Welcome to the Coach's Corner! Recently one of our authors shared the twentieth rendition of a query letter he had prepared to send to an agent. His is an epic novel; a real piece of literature. I was reminded how difficult it is to summarize a story—any story—in just a few lines. The author shared his frustration at the process and how … [Read more...]
Before entering publishing full time, it was my pleasure to work for many years in advertising and marketing. A delightful career, the ad biz was frenetic and madcap, joyful and rewarding, highly creative and incredibly educational. Writing, designing, and producing a broad variety of printed items exposed me to new concepts, new technologies, new … [Read more...]
A quick re-cap: Larry Brooks' fantastic resource, STORY ENGINEERING, defines 6 Core Competencies for novelists and screenwriters. Those are: Concept Character Theme Structure (Setup) Scene Execution Writing Voice Today, I’m going through two main definitions: PP1 First Pinch Point FOUR-PART STORY STRUCTURE / THREE-ACT … [Read more...]
I just received an email from Ron Pramschufer at www.selfpublishing.com regarding a new player in the Self Publishing business called Kbuuk. Seems that they have developed apps that will enable you to design a cover for your book, upload your file and have it converted to an epub. They also have other tools for marketing but you have to subscribe … [Read more...]
You want to make a difference in people's live, you are researching a topic and becoming an expert. You want to give your audience answers to their questions on your topic. You want to attract new clients, brand yourself or business, or maybe you want to write a novel to educate and entertain. You resist! You have doubts. It takes too long. You … [Read more...]
I run into this question quite a bit and it doesn’t have a simple yes/no answer. Over the years I do not think I have hidden the fact that I am a Christian and run my business and personal life, guided by Christian principles but I don’t believe that I have ever asked someone to work with me solely for that reason. I don’t believe you should … [Read more...]
Recently an author asked me: What should I know when choosing editing for my book manuscript? What a great question! Following are six key factors that affect the quality of a book edit. Identify which style manual should guide the editing and whether the editors have expertise in applying that style. The Chicago Manual of Style is the … [Read more...]
Recent Comments