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When—and Whether—to Hire a Developmental Editor

A developmental editor is like any tool in your toolbox. Knowing whether and when to use one will help you get the most bang for your buck.
How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author

How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author

Self-publishing offers so many paths and options that it can seem intimidating. One debut novelist shares her journey, with valuable tips.
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How to Find Compelling Comps for Your Book

Identifying comparable titles helps agents and publishers understand where your book fits in the market and who your most likely readers are.
Comprehensive Guide to Finding, Hiring and Working With an Editor

The Comprehensive Guide to Finding, Hiring, and Working with an Editor

This post explains four critical types of book editing, why you need an editor, how to choose one, and what your editor can and cannot do.
Choosing a Publicist: Ruling Out and Ruling In

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, so it needs to be approached with care.
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How Authors Can Find Their Ideal Reading Audience

Writing coach and author Angela Ackerman discusses techniques for identifying and connecting with your target reading audience.
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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 writing critique group for you.
Custom shirts. hoodies, and baseball caps from Dr. Sarita Lyons’ Church Girl merch run, printed by Tee Vision Printing in Philadelphia

What Authors Need to Know About Ordering Wearable Merch

If you’re an author thinking about wearable merch for a book launch or tour, here are some considerations to help the process go smoothly.
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Imposter Syndrome Is Not a Disease or Abnormality

Even successful writers fall prey to self-doubt. Here are a few ways to strengthen yourself if and when you hear that voice in your head.
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How Fear Affects Your Character in Real Time

Fear can limit our ability to apply reason and logic, leading to flawed choices and behavior—bad in real life, but story gold in fiction.
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Nailing Omniscient POV: 5 Guidelines to Captivate (Not Confuse) Readers

Omniscient POV might be resurging, thanks to some recent bestsellers. To use it well, remember three C’s: clarity, consistency, and control.
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How Often Can You Ask Your Reader to Jump?

Transitioning away too often—to a flashback or a new scene—risks losing the depth of storytelling that readers get from living inside a scene.
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Stop Counting Toothbrushes: Find Your Memoir’s Real Story

One memoir coach sees writers rush ahead into chapters and character detail before understanding: Why am I writing this exact story right now?
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Notice What You Notice About the World Around Us

"Noticing what you notice" helps you identify your authentic material and produce work no one can ever copy.
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Creating Microtension in Your Story Through Repetition

A repeated word, phrase, motif, symbol, or image can create tension for your readers in small, barely noticeable increments.
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The Question Every Memoirist Needs to Ask (But Almost No One Does)

Before trying to structure a memoir, you must understand how you’ve changed and what that process looked like—which can be hard to pinpoint.
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Giving Your Characters Serious Challenges May Give Them Delightful Strengths

Most characters have a challenge to overcome, but what about more serious physical or psychological issues that can’t be “cured” or ignored?
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Ghosting Your Own Book: How to Cross the Finish Line When You Want to Run Away

Faced with pursuing publication that might reopen old wounds, one memoirist overcame the challenge with help from therapy, community, and AI.
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How Compassion Changed My Writing

When a writer began to see her mother with compassion, her writing changed—and her stories started getting published.
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Paying for Exposure on Social Media: What Not to Do

An author decides to pay a bookstagrammer for exposure for her book, and comes to regret it so much that she asks the promotion to be deleted.
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Teach Your Book: Designing a Class Around Your Memoir

By teaching one’s own work, a writer discovers not only what they do well, but how others might use such insights to unlock their own drafts.
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What Three-Star Reviews Really Mean for Authors

Readers who give three stars are often responding to the intersection between their expectations and the book—not the book’s inherent worth.
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The Memoir Playbook I Wish More Writers Knew

Three practices separate successful memoirists from those who underestimate the writing craft.
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Why ADHD Writers’ Brains Are Like Lions (and How to Harness Their Power)

By learning to embrace the nonlinear nature of the ADHD brain, you can learn to write with more ease and less frustration.
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Why Your Family Isn’t Supportive When You Publish Your Memoir

Lack of support might come from fears about their own privacy, not understanding the enormity of your achievement, and/or information overload.