Poetry, an art form as ancient as language itself, offers an endless array of expressions and emotions, captured in the rhythm and rhyme of words. It’s a realm where the soul speaks, and the heart listens, transcending the mundane to touch the sublime. For aspiring poets and seasoned wordsmiths alike, understanding the different types of poetry is not just an academic exercise; it’s a journey into the heart of what makes us human. 

Whether it’s the structured elegance of a sonnet or the boundless freedom of free verse, each form of poetry offers a unique lens through which we view the world. In this exploration, we will delve into various poetry styles, offering insights and inspiration for anyone wondering how to write a poem. As we journey through the traditional, the modern, and the experimental, prepare to uncover the beauty and diversity of poetic expression, a journey that promises to enrich and enliven your own creative endeavors.

The Essence of Traditional Poetry Forms

Sonnets. The sonnet, originating in Italy, is known for its precise structure: 14 lines, typically in iambic pentameter, with a specific rhyme scheme. It’s famed for exploring themes of love, mortality, and nature, with Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets being the most notable forms.

Haikus. Haikus, a gem from traditional Japanese poetry, are deceptively simple yet profound. Consisting of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable structure, haiku poems capture a moment in time, often reflecting on nature or seasonal changes. Their brevity demands precision, evoking deep emotions and insights.

Ballads. Ballads, steeped in oral tradition, are narrative poems that tell stories. They are usually composed in quatrains with a simple rhyme scheme, often ABAB or AABB. Ballads are known for their repetitive and rhythmic nature, making them easy to memorize and recite, often focusing on themes of love, tragedy, or heroism.

Villanelles. The villanelle is a form marked by its strict pattern: 19 lines divided into five tercets and a final quatrain, with two refrains and two repeating rhymes. Famous for its circular and obsessive quality, it’s ideal for exploring themes of obsession, memory, and love, as seen in Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Exploring Modern Poetry Styles

Free Verse. Free verse poetry broke away from the conventions of rhyme and meter to offer poets the ultimate creative freedom. Without a set structure, these poems flow naturally, following the rhythm of speech rather than a prescribed pattern. This form allows for a deep exploration of themes and emotions, with the layout on the page often contributing to the poem’s impact. Poets like Walt Whitman and T.S. Eliot revolutionized this style, using it to convey complex ideas and reflect the spontaneity and fluidity of thought.

Concrete Poetry. Concrete poetry, also known as shape poetry, is where the visual arrangement of text matters as much as the words themselves. The layout of the poem creates a shape that visually represents the theme, enhancing the reader’s experience through a blend of visual art and literary expression. This form encourages a playful interaction between the poem’s content and its physical form, adding an extra layer of meaning. From the iconic mouse’s tail in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to more contemporary examples, concrete poetry challenges the traditional boundaries between poetry and visual art.

The Role of Experimental and Hybrid Forms

Experimental Poetry. Experimental poetry is a playground for linguistic innovation, where poets challenge and redefine the boundaries of conventional poetry. These forms often incorporate unconventional syntax, visual elements, and sometimes digital media, creating an immersive experience. Poets like E.E. Cummings and Gertrude Stein are known for their experimental approaches, using fragmentation, collage, and typographical play to push the limits of poetic expression. This style invites readers to engage with poetry in new and often surprising ways.

Hybrid Forms. Hybrid forms of poetry blend elements from traditional and modern styles, creating a fusion that transcends conventional genre boundaries. This approach allows poets to explore a rich tapestry of techniques, marrying the rhythmic discipline of classical forms with the expressive freedom of contemporary styles. Hybrid poetry often reflects the multifaceted nature of human experiences, encompassing a diverse range of voices and perspectives. It symbolizes the evolving nature of poetry, continuously adapting and growing with each generation.

How to Write a Poem: Tips and Techniques

Embarking on the journey of writing a poem can be both exhilarating and daunting. To begin, immerse yourself in a wide array of poetry styles. Read extensively, from classic sonnets to contemporary free verse, to understand different forms and rhythms. Pay attention to how poets use language, imagery, and structure to convey emotion and meaning.

Start by writing about what moves you. Poetry is a reflection of personal experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Don’t be afraid to express yourself honestly and vividly. Experiment with different forms to find what resonates with your voice. Remember, there are no hard rules in poetry – it’s a space for creative exploration and expression.

