Do the following word pairs confuse you? You’re note alone. Complement vs. Compliment Complement means to go well with, supplement. That dress really complements the green in Jennifer’s eyes Compliment means to flatter. Gloria wants to compliment Jen on her how well her dress complements the green in her eyes. Complementary vs. Complimentary Complementary means goes […]
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When I’m working on a book, or any writing project, I find that one of the most difficult things about the process—second only to coming up with the idea—is getting myself to sit at my desk and stay focused. If I let myself stop and check my email, browse Facebook, etc., it’s amazing how quickly what […]
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If I had to name one grammatical error I hear more than any other, I would choose the misuse of the pronoun I instead of ME. Here’s a refresher on the difference between the two: I is a subject pronoun, which means it’s used when you are a subject in a sentence—in other words, when […]
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Recently I received an email from an indie author asking a question about securing reviews from bloggers. Then in the same email the author sent me a link to his book’s Amazon page and told me I was more than welcome to read it. And review it. I didn’t read his book, but I’ll tell […]
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I don’t use Instagram to promote my books nearly as much as I should, but here are some things I’ve learned in the limited time I’ve spent with it: If you download an app called Regrann, anytime someone tags you in a post, you can repost it. Then if a fan posts a photo of […]
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We all have our own systems for managing our lives. For example, I use a paper calendar and not the calendar on my phone. I know that’s old-school, but I love my paper calendar! I also have a paper “to-do” list that I keep on my desk, and I set alarms on my phone to […]
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When I was writing my first novel, I was so excited to see my own words on the page that I ended up with several scenes that didn’t have much at all to do with the main plot. After I signed with an agent she pointed out this tendency to wander and had me cut […]
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I once received an email from a new subscriber to my newsletter. The message was quite long and didn’t contain a single paragraph break—not one. I found myself confused as I read because all the various points he was making began to blur together into an enormous block of text. (He also didn’t capitalize any […]
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I was recently contacted by a big fan of my Waverly Bryson series who is also a freelance writer. She asked if she could do a guest post for my blog, so I suggested she offer some insight into how she chooses which books to read. So here you have it, folks: marketing advice straight […]
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When people find out I’m an author, one of the questions they often ask me is, What inspires you to write? It’s an interesting question, and I think every author would answer it differently. I find myself most inspired to write when I’m already writing. That’s because for me, getting myself in a position to […]
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