Writing with Jennifer

Check out this article from Berkeley News.  It's about a study that showed how conservatives and liberals had emotional reactions when they heard certain "hot button" words.  I love this. Why didn't I get a Ph.D. in rhetoric? (It's because I'm kind of lazy and also I had children) If you've studied persuasive writing at all, you know that there are buzz words you can include to make the reader think, and ultimately do, what you want. Certain words compel people to take action, especially to get out their wallets. In that same way, you can play upon people's natural leanings with your choice of words. That's one reason it's critical to know your audience.  Now there is that overlapping area between compelling and lying (using the words "sale" and "quality" are great ways of getting attention but they might be completely false... words like "quality," "terrific," "best" are particularly useful if ...

Writing is the kind of activity that sometimes requires outside motivation. Writers need a partner, but this can be hard to find. You've got to have somebody in your corner who  1. understands writing 2. understands the writing brain Some writers have successfully filled this gap by hiring a writing coach.  The job of being a writing coach doesn't have a specific definition. There are lots of different ways of coaching writers. The project and the person determine the needs. To further complicate the situation, some people will do some kinds of coaching and not others.  So what can you expect from a writing coach?  Motivation This is in the form of contacts through texts, emails, or phone calls where the coach asks how it's going and reminds you to write. It's something like an accountability partner in exercise. Your coach is the person who is going to ask you how many words you wrote today, and you want to be able to report that you wrote a lot. I suppose you could...

So I was reading this inspiring article today from The Cut, and it struck a chord.  Many people have asked me how a writer goes about getting an agent, and I tell them what I know. You query. And you make connections. You join submission parties on social media (not that kind... although you could say writing is a habit of masochists). Maybe you pray. One day the magic happens with a spark and then a flame. Or maybe it doesn't.  You've got to find joy in the writing itself. Some successful authors aren't published until they're dead. Every author you've ever heard of has wallpapered a bathroom with rejection letters. Blah blah blah.  Maybe you just have to be lucky. 

You've written a book. Maybe it's a great book. But no one is going to bother reading it if it doesn't have an engaging cover.  It's a harsh reality, yes, but important if you want to sell books. And why create a book and then not give it the best chance possible to sell?  Covers matter a lot when it comes to  getting your book into a bookstore convincing readers to buy your book sending the message that your book is professionally created In fact, the whole graphic design of a physical book is very important. I talk about it a little bit in this post a about what I learned while working for a publisher.  If you are self-publishing or using a cooperative-style publisher, you want to be sure that your book has a professional look. This almost always means that it was professionally designed both inside and out.  What are the important aspects of a great cover? Besides not looking photoshopped (that is absolutely the worst thing you can do) here are some things t...

Before the COVID hit, I spent some time working for a small publishing company. I went into it as a writer, not knowing what publishing was all about. I learned a lot. For example, there are approximately 7 million kinds of paper (Okay, I might be exaggerating, but it's a lot!) My job was to help walk authors through the process from start to finish. Here are a few things I learned that are crucial to writers.  You need editors.  I spoke to so many writers who told me that their manuscripts were "already edited." None of them were right. That's because most people have not invested in a professional editor, and editing is often still needed even after a professional has been over the work.  At a minimum, you need a couple of different types of editors on your team. A developmental editor is one who looks at plot, consistency, story flow, character arcs, and other literary elements of the work. That person may also notice spelling and grammar issues, but that's not...