[Podcast] How to Overcome the Initial Shock of a Developmental Edit podcast post Jun 19, 2023

Every book needs a developmental edit. Even professional writers do. In fact, professional writers crave developmental editing, because they know they don’t know it all.

But too many new...

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[Blog] What Is Cohesion and Resonance in Nonfiction Writing? tipster post May 26, 2023

By: Melissa Parks

I learned an important lesson about cohesion when we bought our 1923 brick bungalow 23 years ago and I painted my hallway pineapple yellow.

The color wasn’t a problem except...

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[Blog] Tasty Quotes Make Tasty Writing tipster post May 12, 2023

By: Melissa Parks

My husband reads car repair manuals.

I’m grateful he has the brain to persist through that dreary copy—because when you own three used cars with hundreds of thousands...

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[Podcast] Cristen Iris on Thinking Like a Filmmaker When Writing Your Memoir podcast post May 10, 2023

Commercially viable memoirs are akin to novels. They engage the reader through storytelling techniques.

But new memoirists struggle to write an engaging story. They spend too much time inside...

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[Blog] Don't Bury the Lede tipster post May 05, 2023

By: Dave Goetz

Don’t bury the lede.

That is a principle that can be applied to many forms of writing.

It is especially true in hard reporting stories.

In journalism, the “lede” or...

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[Podcast] Emily Enger on Good Enough Book Marketing for Fiction and Creative Writers podcast post Apr 25, 2023

“You need to hire a PR firm.”

“You need a large social media following.”

“You need to appear on radio and TV.”

Book marketing is overwhelming. Hop onto Google...

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[Blog] Only Training Can Show You How to Create a Scene tipster post Apr 21, 2023

By: Dave Goetz

I don’t think you can really learn to write. Which is why few fine art programs in writing turn out prolific writers.

Mostly, you need to be trained to write.

You train...

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[Blog] What I Learned from My Meeting with a Literary Agent tipster post Apr 14, 2023

By: Melissa Parks

Before lockdown in March 2020, an HGTV producer (the team behind The Property Brothers) wanted to talk with me about developing a TV show around flea market decorating.

I’m...

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[Podcast] View Your Time Set Aside for Writing as Sacred podcast post Mar 24, 2023

Is your writing time sacred?

Typically, people use the word ‘sacred’ to define what we’ve written. Confessional writing, memoirs, poetry and some narrative fiction are considered...

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[Podcast] Rosanne Bane on How to Overcome Writer’s Block podcast post Mar 10, 2023

Do you feel an overwhelming amount of stress and anxiety when you think about writing?

Do you blame yourself when you don’t write?

Do you feel lazy, unimaginative, or self-indulgent when you...

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[Podcast] Bryan Cohen on How to Sell Your Self-Published Book with Amazon Ads podcast post Feb 27, 2023

Just publishing a book isn’t enough to get people to see it. You have to promote it, tooOne of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to get people to notice your book is through...

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[Blog] How to Structure Your Book - Movements tipster post Feb 23, 2023

By: Melissa Parks

It was a hallelujah day when my Tupperware drawer stopped shaming me for being dysfunctional.

Pieces we inherited after dinner at friends’ homes were tossed. Pieces that...

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