• Your book opening is the place where readers will decide to keep reading or set aside your book — no pressure. Here are 10 tips for a better book opening ...

    10 Tips for a Better Book Opening

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    The opening of your book is the place where readers will decide to keep reading or set aside your book — no pressure. So, your opening pages need to jump straight into your story without dawdling on about the protagonist’s history or how he/she ended up in the current predicament. The back story is 100% necessary for you, as the writer to know ahead of time. You’ll need to develop all that information before you begin to type the first page of your book. That background work, however, will only slow your readers down and bore them if you drop…

  • A “beach read” is a book typically set at or near the beach, published in late spring to early summer. Here's what your book needs in order to fit in the...

    Beach Read Writing: Here’s What You Need to Know

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    A “beach read” is a book typically set at or near the beach, published in late spring to early summer. The intent for this popular sub-genre is to have these be the books people take to their summer vacations. The cover designs are typically colorful, with beachy aspects incorporated. Beach reads have been around for decades but didn’t become a popular sub-genre until a few years ago. This is mostly thanks to the authors who put out a summer-themed book every year at the start of summer vacation travel. Some of the big hitters in the beach read genre include Elin…

  • Setting writing goals to keep yourself accountable is so important. But before we get started on tips for setting goals, it's important to understand goa...

    Set and Meet Summer Writing Goals

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    A common challenge a writer can face is that there’s no one to tell them what to do, when to do it, how to do it, or even if they’ve done it well. That’s why setting writing goals to keep yourself accountable is so important. And with summer officially beginning this weekend, now’s the perfect time to set them. Before we get started on tips for setting goals, it’s important to understand goals first. For example, while some may yearn to become a millionaire novelist, that’s not a goal — it’s a dream. And the only way you’ll achieve dreams…

  • It’s the perfect time of year to spend more time reading. Here are 10 ways you can become a better reader: 1. Set aside a designated time to read somewhe...

    10 Ways to Become a Better Reader

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    Now that summer is upon us, it’s the perfect time of year to spend more time reading, and becoming a better reader isn’t just about reading more books. Focusing on bettering your reading skill is about identifying the types of books you do and don’t like to read, learning not to force yourself to read books you know you won’t like, and finding ways to socialize in a way that involves books, such as book clubs and #bookstagram on social media. Here are 10 ways you can become a better reader:   1. Set aside a designated time to read…