Blog by Toby Welch

< Previous Next >

Writers Advice to Their Newbie Writing Self

July 21st, 2019
Shenaaz Nanji holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. She has written seven books for children that have won several awards. Her novel, Child of Dandelions, was nominated for the Governor General Award in Children’s Literature. Here is a copy of the letter she would write to her starting-out writer self: “My Dear Girl: 1.   You don’t have to begin at the beginning. Begin writing any s ...

Read More

Posted in General

Writer’s Glossary

July 13th, 2019
 Every industry has its own lingo and the writing field is no exception. Here’s what those words mean. Advance – Money a writer gets paid from a publisher before his or her book comes out. The money is repaid to the publisher from the book’s royalties once it goes on sale. All rights – When magazines own all rights to your work, they can use it as often as they wish and in whatever manner t ...

Read More

Posted in General

Snippets of Time

July 6th, 2019
                                                          Today's entry is short because I only have a moment but every moment counts. We’ve already touched on how a few minutes of writing here and there can add up to a lot of accomplished writing. And those snippets of time can be found in unconventional places. When you are doing errands, at each stop spend five minutes writing in your vehi ...

Read More

Posted in General

Writing a Book Series

June 29th, 2019
Julie Rowe is the author of the War Girls series. She shares her thoughts on how she approaches writing a series versus writing a stand-alone title, “In a single title you have one story arc. In a series you have multiple, interconnected story arcs. One overall story arc that encompasses the entire series (no matter how many books are in it) and a story arc for each book that fits inside and ...

Read More

Posted in General

How to Pick a Book Title That Works

June 22nd, 2019
Your book needs to have a catchy, relevant, and clear title that will grab readers and pull them in. But how do you pick one? The best titles satisfy as many of the following criteria as possible: - The title grabs the reader’s attention. - The title sums up the book’s concept so it will be clear what the book is about. - The title is unique and doesn’t match another one exactly; this wil ...

Read More

Posted in General

Self-Published E-books Versus Traditionally Published Books

June 16th, 2019
                               A common question these days is whether self-published e-books can compete with books put out by professional publishers. And the corresponding question of whether authors published with small, medium, or the Big Five publishing houses have an advantage over self-published authors. To give you a snapshot, let’s check out the Digital Book World and Writer’s Dige ...

Read More

Posted in General

Writers and Their Future Plans

June 9th, 2019
                                We can all learn a thing or two from plans that writers have for their future. When I embarked on discovering what plans writers have in their literary future, I thought most replies would have to do with time; finding more of it, making better use of it, etc. But only Fred Elford, author of Sometimes, I Fly, mentioned it more than in passing, “I don’t think I ...

Read More

Posted in General

Ins and Outs of Addressing Query Letters

June 1st, 2019
Query letters are often your ticket to a writing project. But there are some pointers to keep in mind.  Editors claim one of their top pet peeves is getting a query letter addressed to "Dear Sir" or "Hello Editor." This is the query letter kiss of death; don’t make such fatal mistakes with queries Improperly addressing your query letter to a literary agent or a magazine editor increases i ...
Read More

Posted in General

Writers and Mental Illness

May 26th, 2019
Are writers out of their minds? Studies have shown that there is a strong link between writers and mental illnesses. The theory has been officially pondered since the 1830s and while studies show creative types seem more prone to mental illness, the debate continues. Mental illnesses are not something you can snap out of. They are not character flaws or a sign of weakness. Like other physica ...

Read More

Posted in General

Pimp Up Your Writing Website

May 19th, 2019
Most writers have the same thing on their website – a bio, a list of their works, and a contact page. But don’t settle for having the same ho-hum content as the majority of your fellow writers. It’s time to kick your web presence up a notch! (You do have a website for your writing by now, don’t you?) According to a Nielson Net Ratings survey of the usage patterns of Internet users worldwide, ...

Read More

Posted in General

< Previous Next >

Privacy Policy Sitemap Real Estate websites for Agents