Ask the Editor

Writing Back Cover Copy for Your Nonfiction Book

Filed in Writing Tips by Erika Bennett on August 27, 2019 • 0 Comments

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 […]

15 Phrases that Signal Your Writing Went Off Topic

Filed in Ask the Editor by Erika Bennett on August 22, 2019 • 0 Comments

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 […]

Mid-Year Writing Check-In

Filed in Writing Tips by Erika Bennett on August 20, 2019 • 0 Comments

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 […]

Great Beginnings: Starting a Novel

Filed in Writing Tips by Elaine Retty on August 15, 2019 • 0 Comments

By your side is a ratty notebook, bruised black and blue with the smeared ink of furiously scribbled ideas that came to you at midnight, dotted with translucence from the epiphany you had about your villain, while still wet from a shower. You’ve finally decided to write the story that has been stirring around in your […]

Commonly Misused Words—and How to Avoid Them

Filed in Ask the Editor, Writing Tips by Amy Sleper on August 13, 2019 • 2 Comments

We’ve all been there, whether we’re thumb-typing a text (curse you, autocorrect!), drafting a resume, or sending an email to our boss: after hitting “send” we realize we’ve misusing a word that has a doppelganger with a completely different meaning. Just as this happens regularly in everyday communication, commonly misused words regularly litter the pages […]