Lastly, practice regularly. Writing poetry is a skill that develops over time. Write regularly, be open to feedback, and don’t be disheartened by initial challenges. Every poem you write brings you closer to finding your unique poetic voice.

As we conclude our exploration of the different types of poetry, it’s clear that this art form is as dynamic and diverse as the human experience it encapsulates. From the structured beauty of sonnets to the unrestrained freedom of free verse, poetry offers a spectrum of expression that continually evolves. Each style, whether traditional or modern, serves as a testament to the enduring power of words to capture the complexities of life, emotion, and imagination.

For poets and readers alike, the world of poetry is an endless wellspring of inspiration and discovery. As you embark on or continue your poetic journey, remember that the boundaries of poetry are only as limited as your imagination. Embrace the diverse forms, experiment with your own creations, and let your voice add to the rich tapestry of this timeless art. In poetry, every word, every verse, contributes to the ongoing dialogue between the past, present, and future, weaving a narrative that is ever-growing, ever-transforming.

Writing an author bio can sometimes feel more frustrating than sitting in front of your word processor with no idea in your mind to fill the page. How do you structure it, what elements do you include, and what are agents, publishers, and readers looking for in your bio? It’s enough to make your head start spinning.

Fortunately, to coin a cliché, there’s an app for that. Several tech startups decided to make life easier for you with an author bio plugin for your WordPress website. Thank heavens for technology, right?

Why Use an Author Bio Plugin for WordPress?

An author bio plugin for your website displays a customized section at the footer of your WordPress pages. Surprisingly, many templates come with this feature built into the design, ready to go.

The plugin allows you to change how you position and display your bio, and you get options for including links to your social media accounts. Adding a customized author bio in WordPress benefits your blog by improving your authority and credibility with readers.

The bio establishes a connection between you and the reader, giving prospective agents the information they need on your career and what you write. Installing and using these code-free plugins is easy; let’s walk you through our top choices.

#1 All-in-One SEO

Used by over two million WordPress sites, All in One SEO offers you more than just a simple bio plugin. You get a comprehensive toolkit to improve your site’s search engine ranking without learning the technicalities of SEO.

The setup wizard lets you choose optimal SEO settings, and the built-in checklist guides you through the process with user-friendly navigation and simplistic functionality. All-in-One SEO comes with an integrated feature for improving your author profile page.

The default setting displays a list of recent posts from your author profile page, assisting readers with finding your content. If you host several authors on your site, there are options for multiple author bios. All-in-One SEO is ideal for showcasing your author bio and generating more traffic from Google.

#2 WP Post Author

If you operate a WordPress website solely for your use, WP Post Author offers you the most user-friendly option for an author bio plugin. It integrates seamlessly with any template, blending in with the design.

WP Post Author displays your author name, avatar, a short bio, company role (if you work for a publisher or company), and icons linking to your social media accounts. You get complete control over the design elements displayed in your bio and the alignment of your profile picture and text.

WP Post Author comes with three built-in widgets and a shortcode for displaying your author bio in the sidebar and other areas on your pages.

#3 Simple Author Box

This WordPress plugin is user-friendly and easy to set up in minutes. It’s a feature-rich add-on giving you plenty of customization options for your author bio box. Add your author bio, a custom Gravatar, and icons for your social media links.

You get complete control over the template typography, colors, background, and other visual design elements. We like the option for displaying your business email address, allowing your readers and prospective agents to reach out to you for inquiries.

Simple Author Box comes with a real-time bio preview allowing you to visualize the changes as you implement them. If you want to take the plugin features to the next level, a pro version offers even more utility to your author bio, but the free version is already outstanding if you don’t feel like spending the extra money.

#4 Starbox

Starbox brings you a user-friendly, feature-rich author bio plugin compatible with any WordPress theme. It has several built-in bio box templates to suit your page design and options to create unique author bio boxes for all authors on your website.

You can control design elements like author names, organizational roles, profile images, and more. There’s even an option for adding tabbed author bios, including links to the latest posts from each specific author on the site.

If your author website has an online store where you’re selling your books, you’ll benefit from Starbox’s integration with the WooCommerce plugin to display your author bio on your sales pages.

