Tag: writing tips

How to Add Subplots to Your Novel and Why You Need Them

Filed in Writing Tips by Erika Bennett on September 10, 2019 • 0 Comments

While your main plot is solely focused on your protagonist and his or her outcome, subplots serve as side stories to the main plot and tend to focus on secondary characters. Subplots should not overpower the main plot, but instead, strengthen the story and more develop the theme of your novel. The How While short […]

Showing Characters’ Moods and Emotions

Filed in Writing Tips by Erika Bennett on September 5, 2019 • 0 Comments

Whether you’ve been writing for decades or are just embarking on your first writing journey, you’ve likely heard the phrase “show, don’t tell” ad nauseum. It’s one writing rule that applies to every genre because it makes or breaks the reading experience for your end-user—the reader. When we take it upon ourselves to tell readers […]

Writers, Tell Your Story on Instagram

Filed in Marketing Your Book by Erika Bennett on August 29, 2019 • 0 Comments

The thought of branding and marketing yourself as a person—let alone a writer—can feel like a challenge. With social media’s continued growth, however, it’s easier than ever to create and cultivate your online persona. Instagram, for instance, isn’t even a decade into its existence yet and has 1 billion active monthly users. So, if you […]

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 […]