This is possibly the trickiest confusion-causing grammar rule imaginable. So many of us see the two words “whom” and “who” and our eyes begin to cross because we can’t even start trying to figure out the difference between them. I see many people try to sound correct by using “whom” even when they should use “who”! Let’s explore their uses and how to properly put them in a … [Read more...]
How to Write Haiku
Haikus are famous around the world for many reasons, one being that they’re always short and sweet and seemingly easy to write. While haikus may be short, they’re definitely not easy. They’re a very structured form of writing that packs a huge punch in very few words. Originally, haikus focused on senses and had a lot to do with nature and one’s surroundings. In more … [Read more...]
Librarian Love: Helping You Get Published
Most people won’t believe you when you tell them that librarians can play a role that could prove vital to getting you published. The image of a cranky woman at a desk persists—but most don’t realize that behind that woman is a world of resources that could pave the way to success. It’s never too early to start working in the library, especially if you’re serious about becoming … [Read more...]
Researching For Your Novel: Librarians as Friends
Writing a novel can be very intimidating, and very difficult. One of the hardest tasks any author needs to undertake is research. Whether it’s looking at the historical context of a war being used as the background of a romance novel, or understanding how an engine works for your new steampunk series, research is essential. It’s also very difficult and extremely time consuming. … [Read more...]
How Writing a Novel Actually Works
This infographic shows some of the myths believed by new novelists. Many new writers believe that writing the first draft is the hard part. In fact, when you finish the first draft you work has hardly begun. You may get a chuckle from this graphic, or you may find that it is too true to be funny! Source: www.novel-software.com … [Read more...]
How to Write Faster
If you want to write a book or if you want to write for a living, one of the biggest factors that will determine if you make a good living with writing is your writing speed. Writing faster is not just a matter of how fast you type. You have to actually compose your thoughts and reduce them into words in a short period of time. Study the information below so you can boost your … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Sell More Kindle Books
Just listing your book in the Kindle marketplace doesn’t guarantee sales. You need to give your sales a jump start, and the five tips here will help you do exactly that! 1) Choose good keywords. Using the right keywords in your listing as well as the book title itself (if possible) can help searchers find your book. So how do you find the keywords that will help people … [Read more...]
Starting a Writing Group at Work
Many people have dreams of becoming writers—whether it’s fiction prose or research articles. Unfortunately, real life can get in the way and a large portion of dreamers take jobs unrelated to the kind of writing they had in mind, and soon stop writing. Poetry writing takes a backseat to planning lessons for kindergarten classes and all those articles about how to care for … [Read more...]
Unexpected Marketing Results
Over the years I have done a lot of marketing. Some things got better results than I expected, others…not so much. But many things delivered different results than I expected. This is one of the magical things about marketing. Let’s talk about how this might apply to selling your books. Say that you have set up a book signing event at a local coffee shop. You make posters … [Read more...]
Reading to Children
As a teenage babysitter, I loved reading to the kids I watched. They would bring out a huge stack of books, and when I finished reading one they would beg me to read, “just one more.” We often spent the evening with the television off, reading story after story. My mother read to me a lot when I was little. She says that I had memorized at the age of three, because I had … [Read more...]