• Great Beginnings: Starting a Novel

    By your side is a ratty notebook, bruised black and blue with the smeared ink of furiously scribbled ideas that came to you at midnight, dotted with translucence from the epiphany you had about your villain, while still wet from a shower.  You’ve finally decided to write the story that has been stirring around in your heart and mind—now what do you start typing on that blank page facing you? How do you introduce readers to the crazy, beautiful world in your head?  Starting a novel is tricky, but those first few lines are vital to your book. The characters, setting,…

  • 15 Things Every Writer Needs On Their Desk

    Painters need a canvas, paint, paintbrushes, and a rolling landscape begging to be painted. Musicians need an instrument, quarter notes on sheet music, and an audience to play for. What do writers need to create their artistic medium of choice? Obviously, a writer needs paper, pen, and an idea. We know it’s not that simple though, right? Writers need inspiration—but how you go about tracking down and bottling that inspiration is different for everyone. Some writers are basic; they need a dictionary and thesaurus for unsticking their brain, and that’s it. Other writers need a desk with a window view and lots…

  • Why Do Authors Pay Per Word For Editing?

    Many authors often ask us, “Why do editors charge per word for their services?” This is a valid question with an answer that may come as a surprise. I’ll do my best to explain this without getting too complicated. Editors charge per word because any time an editor edits a manuscript they read every word. Regardless of whether they end up making a correction to it or not. It’s more than just reading. They don’t just stop there. The editor does a lot more than just read every word. Every word is interpreted and dissected within the sentence to analyze what the author is…

  • 4 Reasons Your Book Needs An Introduction

    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…