How to Create Stakes that Draw Readers In

How to Create Stakes that Draw Readers In

What is it that keeps a reader glued to their chair reading for hours on end? In this excerpt from our Writing Guide, bestselling author Chris Humphreys helps you create and sustain the kind of stakes that will make your story impossible to put down.

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6 Ways to Turn Real Life into Fantastic Fiction

6 Ways to Turn Real Life into Fantastic Fiction

Life is full of stories. But lifting these stories from life and turning them into art requires a lot of tinkering. Story midwife Traci Skuce joins us to share six ways you can transform real-life stories into prose.

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How Long Should a Book Be? Here’s Your Word Count Guide

How Long Should a Book Be? Here’s Your Word Count Guide

How long should a book be? FriesenPress author Paul Toffanello joins us on the blog to share his advice for using readers' expectations to find the ideal length of your next book project. Here’s your word count guide.

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Who Are Your Readers? And What Do They Want?

Who Are Your Readers? And What Do They Want?

Few books hold truly universal appeal. And that’s a good thing, because it means authors can focus on appealing to a target reader instead of the general public. In this excerpt from our Writing Guide, book coach Steve Donahue helps you get to know the people who are going to read (and love) your book.

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Mastering the Art of Revisions

Mastering the Art of Revisions

Want to save time and money on the publication process? Revise, revise, revise. In this excerpt from our Writing Guide, we explore how three key revision steps can clean up some of the most common issues in first drafts.

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4 Frequent Writing Mistakes Authors Make (and How to Avoid Them)

4 Frequent Writing Mistakes Authors Make (and How to Avoid Them)

If you want to improve your writing, an editor can provide indispensable advice. We asked our team of professional editors to define the most common writing mistakes to help you avoid making them yourself.

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5 Questions All Memoirists Need to Ask Themselves

5 Questions All Memoirists Need to Ask Themselves

Each one of us has a story to tell. But book coach Steve Donahue finds most would-be memoirists struggle to get started. To help you along, here’s Steve’s tried and tested sequence of five questions you should consider before writing your memoir.

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How to Write Unique and Compelling Characters

How to Write Unique and Compelling Characters

What is it that draws people to a book again and again? It’s often compelling characters that rivet us to the words. In the latest excerpt from our Writing Guide, bestselling author Chris Humphreys instructs you on writing captivating characters of your own.

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How Writing Goals Will Help You Build Momentum

How Writing Goals Will Help You Build Momentum

Writing a book is all about building momentum. The trick is to set writing goals that are in the sweet spot of keeping you motivated without becoming a burden. In this excerpt from our just-released Writing Guide, we’ll explain how you can create a sustainable writing momentum.

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How Stories Will Improve Your Nonfiction Book

How Stories Will Improve Your Nonfiction Book

Unless you’re writing a college textbook, nonfiction authors — just like novelists — are in the entertainment industry. Here’s book coach Steve Donahue with four key ways you can write more interesting and compelling stories to carry your next nonfiction book forward.

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