#5 Molongui Authorship

This WordPress author, bio box plugin displays an author box for co-authors and contributors to your site. It’s the ideal plugin for multi-author platforms and guest contributors, removing the hassle of creating additional WordPress accounts.

Molongui Authorship allows users to customize their bio with multiple themes, colors, layouts, avatars,  typography, and social media icons linking to their accounts. You also get control over displaying the author bio box below or above your page entries.

This plugin integrates with the WordPress Customizer, allowing full control over customizing every aspect of the presentation of your bio box.

#6 Meks Smart Author Widget

With the Meks Smart Author Widget, you get full control over placing your author bio box anywhere on your WordPress site. Display your avatar, bio, icons to your social media accounts, and a link to your profile page listing all your articles.

It’s a fantastic plugin for adding a feature-rich author bio widget to the backend of your WordPress sidebar. You get a straightforward setup, including auto-detect functionality for finding the post author and an instant display of the relevant bio.

The plugin fetches author information from WordPress profiles, allowing you to edit all author profiles with comprehensive information.

#7 Branda

This white-labeled WordPress author bio plugin allows adding feature-rich bio boxes blending seamlessly with your blog theme. Branda’s full white-label WordPress solution lets authors customize the site’s front and back end with independent author boxes.

You access the settings screen on Branda through the plugin’s front end of the customization settings menu. This user-friendly tool covers all aspects of the author box design. 

Branda allows authors to configure visibility, design options, and elements like avatars, template colors, social media profiles, and integration with custom CSS. Branda brings you the only premium, 100% free white-label WordPress plugin.

What if Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had an affair? What if the characters in Game Of Thrones were to star in an edition of Big Brother VIP? What if Katniss Everdeen were to reflect on the loss of virginity just before the next Hunger Games?

Fanfiction is literature by the fans, for the fans. A tool to explore the themes that some successful sagas don’t dare touch. They are a phenomenon unknown to the general public, but it encourages millions of people to read and write, affects the scripts of television series, has its own jargon and is the origin of bestsellers like Fifty Shades of Grey. The communities are immense and their impact on popular culture is enormous from What about Brian to Mulberry.

A fanfiction is a story written by and for fans that draws on fictional universes of other authors to explore the empty spaces of the story, reinterpret facts and characters, or create a completely new plot. “It is a text created from the needs of a reader who wants to clarify points of a story, deepen the relationships between characters, translate them to another reality …”, defines Claudia ‘Misvan’, philologist and fanfics reader.

Viko, 24, reads and writes about series such as Naruto or Inazuma Eleven and explains it this way: “I like to read and I like to imagine stories beyond what the authors tell”. She adds that “there are wonderful characters who are left without history because they are secondary” and that “it is entertaining to look for details in the canon”, the original story, “to form other ideas”.

In her story Dormiens, author Dryadeh narrates how Draco Malfoy has become a fugitive and will have to accept Hermione Granger’s help to survive: “Hermione covered her mouth with one hand trying to hide a giggle at the sight of Malfoy’s stupefied face. It was clear that Mrs. Weasley had decided to adopt him, and she doubts that he would like it if this practically unknown woman gave him orders as if she were his mother.”

In another fanfiction, Kirschtein Dawk placed the Game of Thrones characters in Big Brother’s confessionals: “Sixteen strangers will have to live on the same island apart from all kinds of civilization. This year we have chosen Rocadragon as our favourite place. One hundred and fifty-four video cameras will be hidden all over the house. We will leave nothing to the imagination.

There are brilliant ideas, but there are also stories that can send you to the hospital. Perla Shumajer became famous on the Harry Potter forums for her unpredictable and wild prose. This fan wrote: “Harry Potter waits for a punishment, and that is to go to Snape’s office, and wait for Snape, Snape to arrive and both declare their love, be boyfriends and have sex, because that’s life.” Perla was also able to imagine sex scenes with impossible script twists.

Fan communities gather on portals such as Wattpad and AO3. They produce hundreds of stories every day. Wattpad’s 40 million users have posted 100 million texts since 2006 and read for 13 billion minutes a month. The Fanfiction.net forum has been running since 1998 and has more than two million registered users producing stories in 30 different languages.

