• Writing a great author bio is incredibly important, but that doesn't mean it's easy to do. Read along as we navigate ways to write an author bio!

    Writing a Great Author Bio

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    Your manuscript is done. It has been through the rewrite and revision, beta reading, and editing processes. You can see the finish line, and you are so ready to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing over that invisible line. Then, your dreams come to screeching halt! Your publisher asks you to submit your author bio. For a moment, you consider tossing the whole idea of becoming an author out the window because of one paragraph. I get it—the idea of having to write about yourself and your accomplishments seems hard. Instead, let’s look at author bios as…

  • Hello, My Name Is: How a Great Intro Will Chart Your Book’s Path.

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      Why Writing an Introduction Helps Chart Your Book’s Path. Imagine you have a map in front of you, but for some reason there is no starting point to lead your journey in the right direction. The same sentiment can be felt when you read a manuscript that doesn’t have a Preface/Introduction/Prologue section to briefly explain to readers the purpose of the book; it gives a fifty-fifty shot to readers of whether they will understand the book’s purpose within the first few pages or not at all. So, what better way to begin your book “on the right foot” than by creating an engaging…

  • Moving Foreword, Xulon Press Ask the Editor

    Ask the Editor: Moving Foreword

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    I confess: I started to do a bit of research on the history of the Foreword and had to force myself to stop almost immediately when I began deeper investigation of philology and the Dutch, or possibly German, roots of the word itself. (It happens like that for me sometimes. Research is addicting.) A previous post, Front Matters, explained the traditional intentions of some of the bits of, yes, front matter, the introductory sections that precede the beginning of your story proper. This being Academia month, we thought we’d focus on an element of FM (that’s industry lingo for front…

  • Xulon Press Ask the Editor

    Ask the Editor: Front Matters

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    Until recently, most incoming manuscripts to Xulon HQ had a title page and, maybe, an Acknowledgements page. This month, however, we have been inundated with Prefaces, Introductions, Author’s Notes, Forewords, and every flavor of frontmatter that only people who are paid to care about can actually define. Usually.