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On this page, I link to my best content on writing, editing, publishing, and marketing.

My writing and editing information is mostly geared towards fiction writers, although some of it will also be useful if you write nonfiction (after all, good nonfiction uses stories, and good stories use the techniques of fiction).

My publishing and marketing information has a bias towards the Christian publishing industry (CBA/CRA), although a lot of the information also applies to the general (ABA) market.

Writing, Revision, and Self-editing

How do you write a novel? Here are my top tips:

Genre

Understanding genre is one of the most important aspects of learning to write. Writing in a specific genre means you are writing to a specific audience. Understanding genre will help you with all aspects of publishing, from writing to marketing. Click here to find out more.

Over the last few years, Australasian Christian Writers has posted regular articles discussing different fiction and nonfiction genres. Jeanette O’Hagan summarises the articles in this post.

Plot and Structure

How to Write A Novel | Plot, Structure, and Characterisation  links to my top craft posts on:

  • Defining Christian fiction.
  • An introduction to plot.
  • The three-act structure.
  • Scene structure.
  • Characterisation.
  • Recommended books on plot and structure.

Mechanics of Writing, Revising, and Editing

How to Write a Novel | Mechanics of Writing, Revising, and Editing links to my major writing craft posts on:

  • The mechanics of writing (e.g. point of view and show, don’t tell).
  • Common writing questions.
  • Common revising questions.
  • Common editing questions.

Publishing

Publishing 101 | Understanding the Paths to Publishing links to my major posts on:

  • How to find a publisher
  • Traditional publishing vs. self-publishing
  • Finding a Christian Literary Agent
  • Writing contests
  • Possible writing scams
  • Copyright for authors (as content creators, we need to understand the basics of copyright, so we can ensure we’re not infringing on someone else’s copyright).
I also include a lot of information for authors planning to self-publish, including:
  • Writing your front and back matter
  • Book Cover Design
  • Options for formatting your paperbacks and ebooks

Marketing

Many people—especially Christians—have a negative view of marketing. Good marketing isn’t the spam-spam-spam we see every day. It’s finding and serving others. That’s how we market in a God-centred way.

How do we keep God first in marketing?

Modern writers need to understand the basics of marketing, and the importance of building an author platform. This includes building a website.
*Note: these are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you click my link and make a purchase. This doesn’t cost you anything.

Book Reviews

All authors want book sales. They also want book reviews:

  • Because readers use reviews in making their purchase decisions.
  • Because advertisers like BookBub look at reviews and ratings before deciding whether to accept an advertisement.

Click here to read Reviewing 101 | All You Need to Know About Reviewing Online for links to my best blog posts on reviews and reviewing.