It is common to try writing fanfiction before launching into professional literature. For Viko it is “a natural intermediate step between the reader and the writer”. Since the author “does not have to face the complicated task of designing a whole world and characters to start producing by himself”. It makes an easier path to transition. With the help of sites like Reedsy, Squibler, and others providing resources to writers, many fic writers make the transition to publishing quite smoothly after building some skills.

In addition, the fanfiction writer has another advantage: the public will read about a fiction they previously liked. It’s a convenient way to start writing and lose the fear of publishing. Literary quality is not a problem. Most authors are not professionals and the community just wants to have fun. Trial and error are necessary to keep the conversation alive and the machine never stops. It happens the other way around in the publishing sector, where a bad book can label you as a mediocre writer for years.

Harry Potter, Twilight, Glee, Doctor Who, The Hunger Games, Dragon Ball or Buffy Vampire Slayer are some of the most popular franchises, but there is fanfiction about everything from the NBA to the One Direction. Fan communities or ‘fandoms’ expand and rewrite these universes collectively for the love of art. They function like a beehive mind that produces new material, filters it and improves it organically.

“Not only are they made to please,” says Elisa McCausland, a journalist and cultural critic, “you can also change them and test them. The consumer detects a need, covers it and perfects the product. “It is normal that capitalism is happy with this tool,” adds McCausland, “it is an interesting mechanism to know if something is going to be successful, that is test version.

One of the most lucrative editorial bombings of recent years, Fifty Shades of Grey, was born as a torrid encounter between the prude vampires of the Twilight saga. The story had already triumphed with Bella and Edward as protagonists, so it only needed a few touches and publicity to sell copies as churros.

Sometimes, this perverse test serves so that the plots that triumph in the fandoms end up reflected in the canon. Princesa Chicle and Marceline, from Hora de Aventuras, are a regular couple in fanfiction environments. The scriptwriters have supported the idea on several occasions, but have never made it explicit in the series. “The fandom legitimizes that in the series and in comics the winks can move on to something else,” says McCausland.

That “something else” happened in the Nickelodeon series Legend of Korra. Fans went crazy with an unofficial romance between the characters Korra and Asami. In fanfiction jargon, these love stories are known as ‘shippeos’. The shippeos are the soul of fanfiction. Everybody likes a good ship. The scriptwriters listened to the fans and ended up introducing romance into the series. The tandem ‘Korrasami’ was born on the internet and ended up in the canon.

In one of the first academic definitions of fanfiction, MIT professor Henry Jenkins said that “it is a way for culture to repair the damage done in a system where contemporary myths are owned by corporations rather than by the people.

Reinterpreting characters and modifying popular narratives is nothing new: oral tradition stories, from the Iliad to gestational songs, had as many versions as interpreters. These icons and stories belonged to the people, but today they are the property of large media groups. The fanfiction, in a way, recovers those figures and gives them back to the people.

Writing and reading fanfiction is a rebellious gesture, but with nuances. After all, fandoms are born from the cult of a product created by capitalism. “The opportunity to hack, the possibility of meme, troleo… is resistance, but it is also consumption”, underlines Elisa McCausland, “although it is another type of consumption, intervened and resignified”.

The community itself is already something groundbreaking. Fandoms tend to be made up mostly of women. This can be seen in the approaches, the themes, the protagonists and the tone of the texts. “The mainstream culture has a masculine, white, cisgender and heterosexist look, and the fanfic is a reaction to that look, it offers an alternative”, Zelsh points out. “Women have had very little voice in literature,” says Papaveri, “it’s a way of saying that we’re here, of showing your presence in an environment that doesn’t give you anything.

Society has assimilated the male writer’s archetype and the female reader’s archetype, explains Elisa McCausland. The fact that consumption is assigned to the feminine gender has an objective: “To subtract value from it”.

The Internet turns this situation around. We live in a time of the ‘prosumer’. The boundaries between producing and consuming are blurring. McCausland explains that the subject “no longer reads, listens and assimilates information, but constructs it, manipulates it, appropriates it and resignifies it”. He adds that “many, and especially many, have used this potential to build and project themselves through fiction”.

“When one writes or reads fanfiction, one looks for something that has not been seen in the canon,” says Viko. Is that why erotic stories and homosexual themes abound? It’s not the only reason, but it’s probably one of them: “A lot is written about novels and series in which romance is very much in the background or doesn’t exist at all,” Viko continues, “and homosexual themes abound because most of the characters and the best written are men. When someone writes, they want good characters. Unfortunately, female characters are often full of clichés.

