Publications / 323 posts found
Plot Twist Story Prompts: The Message
Plot twist story prompts aren’t meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they’re for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to make it more interesting for the readers and writers alike. Each week, I’ll provide a new prompt to help twist your story. Find last week’s prompt, The Ultimatum, here. Plot Twist Story Prompts: The Message For today’s prompt, deliver a message that changes the course of your story. The message could be something ominous, like an approaching army or a death in the family. Or it could be […]
How to Title a Book: Fiction & Nonfiction
If you polled every writer and asked them the worst part of writing a book, they’d almost universally say titling it. I’ve never heard a writer say they’re good at titles. Titling a book is hard! If you’re among the majority that struggle to title your stories, let’s talk about how to title a book. TABLE OF CONTENTS Do titles of books matter that much? How to title a nonfiction book How to title a fiction book How to get ideas for book titles Examples of great book titles Do titles of books matter that much? In short: Absolutely they […]
How Much Do Self-Published Authors Make on Amazon?
Self-publishing is a quickly growing industry. Authors have found a step-around for the toiling, exploitative traditional publishing industry, and they’re taking hold of their own career and art. While the creative freedom, quick turnaround, and higher royalty rates sound amazing, how much money can you actually make self-publishing your books? A major platform for indie writers is Amazon. As a tool, Amazon can be tricky to learn and master. But with a little research and a strong strategy, a self-published author can make $10,000+ per month publishing their own books on Amazon. If you’re considering self-publishing on Amazon, you probably […]
The Idaho Review: Market Spotlight
Founded in 1998, The Idaho Review is produced with the help of an MFA Graduate Assistant from Boise State’s MFA Program and editor Mitch Wieland’s publishing and editing graduate class. Past fiction contributors have included Ann Beattie, Joy Williams, Anthony Doerr, Edith Pearlman, and John McNally. (The Iowa Review: Market Spotlight.) The editors say, “Our mission is to publish strong, evocative work that belongs to the collective, vast community of writers. As we move forward we intend to broaden our reach. We hope to include writers of different identities—in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, ability, language, religion, class, age, […]
What Is Your Favorite Starting Word in Wordle?
I’ll be honest: I was a little hesitant to make a post about the latest online fad, because everyone else is doing it. There are so many posts on what Wordle is, the story behind its creation, whether to do easy mode or hard mode (and what those are), and mathematical formulas for figuring out each day’s word. But what I love the most about Wordle is its simplicity. (Play Wordle right now.) In case you’ve been resistant to the recent Wordle phenomenon, it’s a simple game: Every 24 hours, there is a new five-letter word provided and players are […]
A Primer on the New York Times Bestseller List
The goal of many writers is to land on the New York Times bestseller lists. Being a bestselling author can mean future book contracts, speaking gigs, recognition for your work, a sizable passive income from your writing, and many more opportunities. If you search the New York Times, you will find “Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre.” There are multiple lists you can search, all separated into categories: Fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and monthly lists. Under fiction: Combined print and E-book, hardcover, and paperback trade. Under nonfiction: Combined print and E-book, hardcover, […]
How to Prep for NaNoWriMo: 7 Ways to Make Sure You Crush Your Goals
Every November, writers from around the world get together and work on cranking out an entire novel in a month. Originally founded in 1999 by Chris Baty, the goal of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is to write 50,000 words over the course of the month since that is roughly the length of an average novel. Over 400,000 (and growing) people buckle down every year to attempt the challenge. While it’s hard to write a fully polished novel in that amount of time, most of the focus is on simply sitting down and putting words to paper as fast as […]
How To Add Video In Ebooks When Publishing With KDP
Can you include video in ebooks? Yes, you can. There are many ways you can add video in ebooks. If you want to include a lot of videos, you will be creating an interactive ebook. But this type of ebook, or flipbook, is not suitable for publishing on Amazon. If you want to add videos to an ebook when self-publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you can do it. But there are limitations. Interactive ebook or Kindle ebook? Many online platforms specialize in publishing interactive or enhanced ebooks. Some are free or free to try, but most are by subscription. […]
Announcing the Get Published in 2022: Breaking In Resource Directory
We’re excited to announce the Get Published in 2022: Breaking In Resource Directory from Writer’s Digest magazine, which collects advice from 41 agents, 39 debut authors, and 27 small presses, to help writers make 2022 the year they get their book published. Let’s face it: Breaking into traditional book publishing can be tough work. After you write and revise the book, there’s finding an agent or an independent publisher. And all of that includes time spent researching instead of what you really want to be doing—writing. So, Writer’s Digest has done the work for you. The Get Published in 2022: […]
Writer’s Digest Presents: Beginnings (Podcast, Episode 1)
We’re excited to share our new monthly podcast: Writer’s Digest Presents! In this inaugural episode, the WD team (Amy Jones, Robert Lee Brewer, Moriah Richard, and Michael Woodson) introduce themselves and chat about beginnings of stories and projects. Then, Robert talks with mystery author and FundsForWriters editor C. Hope Clark about beginnings of projects, including her recent double book release of a new Craven County mystery series Murdered in Craven and Burned in Craven. Also, learn if Clark is a plotter or pantser. Quote: “You need to write religiously and not just here and there when you feel like it. […]