Why I Left Facebook
I understand that it is a challenge to leave a platform that makes staying in touch with friends and family literally around the world so convenient. We write one post and everyone we are connected to can see it. That is so much easier than 2,793 phone calls or emails in order to let someone know that we had avocado toast for breakfast.
Do You Know Your Genre?
Genre has to do with the content of what you write, not the age level for which you write. For example, I could write a sci-fi murder mystery romance for middle grade, or for YA, or for adults. The age group does not affect my genre (except that I probably won’t add a sex scene in the MG version, obvs).
Do You Write Fantasy or Do You Write Magical Realism?
I know you don’t write magical realism. Okay, I’m 99.9% sure. And how do I know this, you ask as you pound your desk in consternation and insist that I am wrong and that OF COURSE you write magical realism?
Please Don’t Give Away Your Work for Free
The other day, I saw a tweet that someone posted about working for free. The person is a book cover designer and is (I assume) trying to grow a new business by offering free book cover designs in exchange for reviews on social media sites. I can only guess that the intention is a signal boost for the designer’s website.
“I’m Talking Here!” How to Make Sure Your Dialogue Can Stand On Its Own
Recently, I was participating in an online discussion with my fellow editors at Angelella Editorial about dialogue. We were all musing about why some clients seem to nail dialogue and others seem to write long passages that sound robotic. You know who never wrote robotic dialogue? Elmore Leonard. He is my personal god, and I…
Grammar Rant 1/10/19: “Awe” versus “Aww”
In this edition of Grammar Rant, I give you “awe” versus “aww.”
Skip the New Year’s Writing Resolutions
Stop making lists of resolutions. Don’t even say that you are going to write after the kids go to bed every night for two hours. You can’t make that promise to yourself and it isn’t realistic.
Done With NaNoWriMo? Take a Netflix Study Break
Like many of my friends, you may have just finished NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which (if you’re not familiar with it) is that glorious time of year when writers purposely impose upon themselves, right at the beginning of the holiday season, an insanely ambitious deadline to write an entire novel of at least…
Grammar Rant 11/14/18
Woah, Nelly! That is one major spelling error! It’s a simple error, but one that I see even the most learned of my colleagues make on a regular basis. And I’ve even seen it in books from reputable publishers, which makes me cringe and want to send a tersely worded email to their copy editors.…