Are you working on your first book? Many newbie authors assume that publishers will jump at the chance to publish their work. All you need to do is mail them a copy of the manuscript, and the publisher will call you back in a few days, offering you a three-book deal, with movie studios hounding you for the rights to your work.

The reality is that’s not the case.

Unless you’re the next coming of J.K. Rowling, getting a publishing house to take you on as a featured author is next to impossible. Before you give up on your dreams of being an author, you always have the option of going the self-publishing route.

Self-publishing your work has several advantages. While it might seem expensive to outlay all the capital required to get hard copies of your book, you don’t have to cut anyone in on the profits. Digital books also offer a low-cost option for publishing on Kindle and Amazon.

Before you find yourself overwhelmed with excitement, you need to answer this question – has anyone edited your work? Just because you’re self-publishing doesn’t mean you can skip out on that part of the process. Editing your manuscript is critical to your success.

An editing team ensures that you publish a highly-polished product that people will enjoy reading. Having a good experience with your first self-published title opens the door to get that three-book deal with a publishing house. Here are our top six reasons why you need to consider professional editing of your manuscript before you send it off for publishing.

#1 Prepare for Publishing

Hiring an editing service ensures you get a finished product ready for self-publishing. Your editing team will return a highly-polished product, and all you must do is make the final alterations before publishing the book.

Most writers have a bias in their work and need help to see how they can improve it. They assume that it’s perfect and the audience will love it. This hubris isn’t doing you any favors. If you publish your book and receive negative reviews, it could ruin your career as a self-published author.

Hiring an editing team to review and correct your work is essential to success. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you can’t improve your work. There’s always room for stepping up your game.

#2 Clean Up Your Mistakes

Most writers are so relieved they finally finished their book that they don’t take the time to re-read their work and look for errors. Chances are your book has hundreds, if not thousands, of mistakes in your work. Nothing detracts more from the reader experience that reading a book with grammar and spelling errors littered throughout the content.

Surprisingly, many authors never take the time to complete a review of their manuscript. They assume the first pass is perfect and head to self-publishing without giving editing a second thought. Don’t be that author, and believe your work is flawless.

#3 Improve Your Voice, Cadence, and Flow

Sending your manuscript to an editing team is worth the time and money. When you receive your work, the editing team will adjust your content for flow, cadence, and writing voice. You’ll notice plenty of lines crossed through your work and comments offering suggestions on how to improve your writing.

These suggestions aren’t harsh criticism. The editing team doesn’t want to impact your vision; they want to enhance it. The goal of editing your manuscript is to add value to your work, not tear it down.

#4 Enhance Your Storytelling

The editing team makes corrections to your storytelling and writing voice. Essentially, they make the story flow at the right pace and improve the reader experience. They’ll point out flaws in your plot and characters and suggest constructive ways to improve your storyline.

#5 Give More to the Reader Experience

When you receive your final edited manuscript, you have a product offering the reader a better experience. The edited document covers all the bases involving the plot, storyline, character development, and pacing, resulting in improved reader engagement throughout the book.

#6 Improve Your Chances of Future Publishing

If your goal is to land that coveted three-book deal with a publishing house, an editing service can bring you closer to making that a reality. If your first book becomes successful and receives good traction on Amazon or Kindle, you position yourself with an advantage in obtaining a publishing deal for your second book.

When completing your second edited manuscript, you can send it to a publisher with your first book. The publisher will review your prior success and your current work. You never know. You might get that call you’ve dreamed of receiving since you first put pen to paper.

Proofreading or Editing?

Book editing services cover four elements of the editing process.

• Proofreading – checks your work for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax errors.
• Copy editing – same as proofreading, but may include minor suggestions for structural changes.
• Content editing – looks at the story, recommending changes in flow, structure, and more.
• Development editing – guides you to alter the plot, characters, and more.

A proofreading service is a very limited form of manuscript editing. It’s better to go with a complete editing service to ensure you get the best overall editing experience for your book.

Where Can I Find Book Editors for Self-Publishing Projects?

