The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

5 Benefits to Taking a Break from Writing

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Authors Elaine Marie Cooper and Debra L. Butterfield
Elaine Marie Cooper and me.

We all know it’s important to take a break now and then no matter what line of work we do. But it’s even more important to refresh and re-energize ourselves when we’ve completed a big project.

I recently completed the final draft of a manuscript and sent it off to writers and readers for feedback. In the meantime, I needed some rest, both physically and mentally. Two weeks vacationing with my kids is my ideal, but that’s just not in the budget right now. So I started looking for alternatives — a day trip or some place to visit for the weekend.

When I saw that author Elaine Marie Cooper was speaking in northern Missouri, I quickly mapped the event to find out how close it was to me. I read her newest book Fields of the Fatherless and was excited at a chance to meet her. [Read more…] about 5 Benefits to Taking a Break from Writing

Gloria Doty, Not Different Enough

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Today’s Friday Feature author interview is with Gloria Doty. Gloria has just returned from the Write-to-Publish writers’ conference in Wheaton, Illinois, where the conference organizers awarded her the 2014 Writer of the Year Award for her book Not Different Enough.

(I highly recommend the Write-To-Publish conference; they have been helping writers on the road to publication for more than 40 years.)

Today’s post includes a contest to win a free download of Not Different Enough to one winner who will be randomly drawn from those who leave a thoughtful comment about the interview. Contest entry is open until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 22. Winner will be announced on Monday, June 23. [Read more…] about Gloria Doty, Not Different Enough

How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

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Customized products for marketing businesses have been around for a long time. The problem was you had to bulk order. I don’t have the budget for that. Do you?

Maybe you don’t even think of yourself as a business, but as an author you are in the business of selling your books. Unless one book is all you intend to write, now is the time to make that paradigm shift. If you are a writer, you are a business.

I’ll get down off my soap box now and back to today’s topic. [Read more…] about How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

How to Create a Manuscript Template

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Styles formatting optionWhen you open MS Word, you probably just start typing without giving much thought to the settings of that document. But those settings may not be the ideal for a novel manuscript. For example, all manuscripts should be double spaced, but Word’s default document is single spaced.

Therefore learning about styles and templates will allow [Read more…] about How to Create a Manuscript Template

3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics

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All the gurus say it: “Include a quality image with your blog post.”

And with the rapidly growing popularity of Pinterest, many authors have created a Pinterest business account. They pin attention grabbing, irresistible graphics that drive traffic to their blogs, market their books, and build their platform.

I agree, but I am neither artistic nor versed in Photoshop. What’s a person to do?

Keep reading because I’ve found an answer. [Read more…] about 3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics

Cynthia T. Toney and Bird Face

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Our Friday Feature author interview today is with Cynthia T. Toney. Her book, Bird Face, released February 2014 and is garnering nothing but 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon.

Let’s dive in.

Debra: How did you choose the publishers you queried for your book?

Cynthia: I looked for publishers that didn’t always follow trends in their offerings. And those that published middle-grade and young adult fiction that was more serious than silly.Cynthia T. Toney, Author of Bird Face

Debra: Publishers who don’t follow trends—that’s interesting. What gave you that idea, and why did you use that strategy? [Read more…] about Cynthia T. Toney and Bird Face

Who’s Telling Your Story?

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little girl looking through paper towel roll
Perspective makes a difference.

Should I write my novel in first person or third (or get totally wild and use second person)?

Am I limited to a single character, or can I use multiple point of view (POV) characters?

Who should my novel’s POV character be?

You want to write a story readers can’t put down, but how do you decide what point of view is the best for your particular story? In fact, how can you even begin to write without having decided this basic element of your story?

There are so many choices. How do you decide what’s best so you can increase your chances of writing a best-selling novel? [Read more…] about Who’s Telling Your Story?

Is a Literary Agent the Pot of Gold for Writers?

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Rainbow Literary Agent

In the words of author RJ Thesman, finding a literary agent is “harder than finding the perfect purse.”

Be that as it may, many authors seek an agent and for good reason.

Agents [Read more…] about Is a Literary Agent the Pot of Gold for Writers?