When you finally finish your book and earn the title of author you may not realize it, but you are actually opening your own business. Accounting, taxes, marketing, promotion, sales, distribution and even legal are all important things you need to think...

Human beings are rather visual creatures. When we see something shiny or pretty, we are drawn to it and feel a need to have it. Naturally, this rings true for a large portion of readers. We’ve all seen a book cover from across the room and have to go...

You've written your book and you know that speaking about your book's topic can lead to increased sales, and that speaking engagements can lead to increased revenue. But how do you move from free to fee? As a follow-up to Cathy Fyock’s first webinar...

Every great protagonist needs an equally great antagonist to struggle against. Without this conflict or opposition, a story will be dull, uninteresting, and unfocused. But, what is an antagonist? Must it always be a villain or have bad intentions? Can...

Structuring a nonfiction book is a lot like building a house. There are many different styles and ways to go about it, and there are only one or two structures that are actually suited for your particular book and the things you want to say. Presenter...

What separates good novels from bad? What turns a page-turner into a snoozer? What turns your protagonist from someone readers deeply care about to someone they couldn't care less about? Oftentimes the reason boils down to lack of story structure and...

Join author Jeanne Lyet Gassman and discover how to explore, develop, and refine your fictional narrative in this exclusive ALC webinar. Part 1: Fleshing Out Your Fictional Narrative A novel consists of chapters and scenes, but what do you need in...

Find out how to get the most out of your nonfiction book in this two-part workshop with expert Cathy Fyock. Part 1 Fleshing Out Your Outline and Strategy: Now that you’ve started outlining your nonfiction book, it’s time to understand how that outline...

Urgency is not unique to thrillers and not always a function of a fast pace. Urgency drives all fiction and a slow-moving passage can have you at the edge of your seat. Urgency may sit deep inside the subtext of a scene, manifest in a character’s motivation...

Land the Agent or Publisher of your Dreams Using a Proven Querying and Submission Strategy Querying is the crucial first step when seeking an agent or publisher, but amazingly is also something that very few authors do well. How do you make yours stand...