For your convenience, here are a list of links to my main writing and editing tips blog posts.
Editing yourself
Self Editing Tips: Development edits
Self-editing: Repetition, echoes, and saying the same thing over and over again
Body Parts All Over the Floor (actually about ‘disembodied parts’ eg ‘fingers crept up her spine’)
Speech Verbs, and Why You Shouldn’t
General writing
Good Bad Language: a post about swearing
Curse you, Captain Exposition! (handling backstory and infodumping)
Anachronism and Accuracy: getting it right in historical novels
Get Some Perspective: musing on different points of view
Giving purpose to your novel (Don’t shoot yourself with Chekhov’s gun)
Lower Your Standards: getting through the book’s babyhood
Finishing Your Book: a handy completion checklist
On publishing in general
Terrible Advice for Aspiring Authors (on approaching publishers and how not to do it)
The Art of the Blurb: How to write back cover copy
Writing the Synopsis: giving the editor what she wants
The Experience of Editing (with glossary) (or, how to take editing)
Reviews and social media
How Authors Should Help Reviewers Write Reviews* (they shouldn’t) (Offsite link)
Ten Ways for Authors to Fail on Social Media
Bad Amazon Review Response Flowchart
and, for giggles:
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