Search online if you’re looking for self-publishing book editors in New York. You have options to hire freelancers on sites like Fiverr and Upwork or opportunities to work with professional writing companies. Which one is the right choice?

It depends on your budget and what you want from the editing process. If you have limited funds, the freelancer is the best option. However, these individuals are usually providing low-quality results compared to professional services. You’ll need to choose the right freelancer for the task. Ensure you choose an editor with a strong track record.

If you have the budget available, you can’t beat the results you get with a professional service. These companies have a team of editors covering all aspects of the editing process. You’ll get a professionally edited manuscript delivered to your inbox that provides the optimal experience for the reader.

Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of being an author and you’re trying to set yourself up for success before you dive in and start writing, or maybe you’ve drafted a great story that you would like to share with the world. Whatever the case may be, if you’re considering publishing your writing, you might be exploring some publishers that you can present your work to. 

There are so many publishing companies throughout the world, some that have been around for decades, and others that are newly established and quickly made a place for themselves. Here’s a look at some of the biggest publishing companies that you might want to consider using. 

Pearson

Of the countless book publishers in the world, Pearson stands at the top of the list. This British-owned publishing company was founded in 1844 and focuses on texts and assessment services for educational purposes, Pearson operates in more than 70 countries; however, more than 60 percent of its revenue comes from North America consumers. Headquartered in London, England, Pearson’s annual earnings are an estimated $6.07 billion USD. 

Thomason Reuters 

A Canadian publishing company that operates in countries across the world, Thomson Reuters was founded in Toronto, Canada in 2008. In fact, the company was ranked Canada’s “leading corporate brand” in the 2010 Interbrand Best Canadian Brands ranking. According to the most recent estimates, the publishing company brings in an estimated $4.9 billion USD per year. 

Penguin Random House

Established in 2013, Penguin Random House may be less than a decade old, but it has quickly made a name for itself in the publishing industry. The company came about as a result of a merger that brought together Random House, a media company that was owned by Gertelsmann, and Penguin Group, which was owned by Perason plc. Penguin Random house publishes upwards of 15,000 titles per year under 250 divisions. In 2014, the company signed a first-look production deal with Universal Pictures, which would allow Random House to be the sole producer of movies that are based on Penguin Random House titles. In 2015, the publishing company expanded and rebranded its focus on educational materials. In 2020, the firm agreed to purchase Simon & Schuster, another publishing company, for $2.175 billion USD. Last year, the company generated an estimated $3.3 billion USD. 

Hachette Livre

A French publishing company, Hachette Livre was founded in 1826 as a bookshop and publishing company. The firm eventually acquired several companies, which allowed them to further expand their global presence, which now includes Hachette UK, Hachette Australia, and Hachette Book Group USA, just to name a few. The company publishes a large variety of genres in several formats, including comic books, web comics, and adult coloring books. The firm is headquartered in Beaugrennelle district in Paris’ 15^th arrondissement. It is estimated that they make $2.7 billion USD annually. 

McGraw-Hill Education 

An American educational company that was founded in 1888 and focuses on math-based materials, McGraw-Hill is one of the “big three” educational publishers in the world. The company puts out customizable educational content, software, and services for students, from grades pre-K through postgraduate school. In 2013, Apollo Global Management acquired McGraw-Hill Education for $2.4 billion USD. In addition to their traditional educational materials, the company also offers digital products and services to 11 million users worldwide. The company makes an estimated $1.71 billion USD per year. 

Scholastic Corporation

A children’s publishing company that focuses on educational materials, Scholastic Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in New York. They publish and distribute texts and media products for the educational sector for parents, children, teachers, and schools. The firm makes an estimated $1.74 billion USD in revenue each year. 

Did you know? Most people have, at some point, considered writing a book — so having the same life goal doesn’t make you unique. If you’ve started writing your manuscript, whether it’s a novel, memoir, short story, trade work, or self-help book, you’re already ahead of the curve. If you finish your book and manage to (self-)publish it, you’re among the rare few. 

There’s no denying that writing a book is always tough, though, and that it’s doubly so if you’re a debut author. What tips should you always keep in mind as you’re writing your book, to increase your odds of making it over the finish line?

