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...
Why Silent Cartoon Zig and Sharko Offers the Perfect Writing Exercise
From time to time, I like to indulge in bad TV like Mechagodzilla or Xena: Warrior Princess. Those kinds of shows let me zone out for a while, and their absurdity serves as a counterweight...
7 Tips for Better Book Comps
Finding comps -- comparable titles -- is an essential part of the book querying process, as they are a shorthand that let agents and publishers know what your manuscript is like. This video highlights key...
Got a Lot of Browser Tabs Open as a Writer? Try This Option to Get Organized
Ah, the age-old writer problem...having so many browser tabs open your brain cries. Typically, I'm pretty time-crunched through my day. (Anybody else relate?) So, for many tasks, it's efficient for me to leave my browser...