Before my novel Bridges came out, a fan of mine who lives in Texas asked if I’d be doing a virtual launch party. I told her I had zero idea what that was, so she (Veronica) offered to plan one for me on Facebook. With all kinds of events happening online these days, I thought it […]
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Are you confused by when to use IT’S and when to use ITS? If so, you have every right to be, because the correct way to use ITS goes against the general rule we’re taught about apostrophes. Here’s a refresher on the difference between the two: We normally use an apostrophe when something […]
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I recently read a novel that was heavy on dialogue without a ton of attribution (e.g. adding “she said”), which I like, because I don’t think a conversation needs that after every single sentence. However, the author of this book had a habit of going two or even three pages into a conversation without any attribution of […]
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I live in Brooklyn, so when I stumbled across a book club that specializes in novels set in New York, I reached out and offered to come speak to the group. The club moderator agreed that Katwalk would be a perfect fit, so we set it up. Guess how much time passed between when I […]
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Here are three building blocks of a good marketing campaign, with resources for each: Website If you want to be perceived as a professional writer, I strongly recommend hiring a professional to design your website. Here is an excellent one I recommend: Andiamo Creative: www.andiamocreative.com (Andiamo Creative did my current website.) If you’re good with […]
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Previously in this space I’ve stressed how important it is to track your marketing efforts to help you stay organized and conduct critical follow-up when necessary. Today I’d like to discuss another reason to document your hard work: It will be helpful when you write your next book! Daunting as it may sound right now, it […]
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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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