Tag: how i write

Now that you’ve got your finished and (reasonably) error-free manuscript, it’s time to get it ready for release. That means formatting. Realistically, you can feed modern ebook distributors a pretty janky file and still get something you can sell. Don’t. This is where the rubber meets the road for your book. You don’t want your… Read more »

Step 10: The Cover Because people—for reasons that still elude me—consider me to be something of an authority in the world of indie authordom, I am frequently asked what the best bang for your buck in the book world is. Technically, the answer is “writing another book.” But if you’re looking to invest some money… Read more »

We’re in the home stretch now! Your editor has just sent back the polished manuscript. It would be nice to say “you’re done” and move on to the next step. Unfortunately, unless you’re a far better author than I am or you have a rigidly authoritarian editor, chances are you’ve got some stuff to look… Read more »

Ah, the editor. When I talk about going to the editor, I’m specifically talking about copyediting or line editing. Many editors handle what’s called “Substantive” or “Developmental” editing. These are the folks who help you develop and improve a story. Basically they do what the beta readers did in the prior chapters, and maybe even… Read more »

So now you’ve completed a book, and people have read it. If you are phenomenally lucky, even your harshest critics will think you’ve done a wonderful job and you’ll be good to go. If you are normal, people will have observations/problems which may need to be addressed. And that means you’ll need to do a… Read more »

While some people are better at editing than others, people who can get a flawless edit without any help are about as common as unicorns. It’s been said many times, but when you read something you’ve written, especially shortly after writing it, you’re more likely to read what you meant to write than what’s actually… Read more »

It’s been a while since my last post, but that’s because several short stories and at least one whole book have wedged themselves into my calendar, and as a result, the specific book I was basing this series on was shuffled around more than I typically allow. That said, it’s time to get back to… Read more »

This is more of a service to my fellow author-types than something that might be of value to readers, so if you’re interested in book doings… well, unless you’re reading this at a very specific point in history, you’ve already read about the Structophis announcement directly above this. I do my own paperback formatting, and… Read more »

I’d not anticipated doing another “How I Write” article until I was finished with the rough draft, but given the major shift this story just took in my head, it’s worth doing a little addendum to my Rough Draft Step concerning when a better idea asserts itself. The Hardware All the same hardware as before,… Read more »

Now for the part of being an author that most authors thought was the only part of being an author before they got started: Writing. In an ideal world, this is what you would spend most of your time doing. In the real world, a high writing-to-other stuff ratio is best, but unless you’ve got… Read more »