• A common mistake my editing eye has picked up on is the use of filler words. These words elongate your book but don't advance your story. Here are 10 wor...

    10 Filler Words to Cut from Your Manuscript

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    Editing your own writing will never be the easiest part of the writing journey, but knowing what to look for can make the task a whole lot simpler. Working with the publishing company Xulon Press for a decade now has taught me a lot to say the least. A common mistake my editing eye has picked up on is what I like to call the use of filler words. Excessive use of these words elongates your manuscript but does not advance your story.  As a rule of thumb, avoid using words that end in -ly, such as quickly, readily, suddenly,…

  • Obviously we’re here because we know book reviews can equal book sales--People want to know what all the buzz is about! The most effective way to get the...

    How To Get Book Reviews

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    1️⃣ Find your target audience. This is the first and most important step. You can put every effort into marketing your book, although you might get some response, it will not be anywhere near successful if you’re not targeting the correct readers. What is or how do you find your target audience you may be wondering? In simple terms, a target audience just means breaking down who you believe your book’s audience is (demographics, location, and interests). For a full breakdown, check out our blog Finding Your Target Audience.  2️⃣ Find blogs with readers that fit your target audience. Now…

  • If you’ve published or want to publish any work you need to know your target audience. We’ll go through the why that is, what it is, and how to go about it.

    Finding Your Target Audience (and why it’s so important).

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    If you’ve published or want to publish any work, whether it’s a novel, a blog, or an essay, you need to know your target audience. While it’s important to reach as many people as possible, and it often seems like focusing only on certain segments of the population is limiting, you need to be direct. We’ll go through the why that is, what it is, and how to go about it. Why You can put every effort into marketing your book, and although you might get some response, it will not be anywhere near as successful as it could be…

  • Sylvia Plath once said, “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” We all have a hopeful goal of an achievement we think will finally get rid of that self-doubt once and for all. “If I become a bestseller,” “If I sell out,” ...

    How To Overcome Self-Doubt As A Writer

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    Sylvia Plath once said, “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”  We all have a hopeful goal of an achievement we think will finally get rid of that self-doubt once and for all. “If I become a bestseller,” “If I sell out,” “If I get a positive review,” “If I win an award,” and on and on. But the truth is every writer has self-doubt. No success will ever fully eliminate that inner critic. Even author Stephen King once said, “I’m afraid of failing at whatever story I’m writing—that it won’t come up for me, or that I won’t be able…