The "beat sheet" is one of the most useful editorial tools that an author can develop. Based on his bestselling book, "Writing Treatments that Sell," Dr. Ken Atchity explains one-page beat sheets and how they differ from synopses, writing treatments...

What makes a good story isn't just the story itself, but how it's told. The storyteller holds the power to deliver a story to the audience that is flat and grey, or alive and colorful. Bestselling thriller author Paul Levine advises us on how to be a...

When developing your own marketing plan, you may be unsure how to brand yourself and your book correctly. You may also not be doing it in the most effective way possible for your personal brand. The CEO of Bohlsen Group and branding expert Vicki Bohlson...

There are certain steps that every writer should take once they know they want to write a book - choose your topic and start an outline, research, and begin to think about your platform. There are many tools an author can use to start building a platform...

There are certain steps that every writer should take once they know they want to write a book - choose your topic and start an outline, research, and begin to think about your platform. There are many tools an author can use to start building a platform...

What type of editor do you really need for your book? It depends, says Jenna Free, editor and writer for Girl Friday Productions. Some authors work with a collaborator from the beginning, to define the structure, outline and monitor execution. This...

Author, speaker, and artist Laurie Finkelstein finds the process of writing and painting to be quite similar to each other. Both start with the seedling of an idea. Finkelstein will let that idea percolate in her mind for a few weeks or months, until...

What type of editor do you really need for your book? It depends, says Jenna Free, editor and writer for Girl Friday Productions. Some authors work with a collaborator from the beginning, to define the structure, outline and monitor execution. This...

A nonfiction book proposal is the ultimate selling tool, explains writer, producer, and TV host Herbie J Pilato. The proposal shows agents, editors, and publishers that you have a well-formed idea and are dedicated to the topic. Pilato lists the key...

For author Bryan Beach, the writing process definitely differs when writing short versus long fiction. When writing short stories or novelettes he tends to write in a stream of consciousness or continuous flow. He starts with a simple idea and just...