I regularly see social media posts from aspiring fiction authors looking for tips on writing their first novel. But there is more to writing than just writing. At least, according to Stephen King: I’ve been reading Christian fiction for over twenty years. I’ve seen trends come and trends go, which means I’ve got a good …
I often see writers discussing whether their characters have to be likeable. Obviously not all characters have to be likeable: the role of the antagonist is often to be unlikeable. But what about our main character? Do our main characters have to be likeable? Is this a good #WriteTip, or more #BadWritingAdvice? In my manuscript …
Yes, this is another post taken from a question I saw in a Facebook group: How do you market your books in a way that shows humility and points to Christ? The fact you’re asking this question means you’re already well on the way to making sure your marketing is focused on God, not you. …
How long should a novel be? This is a common question from first-time authors. Unfortunately, the answer is often vague: it depends. First, let’s discuss the way we measure the length of a novel. It was too difficult to count words in the days before word processors with an automatic word count feature, so manuscript …
Dear Editor: Should we Capitalize Deity Pronouns? This question has recently been raised in one of the (many) Facebook groups I’m a member of. This group happened to be a Christian reader group, but it’s a question that seemingly flummoxes readers and writers alike. Do we need to capitalize personal pronouns when referring to God? …
Authors (and readers) woke up over the weekend and found that thousands of books had disappeared from the Amazon store. Only they hadn’t. Really. Except they had. Let’s take a look … Here is the paperback version of Solo Tu by Narelle Atkins on Amazon.com: It’s USD 8.99, which is around NZ 13.36 (or NZD …
It’s an awkward situation. An author friend has asked you to beta-read their book, and you agreed. But it needs work. What do you say when giving feedback? Here are four possible approaches to giving feedback: Be complimentary Be clueless Be complimentary and critical Be critical Be Complimentary Personally, I don’t think being complimentary is …
Today I’m answering three questions I often get asked in relation to reviewing: Should I recommend books I haven’t read? Can I copy my reviews? What can I do if my reviews are deleted? Should I Recommend Books I Haven’t Read? Can you review books you haven’t read on Amazon? Yes—just look at all the …
Book reviews are for readers. But not all reviews are written with the reader in mind. So when is a book review not a book review? When is it an endorsement? And when is it influencing? First, let’s define reviewing, endorsing, & influencing. For our purposes, a book review is just that—a review of a …
This week I’m addressing a question many authors ask: should authors review? First, let’s back up to a more important question: Should authors read? Yes! “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” (Stephen King, On Writing) My personal view is that authors …
