Editing

7 Steps for Hiring a Good Editor

by Victoria Passey 1. Understand the different types of editing. There are several types of editing: content/developmental editing, substantive/deep-line editing, copyediting, and proofreading, as well as edits for style guides and fact-checking. Together, they create...

The Fainting Damsel

Adding Emotion to Your Writing without the Melodrama by Amy Michelle Carpenter and Angela Woiwode Many writers struggle with making their writing shine and adding emotion without making it melodramatic. It can be tempting to rev up the drama in every scene to ensure...

Why You Don’t Want to Get Your Book Done Quickly

by Angela Eschler As a coach, speaker, or business owner, you may have heard that being a bestselling author gives you more credibility than being a doctor these days—that it’s the golden ticket to business success. So obviously, you need to get your book out there...
Outlining versus “Pantsing”

Outlining versus “Pantsing”

by Lindsay Flanagan To outline or not to outline…that is the (much-debated) question. As a writer you may feel like you’re on team outliner (or plotter) or on team “pantser.” Maybe you haven’t decided which side to join. Or maybe you’ve joined one or the other but...

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Internal Dialogue—Getting It Right

Internal Dialogue—Getting It Right

by Heidi Brockbank As editors, we’ve noticed that one of the tools new and even intermediate writers most often mishandle is internal dialogue. While internal dialogue (also called internal monologue) is a powerful tool the writer can use to help a reader make an...

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Top Three Short Story Mistakes

Top Three Short Story Mistakes

by Kristin Ammerman Bestselling authors such as Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jeff Wheeler, Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, and others write novels as well as short stories. There are several reasons why novelists also write short stories. Sense of...

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The Most Common Advice May Be the Worst

The Most Common Advice May Be the Worst

  by Angela Eschler Next to “Write what you know,” the most common piece of advice I hear at conferences is “Just write every day.” I always cringe a little when I hear that. Not because it’s not good advice. It is. But because it’s not the best advice for a...

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The Most Common Advice May Be the Worst

The Most Common Advice May Be the Worst

  by Angela Eschler Next to “Write what you know,” the most common piece of advice I hear at conferences is “Just write every day.” I always cringe a little when I hear that. Not because it’s not good advice. It is. But because it’s not the best advice for a...

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Three Tips for Self-Editing Your Prose

Three Tips for Self-Editing Your Prose

by Emilee Newman Bowles Congratulations! You've written your true story or breathed life into characters who once existed only in your imagination—now what? Whether you’ve got fiction or nonfiction under your belt, now it’s time to take a look at your sentences, to...

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Avoiding Narrator Intrusion

Avoiding Narrator Intrusion

by Emilee Newman Bowles Hello, “dear reader” As a young English Lit  student, I laughed to myself when a story addressed the reader like this. It used to be common to tell the “dear reader” the moral of the story. These days it’s passé. Even if you know you should...

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Boost your confidence with our free author tools.
Feeling overwhelmed or unsure about your book project?
PHEW!