How to Get Published

by Al Kalar

As an editor, I see a number of problems that either spell “rejection” or “more work for me - sigh”. This is the first of a series on those problems.

The problem of “voice” is actually a two-part problem:

1. The author’s voice
2. Character voice.

The author’s “voice”

The sum of how s/he writes non-dialog prose (or poetry). Word choices, sentence structure, slang, contractions, and unique ways of expressing things.

If you write your prose to exactly follow the rules of English, you can overdo it and end up sounding like the Queen of England, rather than a “regular person”. There is a pretty wide range of language use that the average reader will find to be acceptable, but if you go outside that range, you may alienate your audience. (more…)

by Diane O’Connell

If you’re like many writers, getting that first draft down can give you a rush of excitement. The words flow freely, the ideas come at lightning speed, the book seems to be coming together just as you had in your head.  But then you read it back and — oh, boy, does it need fixing! The thought of cleaning up the “mess” you created is about as appealing as cleaning out a garage stuffed with a quarter century of accumulated stuff — and just as overwhelming.

Many first-time authors begin the revising process by going through their manuscript line by line and painstakingly “editing”: correcting syntax, adding some things, taking out other things, cleaning up punctuation and spelling. Often, this process can seem like torture. And there’s a good reason why. (more…)

by Al Kalar

There’s a lot of information for aspiring writers. Some has to do with the truly important stuff. Some is aimed at the details behind the important stuff. And some is, frankly, misinformation (”BS”).

Given today’s publishing market and the economics of the industry, breaking into print, as a “successful” new author, is very difficult. In fact, the odds are against you. I’m sorry, but it’s true. But by following this rule, you can improve the odds substantially.

You may have heard this before, but it bears repeating; because it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: (more…)

by John Bowers

Writing fiction is hard work, but it’s also fun. As a writer you get to create everything, from the world in which your characters live to the characters themselves. You get to determine whether they live or die. But sometimes writing can be daunting; for example, giving your characters a name. How, exactly, does that work?

It could be very easy, of course, if you don’t mind using the same old names as everyone else. You could call your character Dick and his girlfriend Jane, but doing that might kill your chances at a sale before anyone read past the names. If you want your characters to be memorable, you need to give them names to remember. But with millions of novels out there, and ten times as many characters, how do you find such a name that hasn’t already been used? (more…)