It takes a lot of effort to put together a book, whether you're working as a team with a publisher, or going the indie route and doing it yourself. There are final edits to do/check, book covers to organize/approve of, and print and ebook files to wrangle together. By the time your book is ready …
Continue reading 7 Author Essentials To Get In Place Before Releasing A Book
Almost every step of the writing process has elements that can mess with your head. There are the characters that won't stop talking when you're writing. The endless editing that has you correcting words in your sleep. Writing queries or a one-page synopsis (one page!) and dealing with generic rejections that give no clue about …
Continue reading How To Keep Yourself Sane When Self-Publishing
As has been the basis for my posts since I started this blog in 2017, I write about where I'm at in my writing journey, what I'm learning, and hope that you find it just as helpful. This means today's blog is about what to include in an ARC (advanced reader copy), something I've only …
I don't know how it was for you, but for me, 2019 went by in a blink. As is the tradition of the last few years, this week's blog is a roundup of some of your favorite posts, my favorite posts, and other writerly/life lessons discovered throughout the year. Blog Posts Your Favorite Blog Posts …
The real truth of writing is that you will spend a lot of time editing. A. Lot. Of. Time. Hours, weeks, months, sometimes even years (or at least, what feels like years). When the rush of new ideas is gone. When the thrill of filling in plot holes and working out twists is over. When …
Writing a book takes time. Even if you're a fast drafter and can put something together in a matter of weeks instead of months or years, working through the multiple drafts it takes to reach the final draft is still tough. You're so exhausted at the end, that the thought of starting again at a blank …
When you've been working on your manuscript for several years, you've read it more than a few times. In fact, you've probably read it so much you can quote whole paragraphs from it. It's a side effect of reading your words repeatedly, and the editing, rewriting, proofing—and let's just throw another edit in there because …
Continue reading Reading Your Book: Thoughts That Run Through Your Head
When you find a good beta reader, it's like striking gold. Suddenly you have riches of feedback to help shape your story into the MS you set out to write when you typed the first sentence. It's natural to want to return the favor and help another writer. Beta reading for others will also help you …
Continue reading The Do’s And Don’ts Of Being A Good Beta Reader
When you decide to be a writer, you've got to start somewhere. That somewhere usually includes a place where you have no idea what you're doing, hate everything you write, don't feel as if you're a writer—let alone a good one, and someone who feels like it's a constant struggle to even get words down on the page. …
Continue reading 4 Signs You’re No Longer A Beginning Writer
K.M. Allan 