verb Tense Shifts
A common mistake among novice writers is shifting within their story so that events occurred in the now but then in the next paragraph happen in the past. This is a sign that the writer is changing verb tenses. READ MORE

Following a Writing Process for Fiction 
One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they’re following a process when writing a short story or a novel. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every story goes through five basic steps if the author finishes and publishes it. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they’re having trouble writing a story. Maybe their story idea isn’t very good. Possibly they haven’t thought through the story enough. Maybe they’re not revising it efficiently. Following a Writing Process for Fiction describes the five steps of the writing process. Among the many topics covered include brainstorming story ideas, outlining the story, drafting it, revising your drafts, formatting, and how to troubleshoot your story to find which step you need to spend more time on. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Finding Writer’s Holy Grail: ‘A Place to Write’
One of the obstacles facing beginning writers is finding a place where they actually can write. Too often our responsibilities and modern civilization’s many distractions don’t allow for a moment – or place – of peace and quiet in our lives. Yet, just such a place where we can put our fingers to keyboard or pen to paper for a while is necessary if we are to write. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Line up Page Numbers in Table of Contents
One of the most annoying problems self-publishing authors encounter when formatting their book in Microsoft Word is lining up the table of contents. Fortunately, it’s actually quite easy to do, an after you’ve done it a couple of times, you’ll have it memorized. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: What is Self-Publishing and Should I Try It?
What is self-publishing? How does it differ from mainstream publishing? Should you self-publish or go the traditional route. Longtime book editor Rob Bignell answers these questions and more. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Offer Readers a Sample Chapter Page on Website
If the book you’re promoting is the first one you’ve published, readers most likely will be unfamiliar with you or your writing. Further, given the vast number of other authors out there, a potential reader might decide to pass over you for another one who is slightly better well known or who has more writing credits to their name. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Senior Agent” by William Rose
A recent client has published his book that I edited. William Rose’s Senior Agent is a firsthand expose of discrimination, widespread dishonesty, and retaliation within a federal law enforcement agency. The book reveals how experienced agents, particularly older employees, are subjected to age discrimination and workplace retaliation, often as a means to push them out of the government. At its core, Senior Agent illustrates a modern-day Metian Dilemma, where employees who challenge authority must choose between submission or fighting a war – which they likely will lose – against a system where the government has all the advantages. 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 May 26, 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.

Craft of Writing: Pep Up Your Writing: Replace Overused Verbs
Even when using active verbs, sentences still may sound flat. More than likely, that’s because those active verbs are also overused. READ MORE

How to Write Engaging, Natural Dialogue in Your Story
One of the most important tools in your writing kit is dialogue. It can help develop your characters, move the plot forward, increase tension, and establish a scene’s mood. Unfortunately, sometimes novice writers write dull dialogue. Like a flat tire that slows your vehicle to a near stop, so dull dialogue can quickly bring your story to a near halt. My guidebook Write Engaging, Natural Dialogue is all about helping beginning writers better understand how to pen conversations between characters. If you’ve already written a story and know the dialogue is weak, the tips in this book can help you diagnose and fix the problem. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: How to Create Suspense in Your Story
Conflict – the competition a character faces as attempting to achieve a goal – always is the core of a story. But a good story is more than just a fight between a hero and a villain or an inner monologue in which one struggles what to do. Good storytelling involves suspense, that tension in which the reader is uncertain how the conflict will be resolved. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: 22 Awesome Tips on Formatting Ebooks
When self-publishing, formatting your ebook often is a challenge, especially for first timers. Here are some tricks, hacks and tips for ensuring the process goes smoothly. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Why You Need to Market Your Book
It’s the rare book that somehow goes virulent and captures the public’s attention and admiration all on its own. Indeed, more than 900 books are published daily in just the United States alone, so no matter how good yours is, the odds of it even being noticed are nil at best. The reality is that indie authors and those who self-publish need to market their own books. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Use Hashtags to Sell your Book on Facebook
These days hashtags are ubiquitous on social media platforms. Most social media now use hashtags (sometimes simply referred to as tags), and Facebook is among them. READ MORE

“Hot Scenes” by Michael J. Sahno
A recent editing client, Michael J. Sahno, has published his fifth novel, Hot Scenes: A Satirical Novel About Sex, Cinema, and the American Double Standard. Aghast at American cinema’s descent into boundary-pushing violence, famed Hollywood director J. Edgar Schnatz decides to move in the opposite direction-a celebration of sexuality. But making the world’s first mainstream adult film comes with its own unique set of challenges, from finding a willing cast and sufficient financing to getting that all-important NC-17 rating. Hot Scenes is a darkly comic satire in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Hunter S. Thompson, a novel about art, censorship, and the particular kind of chaos that follows when someone in Hollywood actually means what they say. 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 May 19, 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.

Craft of Writing: Turn Passive Passages into Active Writing
So you’ve written a scene packed with action, ripe with conflict, and filled with tension – but every time you read it, the writing feels flat. The problem may be that you’re writing in passive rather than active voice. READ MORE

How to “Show Don’t Tell” 
Read any writing tip article or book, and one piece of advice you’re sure to see is “Show don’t tell.” For many new writers – and even established ones – showing rather than telling is downright confusing. Just what does an editor mean when she notes “Show don’t tell” on your manuscript? Mastering Show Don’t Tell looks at 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! BUY BOOK

Writing Tip: Place Dialogue Attribution in Right Spots
During my years of editing, I’ve found that dialogue often gives beginning fiction writers trouble. In an effort to make clear who is speaking, the writer often ends up slowing the story’s pace and making for a clunky read. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Commonly Asked Questions
Here are the answers to a few questions about self-publishing that I often receive from clients and readers of this newsletter. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Finding Writer’s Holy Grail: ‘A Place to Write’
One of the obstacles facing beginning writers is finding a place where they actually can write. Too often our responsibilities and modern civilization’s many distractions don’t allow for a moment – or place – of peace and quiet in our lives. Yet, just such a place where we can put our fingers to keyboard or pen to paper for a while is necessary if we are to write. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Potential Locations for Book Presentations
Once you’ve decided that a public presentation 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 signing, topical presentation, etc.) you’ll make and place you on the path for contacting the right people to set up such an event. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Common Sense Inventing” by Roger Brown
I edit nonfiction as well as fiction manuscripts, and one of the former that I recently handled was Roger Brown’s Common Sense Inventing. Written for inventors, the book delivers a practical, no nonsense approach to getting your product licensed and on the market that works. Roger Brown is a successful national award winning Serial Inventor with numerous products on the market. Most of them he invested less than $100 and in some cases as little as $10. Using only an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and a sell sheet, he found success in the toy, tool, kitchen, eyewear and nuclear industries. This book is a practical guide that explains how you can do the same without going into debt. 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 May 12, 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.