Don’t get ripped off by Author Solutions or any of its subsidiaries Recently I received a pitch from a publicist offering me a review copy of a new book. I was interested in the subject matter (Christianity and American history) and captivated by the story behind the book (a family wanted to share a [...]
Angela Hoy with Writers Weekly has compiled a list of “publishers” and service providers that all authors should avoid I wrote Simple Facts About Self-Publishing after seeing too many aspiring authors get ripped off by “publishers” who charge a lot of money and deliver poor quality work or no work at all. Even though [...]
The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need: Your One-Stop Source for Mastering English Grammar (Updated Edition) Susan Thurman Adams Media It’s a song I sing over and over: Grammar matters. The type of communication (speaking or writing, formal or informal) doesn’t matter. What matters is that you do it correctly, clearly, and consistently. That’s [...]
Years ago, a client gave me the draft of the dedication of his book. His goal was to recognize and express his gratitude to a friend and colleague who had recently died. After several sentences of well-deserved praise, he ended with, “I was honored to call him my friend.” When you think about that, [...]
There’s a great new free Chrome plugin that any author who sells books on Amazon should check out: WriterWatch. It’s from the makers of Publisher Rocket (a tool I use and enthusiastically recommend) and Atticus. Here’s what WriterWatch can do: Daily price checks on your books, whether you changed the price or someone else [...]
What’s stopping you from getting that project written? Merriam-Webster defines writer’s block as: A psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece. Dictionary.com’s definition is a little less intimidating: A usually temporary condition in which a writer finds it impossible to proceed with the writing of a novel, play, or other work. [...]
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that Gen Z (those born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s) will make up about 30 percent of the U.S. civilian workforce by 2030, filling nearly 50 million jobs. That 30 percent estimate is likely to apply globally. Every generation uses slang unique to its time and place. [...]
This is one of those quirky grammar rules that can be confounding because the rule for speaking differs from the rule for writing. Ordinal numbers show order, or a position in a series: first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), and so on. Cardinal numbers show an amount: one (1), two (2), three (3), and [...]
Writing Tip for Opinion Essays Make Your Point and Stay on Point To persuade your readers, stay focused I enjoy reading opinion essays—and there’s no shortage of them these days. But whether you’re a nationally syndicated columnist or an amateur blogger, you need to do these two things to create an effective opinion piece: [...]
The primary responsibilities of ghostwriters are simple and clear. We are to produce the manuscripts our clients want under the terms of our contracts. But there are times when the process can get a little blurry and we need to go beyond just writing. President Joe Biden’s ghostwriter is currently taking a lot of [...]
