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When to Use an En Dash vs. an Em Dash
Among the most common problems I see when proofreading for my clients is confusion over the en dash and the em dash. Oftentimes, the confusion is so great that inconsistent styles are used within a manuscript. First, some definitions:• En dash – This dash is longer than a hyphen and often about half the length of an…
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Self-Awareness of Writing Process Aids Creativity
Many writers will tell you “there’s no system” to writing a book. They’re right in that the craft of writing can’t be reduced to an assembly line production, at least not unless you wish to churn out cookie-cutter stories and ultimately be incredibly dissatisfied with your passion. Still, given that writers tend to share several…
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Five Great Quotations About Editing
“No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” – H. G. Wells “Be generous, be delicate, and always pursue the prize.” – Henry James “Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.” – Anonymous “I always wrote with the idea that what I put out there is going to stay…
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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…
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Why You Need to Market Your Book
You’ve spent a year writing your book, spent money on an editor to proofread it and a designer to create a book cover, then spent a week or two taking it through the publishing process. And now, after all of that hard work, your book – your labor of love – is available for purchase with…
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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. Hashtags can help Facebook users who aren’t your friends or haven’t yet liked your book page to discover you. Whenever a Facebook user types in a hashtag that you’ve…
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Mainstream vs. Self-Publishing
“After being Turned Down by numerous Publishers, he had decided to write for Posterity.” – George Ade (U.S. dramatist & humorist, 1866 – 1944), “Fables in Slang,” 1899 For the past three decades, publishing houses increasingly have printed fewer books and cutting back on the number of titles they print. In addition, there already are a…
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5 Sci Fi Writing Prompts – Novums
Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a “reality” in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as “The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of…
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Liven Up Your Writing: Replace Overused Verbs
Even when using active verbs, sentences still may sound flat. More than likely, those active verbs are also overused. An overused verb is one that’s commonplace and dull. Among the many active verbs that tend to be overused in our daily language and writing are sat, looked for, felt, enjoy, gave, and became. Using such commonplace…
