• stack of books with plant as bookend and in front of white wall; Do I Need an Epilogue?

    Do I Need an Epilogue?

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    If you read a lot of novels, you’ve seen that some authors will use an epilogue at the end of their books. The sole purpose is to tie up loose ends from your story — or potentially set the readers up to expect a sequel. An epilogue has to be strong if it’s going to make it through a round of professional editing. If it’s not, you may get a note back from your editor that it needs to be incorporated into the actual ending of your novel. That’s the tricky part about epilogues — it can’t be used to hide the fact…

  • woman holding green hardcover book; what you need to know about the epilogue

    What You Need to Know about the Epilogue

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    There you are, finishing up the last chapter of your story. However, the work doesn’t feel quite done yet. Somehow, there’s still more to be said beyond the falling actions of your story. Enter the epilogue. All great stories require a great conclusion that leaves readers stirring on the implications of the narrative and feeling fulfilled with their time spent reading. No one likes to be left hanging! What Is an Epilogue? An epilogue is “a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work.”1 In layman’s terms, it’s a section separate from the final chapter of a fiction book that helps…

  • By beginning and ending them in the perfect moments of your story, your chapter breaks can build suspense and keep your readers reading. Try these tips f...

    Tips For How to End a Chapter

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    At some point in writing your manuscript you’ll be faced with the decision of where you want your chapter breaks to go. How you end your chapter is especially important in a novel. By beginning and ending them in the perfect moments of your story, your chapter breaks can build suspense and keep your readers reading. For some, deciding where chapters end might be a challenging decision. Whether this is you or not, these next few tips for ending chapters are sure to be helpful for your next writing session: Don’t Include Chapters In Your Outline. A lot of writers…

  • Does your book need an introduction? How do you write one? One of our editors breaks down 4 reasons why your book needs an introduction.

    4 Reasons Your Book Needs An Introduction

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    Introductions are really important when you first meet someone. It’s what lays the foundation for how you each come across. The same applies to introductions in books. When a reader isn’t properly acquainted from right the start, the rest of the conversation can get pretty awkward. Here are four reasons why you need an introduction section to start your book off on the right page. (Sorry: silly book pun!) To tell readers what they are going to be reading. This is probably the biggest reason to have an introduction in your manuscript. Readers aren’t mind-readers (and neither are editors). In…