Author Services
Proofreading, Editing, Critique
Getting help with your book from a professional editor is always recommended but often just too expensive. We have partnered with a professional editor with 30 years of experience to provide quality writing services at affordable prices.
Visit our Writing Services PageHundreds of Helpful Articles
We have created hundreds of articles on topics all authors face in today’s literary landscape. Get help and advice on Writing, Marketing, Publishing, Social Networking, and more. Each article has a Comments section so you can read advice from other authors and leave your own.
The Em Dash – How To Use it Part 1
Do you use em dashes? Do you even know what one is? Loads of authors use the em dash—perhaps too much at times. Too many of them look unprofessional, create a sloppy look and really do nothing more than decrease effectiveness; despite that, you still...
The Secrets of Using Semicolons Part 3
Now we get a bit more complicated – using semicolons, conjunctive adverbs or transition words with a comma to join complete sentences. Conjunctive adverbs are also known as transitional adverbs and include words like: However Moreover Nevertheless Consequently Therefore Otherwise And many others like them. Transitional phrases and words include: In the first place In...
The Secrets of Using Semi-colons Part 2
Before you can even think about using a semicolon properly, do you know what a complete sentence is? In all its forms? This is very important. A complete sentence is also called an independent clause; it contains a subject and a corresponding verb. Be careful because other...
The Secrets of Using Semicolons Part 1
Do you know the right way to use a semicolon? Do you use them in your writing? Many good writers will often leave them alone, for fear of putting them in the wrong place. And there are those who think the semicolon is old-school stuff, far...
Leave It For The Copyeditor? Fix it Yourself! Part 3
Two more tips and your manuscript is ready for an editor. Ditch the Prepositions Prepositions are used for relationships between words and when you use too many, your writing becomes weak, unconcise and non-specific. Some of the common prepositions include: About After Against At Before Behind Beneath Except From In Into Like Of Since Too Toward/s You get the idea. Look through a few...
Leave It For The Copyeditor? Fix it Yourself! Part 2
Have you removed all those unnecessary expletives? Good, time to move on. Check your sentences and paragraphs Do they start the same way? While expletives are often the culprit here, there are some other offenders that crop up frequently, including character names and pronouns. You need to...
Leave It For The Copyeditor? Fix it Yourself! Part 1
Every writer comes up against a set of writing problems and any novel that is worth the time it takes to read should be put through some pretty rigorous copyediting. And that works for all writing, not just novels and not just fiction, but I’ll...
Kill The Adjectives – Some of Them, Anyway! Part 3
In the last part of this series, we are looking at ways to replace interpretive adjectives. One way is to use descriptive adjectives that you chose with care. If you really need to use an adjective, choose one that accurately describes the noun it is modifying...
Kill The Adjectives – Some of Them, Anyway! Part 2
So, which adjectives are ripe for killing off? Normally, you would ditch the common ones. You need to identify which adjectives are interpretive and which are descriptive. Interpretive adjectives are normally the common adjectives and are not precise. Depending on the experience your reader is having with...
Kill The Adjectives – Some of Them, Anyway! Part 1
Yep, you read that right. Kill off those adjectives. And adverbs. Stephen King once wrote “The road to hell is paved with adverbs” but he’s not saying you should never use them; the proper verb can pack enough of a punch on its own so, if...