Metaphors are powerful weapons in your writing arsenal. (See what I did there? That was a metaphor.) A thoughtfully written metaphor used in just the right place will help you create vivid, original prose – the kind that makes readers sigh in [...]
We can’t know the future, but it can be thrilling to speculate about it. Expanding population, climate change, technological advancement, corrupt governments, divided social classes … Follow the trajectory of any one of these current issues and it’s not hard [...]
A synopsis is a one-page summary of your novel, used to demonstrate your story-crafting skills to a literary agent (or publisher). Most publishers don’t accept manuscript submissions directly from authors, so if you’d like to follow the traditional route to [...]
It’s still the first half of January, so hopefully I’m not too late in putting this post together. I mean, New Year’s isn’t the only time we can reflect and set intentions, but I do like the fresh-start feel a [...]
Every novel needs conflict, and every novel needs antagonistic forces. But this doesn't mean you need a villain (a person who actively sets out to thwart the hero). No; conflict, challenge and opposition can come from all kinds of places, [...]
Today, I'm tired. I've been tired for a good few days, actually. When was the last time I had some time off? I checked my calendar. Okay, so I had three days off last month – but they were active, travel-filled days. [...]
If you want to market your editing or proofreading business, you need a website. But simply having a website isn’t enough. After all, people still need to find your website. Not linking your website to your wider marketing strategies would [...]
When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I edit novels, they usually follow up with ‘anything I’ll have read?’ My answer is ‘probably not’ – not because the authors I work with aren’t [...]
Once you’ve finished writing your novel and you’ve decided to hire an editor, you then have to find the right editor for you. Just as there’s no one way to write a novel, there’s no one way to edit a [...]
I run my own business. I employ myself – and no one else. I want my business to reflect my personality and values. To me, it’s important I connect emotionally with my clients. But I don’t want my sense of [...]
