1. Follow the rules of grammar. Grammar rules are created to help us communicate. Without them, we would have a hard time understanding each other.
2. Avoid changing verb tenses in the same paragraph. Thus, if you’re writing in present tense , wait for a new paragraph to change tenses  so you don’t confuse your reader.
3. Understand the difference between plural and possessive. Examples: All of the boy’s toys are put away (singular possessive). All of the boys’ toys are put away (plural possessive). All of the boys had toys (plural, no possessive).
4. Watch your pronoun-antecedent agreement. What does that mean? It means plural pronouns require plural antecedents (antecedents are nouns the pronouns refer to). In our effort to be politically correct, we’ve ignored this rule to a fault. Good writers don’t take the easy way out–they figure out how to rewrite the sentence to follow the rule. Here’s an example of the easy way out: A successful person is measured by their material wealth. (Antecedent is person, which is singular, and pronoun is their, which is plural.)  A good writer will rework the sentence to something like this: Material wealth is often a measure of a person’s success.
5. Watch your subject-verb agreement. Plural subjects require plural verbs and singular subjects require singular verbs. Example of doing it wrong: One of Kathy’s favorite movies are Sound of Music. The subject (one) is singular, but the verb (are) is plural. Because movies is plural, writers might use a plural verb if they don’t think about the subject of the sentence. The correct way to write that sentence is: One of Kathy’s favorite movies is Sound of Music.
6. Avoid dangling modifiers. What does that mean? It means make sure your descriptive phrases describe the correct thing. Example of doing it wrong: Searching for the murderer, the suspects all stood in the line-up. (This says the suspects were searching for the murderer.) Rewrite it to say: Searching for the murderer, the police gathered the suspects and stood them in the line-up.
7. Be aware of language changes. English is a living language. New words are added, while others become antiquated. Stay current.
8. Know that sometimes perfect grammar doesn’t make for perfect writing. Huh? Depending on what you’re writing, you may be better off with less precise grammar (examples are characters, dialogue, description, tone, etc.).
9. Make a list of the words that trip you up and keep the list handy. For example, if you’re confused about when to use lay versus lie, make yourself a cheat sheet to help you.
10. Avoid splitting infinitives. Huh? If you place “to” between an adverb and a verb, you have a split infinitive. Example of split infinitive: Dianne wanted to really make it big as an author. Better to write: Dianne really wanted to make it big as an author.

There you have it. Ten quick tips to improve your writing and some samples to show you how to use the tips.

Happy writing!

When should you consider using other people’s quotations in your book? Here are some reasons.

When the quote is familiar to your intended readership and complements your point.
When the person being quoted is highly respected or the name recognizable and the quote complements your point.
When you want to demonstrate to the reader that you are not alone in your opinion/idea/point.
When you want to reinforce or enhance your opinion/idea/point with something profound or poetic.
When you want credibility (by association to someone respected) in your field.

CAUTION! Unless you are writing a quotation book, do not overuse quotes. Too many quotes create the impression your ideas are not your own, but rather the offshoot of thoughts of others.

Also, be aware that you may need permission when quoting another person. How do you know when you need permission? I’m not an attorney, and this falls under legal advice of what constitutes fair use of copyright, but, in general, use of the quotation cannot compromise the originator/owner’s right to profit from it. When in doubt, seek permission or legal counsel.

Using other people’s quotes in your book can add a dimension of credibility to your work, if you use them judiciously.

Happy writing!

We’re now working with authors to publish their books themselves. Technology has made it easier for authors to publish e-books, for example, but technology can’t create good editing, proofreading, cover design, interior design, etc. You still need publishing professionals if you want your book to look professional instead of  “do-it-yourself.”

That’s where we come in. We still guide authors through the publishing process, but the authors work directly with the editor, proofreader, designer, and printer (in the case of printed books) so the author knows what’s going on every step of the process. We have all the contacts, which flattens the learning curve for the author.

That also means I can get back to writing. Thanks for your encouragement and patience during this time while we made the changes.

I expect you’ve been taken away from your writing now and then (as I was), so I want to encourage you to get back to doing something connected to writing every day. Here’s a list of some things to get you going again.

