• Said Is Dead: 141 Synonyms for “Said”

    - By 

    You are doing everything possible to make your writing better, tighter, and more interesting, but are you still using “dead words?” These are words that are simply just too plain, bland, and vague to be included in your awesome writing. One of the most notorious “dead words” is “said.” But dialogue is important! I hear you. It is also important to show readers exactly how something is communicated. Think: what emotion is behind this dialogue? What picture do I want to paint? This is where synonyms come in handy.  To help you get started, we compiled a list of alternatives to the dreaded “said.” With this…

  • 75 synonyms for the word "looked".

    Well Looky Here! 75 Different Synonyms for the Word “Look”

    - By 

    It’s easy to find yourself stuck when writing—you want to add color, depth, and description to your writing, but that requires, well, you know, words. Sometimes those words are hard to conjure up! We definitely get it. To help you out, here are 75 different synonyms to use instead of the word “looked.” (A word which can be used a few different ways, so for good measure we’ve given you a little bit of everything). So throw those watered-down verbs out the window, and start plugging these synonyms for “looked” into your writing today!

  • Your target audience matters! Follow along as we go into the reasons why.

    Why Your Target Audience Matters

    - By 

    You’ve done it! You’ve written your book and have committed to publishing it. You’re probably excited to share the final product with the whole world. Well, maybe not the entire world, but your target audience is definitely all Christian readers, right? Think again. Believe it or not, many authors enter the publishing process with their target audience focused on Christian readers of all ages. In other words, people ranging from elementary school to the nursing home. This wide range of potential readers doesn’t help when crafting the book’s content and marketing efforts to the right readers. Limitation is actually a good thing. One important step is defining the target…

  • Why Social Media Posts Do Not Make A Book

    - By 

    Since I began working at Xulon almost three years ago, I’ve noticed trends come and go from the hundreds–wait, probably thousands by now–of manuscripts I’ve read, reviewed, critiqued, and edited. Recently, one of the trends I’ve noticed is authors turning their social media posts into books. Allow me to explain. There are so many social media platforms now, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or Snapchat, they’re all here to serve a different purpose: post pictures, post videos, post a status, or send a message. While their deliveries may vary (pictures, videos, 140-character limit status), they all serve one person:…