• Writers, Tell Your Story on Instagram

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    The thought of branding and marketing yourself as a person—let alone a writer—can feel like a challenge. With social media’s continued growth, however, it’s easier than ever to create and cultivate your online persona. Instagram, for instance, isn’t even a decade into its existence yet and has 1 billion active monthly users. So, if you don’t have an Instagram account to promote yourself as a writer or published author yet, now is the time to sign-up, create your profile, and start engaging. Not sure where to start? Here are our top tips for creating a great Instagram profile and sharing…

  • Writing Back Cover Copy for Your Nonfiction Book

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    Writing back cover copy for nonfiction books is significantly different than writing back cover copy for fiction. Nonfiction readers care more about who is providing the information. These readers want to know they are receiving help or education from an expert on a particular topic. Nonfiction back cover copy must spell out the benefits for readers as well as the author’s expertise in order for the book to be taken seriously. Do you still feel like writing your back cover copy is as difficult as drafting your resume? Here are four tips to maximize your nonfiction back cover copy: No…

  • 15 Phrases that Signal Your Writing Went Off Topic

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    Throughout my experience as an editor, I’ve found that nonfiction writers are more inclined to go off topic than fiction writers. I believe passion plays a huge role in writers’ rabbit holes, tangents, and off-topic stories or anecdotes. When writers are angry, allow their personal biases to seep through their work, or let their passions run wild on paper, that is when I see writers jump the tracks from the purpose of their book and digress into uncharted territory. Over the years, I’ve heard writers defend their side topics. “But it adds color to my writing,” they will say, or…

  • How are your yearly writing goals coming along? It's time for your mid-year writing check-in. Don't worry, there's still plenty of time to reset!

    Mid-Year Writing Check-In

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    People all around the world add “write a book” to their list of resolutions at the start of each year. By July many forgot they made that promise to themselves. Life gets busy and responsibilities start to stack up. Dreams of becoming an author slip to the wayside—only to be dusted off at the onset of another new year. Did you promise yourself you would finish a writing project this year and stalled out somewhere between January and now? Don’t worry, there’s still time to focus back in and accomplish your writing goals before 2019 comes to an end. Here…