• Read something fun (a chapter in a novel, a magazine article), and think about what the writer did to bring it to you to enjoy so you can do the same for your reader.
• Make a list of topics you’re interested in writing about–then decide if they are articles or book chapters (or both).
• Research your book. Research can be done many ways–experience, observation, reading, interviewing, etc.
• Think about your reader and how you’ll market your book so your reader knows it exists.
• Give your book a working title. When you have one or two working titles, look them up in Amazon.com or Google them to see if they’re already in use. You don’t want people to confuse your book with others.
• Write!

Happy writing!

You’ll find royalty publishing advocates who assert you aren’t “really” published if you pay to publish. They say you need an outside party to deem your work worthy of purchase (yes, you are selling your intellectual property, so  no longer own your own writing when you royalty publish).

I don’t disagree that you should have some third party (writers group or volunteer readers qualify) honestly tell you about the quality of your writing, but too often the criteria royalty publishers use to determine whether or not someone should be published is how much money the author can make for the publisher rather than the quality of writing. That’s why the two primary questions royalty publishers ask are (1) What will you do to sell this book? and (2) What is your platform (meaning how well known are you)?

If selling your intellectual property and doing the marketing to earn about 7 percent of the net (which is typically 25 to 35 cents per book SOLD) works for you, I’m all for it for you.

Authors who pay to publish (whether that’s self, subsidy, or equity) invest in themselves and, depending on the choices they make, keep all the profits from sales or share some of the profits with the publisher or get minimal “royalties” back when they sell books they’ve already paid to publish.

A book is self-published when the author actually owns the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) since ISBNs are issued to publishers. Expert Publishing owns its ISBNs, thus our authors are not self-published and we don’t represent that they are.

With so many publishing options, books are flooding the marketplace as never before. The biggest challenge an author has today is not getting published–it’s in attracting readers. Authors have to do more than ever to get noticed by readers and sell books. And that goes for all publishing options because, frankly, most readers don’t pay attention to how a book is published as much as how clearly it is written, how professionally it is designed, and how easy it is to get.

As you plow through the publishing options available to you, be mindful that everyone has an agenda. Royalty publishers dislike self-publishing. Pay-to-publish publishers dislike royalty publishers. I think there’s room for both and publishing is a business decision each author must make individually. Just remember to do your own thinking because everyone–even you–has an agenda. Stay mindful of that and you’ll make a better publishing decision.

Happy writing!

Do a search on almost any set of words and you’ll find multiple sites that quote them exactly. I was trying to find the originator of a quote one of our authors wanted to include, so I typed in the first few words and got a listing of multiple sites that quoted that exact quote. The problem is not one of them gave attribution to the originator.

When I see that, I wonder who really wrote the quote (or blog entry, essay, or article). Anyone can copy other people’s stuff, but it takes skill and ability to write the original.

I suspect one reason people don’t give credit is they haven’t done enough research to find out who credit belongs to.

Another reason might be the source isn’t deemed influential enough to matter. Some people think you need alphabet soup after your name to be credible. Or you need a fancy title. Or you must be famous. Or (pick your criteria).

Some writers have good sources but are concerned readers won’t accept those sources as credible enough. Don’t let that stop you from giving credit where due. Organize sources by whatever credibility criteria  you select (title, awards, fame, credentials, etc.) and give attribution to each source in your writing.

Your sources do matter to your reader, so make sure you offer your good sources in the best possible light. When you do, everyone wins–you, your reader, and your source.

And that brings me to facts versus opinions. If you can back up your writing with facts, by all means do so. But don’t hesitate to also quote opinions–as long as you clearly identify that what you’re writing is an opinion. An example is: “Sarah Anderson, co-founder of Widgets, suggests people are more creative in the early morning hours because their minds are uncluttered by the day’s activities. John Jones, a creativity coach, believes the opposite is true because people draw on the events of the day when they create.”

The bottom line is make sure you are the one really writing your piece, and if you’re including other people’s information in your text, give credit to the originator.

Happy writing!

Expert Publishing’s newest series, 20 Things Every Successful ______ Knows ™, waited ten years before finding the perfect format–e-books.

