Writing Tips

5 Apps & Websites That Bestselling Authors Can’t Live Without

Filed in Writing Tips by Elaine Retty on May 6, 2016 • 8 Comments

Do you need help finding that perfect word, simplifying your sentences, or discovering inspiration? There is a website or desktop app to help, and they aren’t just for those tech-savvy friends who are always glued to their e-readers.Website and app developers have built some wonderfully helpful resources for you to be a better, faster, cleaner […]

20 Commonly Misused Words

Filed in Writing Tips by Blair Townley on April 1, 2016 • 7 Comments

We remember it fondly from our elementary school days: if you can’t recall how to spell a word, sound it out! As adults, we might follow the same tactic when trying to rack our brains to produce that one word we know how to spell, but can’t piece together the correct letters. However, sounding out […]

Citations 101: What Goes In Your Book’s Bibliography?

Filed in Writing Tips by Taylor Graham on March 9, 2016 • 0 Comments

In college, I took my papers to the writing center solely to have my bibliographies checked. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what goes in a citation within the text, what goes in the bibliography, or the proper punctuation within the two. I was always amazed at the students who worked in the […]

Writing Tips: 5 Things Every Devotional Should Contain

Filed in Writing Tips by Taylor Graham on February 19, 2016 • 2 Comments

One of the most popular types of manuscripts we publish at Xulon Press is a devotional. While a writing a devotional may sound like a simple task, there are many that lack the basic “bones” every devotional needs to be successful (and most of all, helpful to the reader). So, here’s a list of what […]

Self-Editing: What To Leave On the Cutting Room Floor

Filed in Ask the Editor, Writing Tips by Taylor Graham on December 28, 2015 • 5 Comments

Often when I am thumbing through submissions at Xulon, reading a manuscript for our critique service, or simply editing a whole manuscript, I quickly pick up on a lot of material that is—in a word—unnecessary. If you’ve ever gotten our Editorial Critique, Manuscript Review, or had your book edited by me, you’ve more than likely received a comment or […]