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Search Results for:
finding a balance
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Finding a Balance Between Writing and Marketing
Note from Jane: The following post by Joshua Graham (@J0shuaGraham) is the third in a series sponsored by Nook Press, offering tips and advice ...
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February 14, 2014
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Creativity
3 Principles for Finding Time to Write
How do you navigate the writing life when you have an intense day job? Does such a thing as work-life ...
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September 25, 2018
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Improve Your Writing
Scene, Summary, Postcard: 3 Types of Scenes in Commercial, Upmarket, and Literary Fiction
Understanding how to use them, and how to balance different types of scenes within a single narrative, is crucial for ...
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February 22, 2024
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Fiction Craft
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Guest Post
The First Rule of Writing Is Writer’s Block Does Not Exist
Writer’s block is an excuse, based on fear, that gives us permission to quit as soon as writing gets hard ...
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January 31, 2024
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Creativity
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Guest Post
Add a Luke Skywalker Moment: Give Your Main Character a Bitter Choice
For a memorable story, give your main character a strong motive, a flaw, and a series of escalating decisions leading ...
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December 14, 2023
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Fiction Craft
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Guest Post
How to Successfully Pitch Op-Eds and Timely Cultural Pieces
Writing an opinion piece about a topic in the news or in the zeitgeist is a way for even inexperienced ...
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August 29, 2023
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Author Platform
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Freelancing
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Guest Post
First Page Critique: Defining the Scope of Your Memoir
Readers don’t want to start a memoir already knowing the ending, but it’s important that your pitch specifically defines your ...
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June 28, 2023
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Ask the Editor
How Two Authors Collaborated on a Biography
The recently published LISTEN, WORLD! is a page turning biography of Elsie Robinson, the most read woman journalist of the twentieth ...
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March 29, 2023
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Author Q&A
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Guest Post
What Memoirists Can Learn from Historical Novelists
Writers of both genres have to make decisions that somehow mold real people and events into a story with a ...
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March 23, 2023
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
Backstory Is Essential to Story—Except When It’s Not
Focus on the main story’s forward momentum, and use backstory as the seasoning that makes the stew ...
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January 10, 2023
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
When You Change Alongside Your Book: Q&A with Mansi Shah
THE TASTE OF GINGER author discusses challenges in her quest for publication, writing about the immigrant experience, and much more ...
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March 3, 2022
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Author Q&A
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Guest Post
How Important Is Genre When Pitching and Promoting Your Book?
Two literary agents discuss the usefulness and limits of assigning a genre to writing, and how it’s perceived by publishers ...
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February 23, 2022
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Queries & Synopses
A Year Without Social Media as a Freelance Writer
For freelancers, forgoing social media can mean giving up crucial visibility. But it can also provide time to focus on ...
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February 15, 2022
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
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Social Media
Choose the Perfect Title for Your Novel or Memoir: 7 Authors Offer Tips
Giving your book a good title that captures the essence of your story is one of the most important things you’ll ...
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December 13, 2021
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Marketing & Promotion
Advanced Self-Editing Master Class with Roz Morris
This class is now over and is unavailable for purchase. Sign up to receive announcements about upcoming classes. The magic happens ...
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January 28, 2021
Embracing a Creative Pivot: Q&A with Darien Hsu Gee
Author Darien Hsu Gee discusses writing and publishing across multiple genres, going back for her MFA at age 50, and ...
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January 19, 2021
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Author Q&A
6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction
Whether grappling with believable world-building or adherence to historical accuracy, these six tips will help you navigate this daunting genre ...
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July 14, 2020
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
Writing, Pitching & Promoting in the Age of the Coronavirus
In this Q&A, agents Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti tackle the complications of authorship and literary citizenship in ...
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June 16, 2020
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
Choosing a Publicist: Ruling Out and Ruling In
There are a lot of publicists out there. How can you pick the right one? This is a crucial decision, ...
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May 20, 2019
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Guest Post
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Marketing & Promotion
Nonfiction Writers: Beware the Curse of Knowledge
Few of your readers care about what you know, no matter how many years you have spent accumulating that wisdom ...
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August 13, 2018
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
How to Stay Sane While You Publish
To some degree, we get to pick and choose our publishing and publicity tasks. Sometimes we forget this and freak ...
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June 25, 2018
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Creativity
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Guest Post
Starting Later & Starting Over: Launching a Writing Career When You’re No Longer “Young”
Seven-figure deals seem to be given to more 20-something debut writers than debut writers in any other age group, yet ...
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May 14, 2018
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Author Earnings & Careers
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Guest Post
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Literary Agents
5 On: Ian Thomas Healy
In this 5 On interview, author and publisher Ian Thomas Healy shares what he learned from his experiences with literary ...
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March 26, 2018
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5 On
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Author Q&A
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Guest Post
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literary agents
What You Need to Write Your First Book After Age 50
First and foremost: Set realistic goals. Is this book going to change your life? No. After publication, you will not ...
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March 22, 2018
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Creativity
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Guest Post
AWP 2018: Tips on the Business of Writing and Publishing
For AWP 2018, I hired a team of writers to help me cover business-related sessions, as part of the launch ...
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March 12, 2018
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Author Earnings & Careers
Ethics & the Literary Agent: What Rights Do Authors Have?
What should writers do if they feel that an agent isn’t honoring their obligations, contractual or otherwise? What's the best ...
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November 30, 2017
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Guest Post
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Literary Agents
Reader Analytics from Jellybooks: Crunching the Numbers to Improve Book Marketing and Sales
Reader analytics measures the strength of reader engagement with a book. This data helps publishers more effectively market and promote ...
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July 27, 2017
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Marketing & Promotion
3 Myths About the MFA in Creative Writing
Most writers want an MFA for one of three reasons: They want to teach writing, they want to get published, ...
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July 20, 2016
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Author Earnings & Careers
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Guest Post
5 On: Rufi Thorpe
Author Rufi Thorpe discusses writing for men, her improbable path to publication, what she likes to see in a book ...
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May 18, 2016
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5 On
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Author Q&A
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male and female narrators
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publishing
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writing
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writing for men
Pinterest for Authors: A Beginner’s Guide
Learn four reasons writers might want to use Pinterest, how to best use the platform, and best practices to get ...
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February 22, 2016
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author promotion
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book marketing and promotion
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Marketing & Promotion
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social media
3 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Chances with an Agent
Editor and writing coach Rebecca Faith Heyman discusses three ways you might be sabotaging your prospects with an agent (and ...
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November 17, 2015
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Getting Published
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Guest Post
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literary agents
The Basics of Point of View for Fiction Writers
Writer Joseph Bates explains all the point-of-view options for your novel and how to choose the best point of view ...
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November 11, 2015
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fiction craft
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fiction writing
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Guest Post
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Improve Your Writing
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novel writing
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point of view
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POV
How to Find the Right Critique Group or Partner for You
Brooke McIntyre of Inked Voices explains what to look for in a critique group and how to find the best ...
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June 10, 2015
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conference
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Creativity
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critique
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Guest Post
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NaNoWriMo
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writers groups
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writing advice
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writing partner
How to Connect With More Readers in Just 5 Minutes
If you're having trouble finding your audience, your message may not be connecting with readers on a personal level. Here's ...
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June 17, 2013
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audience development
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Guest Post
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Marketing & Promotion
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readers