The first in the series is 20 Things Every Successful Writer Knows, written by yours truly.

Why did it take us ten years to launch the series? Print books typically require 50 pages to graduate from booklet to book. If you write 20 tips in your field of expertise, you’d have to write at least two pages per tip (plus the front matter and back matter of your book) to reach 50 pages. Sometimes you don’t have two pages of useful information to go with a tip you want to share.

We realized no one wants to read filler, so we never launched the series.

E-books changed all that because e-books don’t have a page number requirement. As we worked on the series, we found some things you might find helpful as you write your e-book.

• Readers are interested in information, not in how long the book is. Spend your energy writing good content.
• E-pub surfaced as the primary format for e-books. If you use the old-fashioned .pdf format, chances are your e-book will get forwarded without you getting paid (or even knowing about it being passed around). If you don’t mind that, that’s okay, but most authors want to be paid for their books.
• Make sure there’s an audience for your book by looking critically at keywords. For example, there’s a bigger interest in being a successful writer than in being a successful author, so writer is the word I chose.
• Graphics don’t work well in e-books. In fact, the Kindle doesn’t like them much at all, so concentrate on the words, not the graphics.

E-books are great fun to write and once you’ve gotten hooked on using your e-reader, you’ll think they’re great fun to read too.

Happy writing!

• A good book editor never changes an author’s voice or writing style. However, a good book editor should ask questions of the author regarding things that are unclear in the writing. If the editor doesn’t understand what the author is trying to say, the editor is not in a position to correct the manuscript.
• A good book editor offers suggestions to the author on how something may be written more clearly for reader understanding. If the editor is confident about what the author’s intention is, it’s helpful when the editor offers suggestions that rewrite the sentence or paragraph so the author can see the editor’s point more clearly.
• A good book editor understands authors know what they intend to say and thus it’s easy for authors to skip something they think is obvious but the reader may not. It’s the job of a good book editor to alert the author to those holes in the manuscript so the author can fill them in.
• A good author never takes edits personally. Publishing is business. Books are in print (or on e-readers) a long time. Good authors realize good editors strive to improve the book, not attack the author.
• A good author considers editor suggestions regarding content and clarity, then makes the decision on how to handle the suggestions.
• A good author understands there are style manuals the editor follows (Chicago Manual of Style in the case of book editing) and allows the copy edits (punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, etc.) without argument.

There will be disagreements between editors and authors, but using these tips should help.

Happy writing!

Thus, if you purchase the ISBN from Bowker, you are the publisher of your work and thus are self-published.

At Expert Publishing, we purchase the ISBNs, which means we are the publisher of record and none of our authors (except me) are self-published. It also means all the negative connotations associated with the term self-publishing disappear.

Unfortunately, too many puppy mill presses confuse the marketplace by continuing to misuse the term self-publishing.

Another confusing term the puppy mill presses use is print-on-demand publishing. Print-on-demand isn’t a type of publishing. It’s a type of printing technology. Specifically, it’s the term used for digital printing technology.

The last term I want to alert you to is vanity publishing versus pay-to-publish. Vanity publishers charge high fees and do little or nothing to improve your book. They are not discerning in what they publish. If you’ve got enough money, they’ll publish you.

Pay-to-publish options are springing up all over, including in royalty publishing houses. In 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that Thomas Nelson, a major Christian book publisher, added West Bow Press as an imprint. The article alerts the reader that Thomas Nelson editors will not be editing manuscripts published in this imprint, however.

Another pay-to-publish enterprise is Harlequin’s (yes, the royalty romance publisher) venture, Harlequin Horizons. In November 2009, an email interview DearAuthor.com conducted with to Malle Vallik, Harlequin’s Digital Director, revealed that books  published in this imprint won’t enjoy “traditional Harlequin distribution” nor “carry traditional Harlequin branding.”

Book publishing is business, not dream fulfillment. It’s up to you, as author, to make the best business decision for your publishing goals. Expert Publishing only publishes business, self-help, and inspiration books. Yes, our authors pay for our expertise, and we’re discerning about what we publish since our name is on the book too. If we don’t think the author’s manuscript is ready for the marketplace, we turn it down.

