Tips, How-Tos, and Guides

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4 Tips for a Stronger Sponsor Read or Ad Copy

I hear tons of ads and sponsor reads every day, often on places like MPR and YouTube. And if you're like me, you might have noticed something: Everything. Sounds. Alike. KitLittle from Pixabay As I explain in...

How to Use How to Use Metaphor, Simile, and Other Analogy Well in Writing

Writing is like giving away the few loaves and fishes one has, trusting that they will multiply in the giving. Once we dare to "give away" on paper the few thoughts that come to us,...
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Are You Forgetting Your Storytelling?

You have expertise. You put it in a listicle format so it's easy for people to digest. Nobody reads. Why? Tony Tran on Unsplash Because you're probably treating your bullet points or sections like encyclopedia entries. You...

The Key Element That Makes a Great First Line

Whether you're writing the next 1984 or conjuring a regency proposal a la Bridgerton, a great opening will make or break your fiction book.  But how do you really hook a reader? Ekaterina79 from Getty Images Signature...

The Anatomy of a Book Proposal

Unless you plan to self-publish your non-fiction (which is a perfectly valid path), getting your book to readers requires building a book proposal. This is a document that gives an agent or publisher detailed information...

3 Tips for Writing on the Go

I've freelanced from home for years. But I CANNOT stay in my abode every. Single. Day. I end up like Peter from Office Space, leaving for lunch at 9:30 a.m. I follow these 3 basic...

How to Use Credit Card Rewards to Support Your Writing

About a year back, I did something spectacular for a writer to do -- I bricked my less-than-a-year-old laptop. It was an odd accident that shouldn't have made the machine completely unusable. Nevertheless, I had...

3 Ways to Keep Your Writing Research Organized and Under Control

The original version of this post appeared June 13, 2021 in The Writing Cooperative on Medium. I’m a writer by trade. But sometimes when people ask what I do, I jokingly tell them I Google for...

How to Find a Literary Agent

You don't HAVE to use a traditional publisher for your book. But if you want to, getting a literary agent is a must. Vitor Dutra Kaosnoff from Pixabay In this video, I break down my 10 years of querying...

Got Multiple Writing Projects? Take the Time to Do This 1 Thing

There's tons of advice out there about how to overcome writer's block. But what if you have so many ideas you're overwhelmed? This video explains why making a simple list of all the projects I've...