Before you decide how to publish your book, do your homework. If you decide to sell your intellectual property to a royalty publisher, good for you. If you decide to keep your rights and own them once published, good for you. But whichever way you go, be sure you’re getting good book design, good book editing, and book publishing expertise you trust because books are in print a long time.

Happy writing!

And this trend shows up in our writing in the form of abbreviations. Department becomes Dept. Management becomes Mgmt.  Each example eliminates some of the word’s vowels.

I knw th wrld cn ndrstnd ths.

I’m sure you get the idea of my previous sentence and there isn’t one vowel in it (except the opening “I”). But getting the idea isn’t what you want when you write. You want to be understood.

Text messaging is another example of how we’ve come to rely on abbreviations in our writing.

Book writing, however, differs from other writing because books immortalize authors. Add that we’re writing in a living language and you only have to read one or two Olde English books to see how language evolves. We don’t need to complicate the reader’s experience by adding too many abbreviations.

ACRONYMS

Having said that, it’s also tedious to read the spelled out names of commonly recognized acronyms. For example, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers is well-known as MADD. So when writing about MADD, include the spelled out name the first time you use the acronym, then use the acronym thereafter. Example: She looked up MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) on the Internet. She was amazed at how much information there was about MADD.

Another issue for writers is whether to use “a” or “an” with an acronym. How we pronounce the first word of the acronym determines which we use, not whether the first letter is a consonant or vowel. For example, the consonant “n” sounds like a vowel, so we use “an.” Example: Insert an en-dash between numbers such as 2010-2011.

STATES and COMPASS POINTS

Everyone knows to abbreviate states with the two-letter abbreviation (AK, AR, ND, NY, etc.), but we don’t always know when to abbreviate compass points. Abbreviate compass points that follow street names, but not those that precede street names. Example: He lived at 210 Tulip Street NW. He lived at 210 Northwest Tulip Street.

TITLES

Abbreviate social titles such as Ms. or Mr. or Mrs.

Abbreviate other titles only when they precede a person’s name. Example: Rev. Billy Graham.

DATES

Abbreviate dates (Jun 2, 2011) only in informal writing. When writing your book (which is formal writing), spell out June 2, 2011.

Remember that your book will reflect on you for a long time. Be sure you write to be understood. Abbreviations are a good tool, but can be confusing. Avoid overusing them.

Happy writing!

Here are some examples.

• Bring and Take–Use  bring when something moves toward the person. Use take when something is being moved away from the person.

Bring example: Bring me the remote control.

Take example: I don’t know what to take to the meeting (not bring to the meeting).

• Can and May–Use can when you’re writing about something having ability. Use may when you’re writing about something being permitted.

Can example: With my new job, I can pay my bills on time.

May example: I’ll ask if I may go to the party.

• Continually and Continuously–Use continually if your intention is to write about something having occasional interruption. Use continuously if your intention is to show no interruption.

Continually example: We hear loud music from that house continually.

Continuously: She listened to her favorite song continuously for two hours.

• Data and Datum–Data is the plural of datum. Thus, if you are writing about one fact or statistic, datum is correct. If you are writing about more than one fact or statistic, use data.

Datum example: The datum suggests e-books currently sell better than print books.

Data example: The data for the past three months show e-books are outselling print books by a substantial number.

• Disinterested and Uninterested–Use disinterested when you’re writing about something not influenced by self-interest. Use uninterested when you’re writing about someone simply not interested in something.

Disinterested example: I am a disinterested  party.

Uninterested example: I am uninterested in the topic.

• Each other and One another–Use each other when you’re writing about two people.  Use one another when you’re writing about three or more people.

Each other example: The couple looked at each other with desire.

One another: The dinner guests greeted one another politely.

I’ve offered just a few examples of words I see writers commonly confuse. Books are in print a long time and your name is on your book as the author. Don’t undermine your credibility with sloppy writing. And don’t rely on your editor to save you. Frankly, many editors hang out their shingle but really aren’t very good. Some are fantastic and worth everything you pay them.  When you find a good book editor who understands your voice and understands grammar and punctuation and the Chicago Manual of Style (the book publishing industry standard), don’t let him/her go!

Happy writing!