1. Get Your “Bookcave” Set Up

Every superhero needs a comfortable workshop to tinker in, and where they won’t be interrupted (too much). For many authors, that means upgrading their office space, whether that happens to be in a former guest room or at the kitchen table. You might want a comfortable chair that doesn’t cause your back to hurt, an ergonomic mouse and keyboard, a table that’s the right height for you, and better lighting, for instance. 

Since writing a book necessarily depends on doing research and keeping your ideas organized, however, your digital lair is often even more important. Software like Ulysses, Evernote, Scrivener, and Bibisco is going to make sure that you can plan your book with ease, and you’ll never lose track of a genius idea you dreamed up in the middle of the night. 

2. Commit to a Schedule

Poor time management and self-doubt might be a debut author’s biggest enemies — and make no mistake, they’re going to team up against you. To make sure you will actually finish your book, commit to a schedule. That may entail writing a set number of words each day, or spending a certain amount of time on your work. If the words simply aren’t flowing, conduct research instead, or write anyway and edit later. That book won’t write itself. 

3. Do Your Research

This always applies — yes, even if you are writing your memoirs and you are the main character in your story. Are you writing a sci-fi novel? You’ll want the world-building to be, to whatever extent possible, to be scientifically feasible. Are you penning a self-help book, and are you citing any studies or quoting anyone at all? Are you going to be interviewing people? The success of your work depends on its accuracy, so you’ll want to check and double check everything. 

Current trends in the publishing industry also need to be researched, though. If your book relies on overused tropes or the market is oversaturated for your genre, you will have a hard time getting your book published or attracting readers if you choose to self-publish. Publishing options and literary agents are two further factors to research. Writing a book, it turns out, is about far more than writing alone. 

4. Don’t Go it Alone!

You’ll have to do most of the work yourself, but don’t for a second think that you can be a one-man band. Anyone can self-publish a book without any input from anyone else these days, but you are aiming for quality. Partner with beta readers and critique partners through literary forums, and ask everyone you know to read your manuscript and offer feedback. When you’re as done as you can possibly be, strongly consider partnering with an experienced editor to take your manuscript to the next level. 

Finally, don’t give up. You’ve set yourself the goal of writing a book. Don’t give up until you are finished and proud enough of your work that you’d be happy for the whole world to read it.

Once your book is (almost) finished and you are beginning exploring publishing options, you may be wondering how to go about finding a literary agent. These professionals are quite literally the gatekeepers of the publishing industry — and unless you are already a famous published author, considering self-publishing, or willing to work with an obscure indie publishing house, you are going to need a literary agent to achieve your goals. 

Your literary agent can help you fine-tune your manuscript, get a foot in the door with editors, and negotiate on your behalf to ensure that you land the best possible book deal. So how exactly do you go about finding a literary agent, especially if you are a debut author who lacks industry connections? 

The process can be nerve-wrecking and long, because you don’t simply choose your literary agent  — they have to choose you and your book, too. The internet makes finding the right literary agent significantly easier, but if you are hoping to sign with a reputable agent and get your book published, you will have to do your research. 

Before you even think about querying with literary agents, make sure that:

• Your manuscript is, for all intents and purposes, finished. You will have worked with beta readers and critique partners, and your book should ideally have gone through the process of professional editing.
• You familiarize yourself with the process of querying — today, you can learn what you can truly expect from many already published authors who share their successes (and their fails!) to make it easier for you. 
• You have a strong synopsis and an excellent query letter that clearly explains what your book is about and why it deserves to be published. 
• You understand what literary agents do in detail. 

Once you are ready you can, as an aspiring author, absolutely begin researching your top picks online. Reedsy and QueryTracker.net are both excellent places to start for new authors. Countless websites dedicated to helping authors get published have compiled their own very long lists of literary agencies and individual agents, as well.

Each literary agent has their own niche, and there is no point in approaching literary agents who do not work within your genre. You need to decide whether you would like to try to sign with a seasoned book agent with many years of experience, or would be comfortable working with a newer literary agent who may have more time to dedicate to getting your manuscript placed. Authors will also need to decide what type of agent they need, and learn about literary agent red flags. Unscrupulous agents, who may demand payment before you reach a book deal and are unlikely to get you where you want to be, are known as “schmagents”, and you want to steer well clear of them.

Once you have narrowed your potential options down, you can look at potential agents’ track record in the industry, explore reviews from other clients, and get a feel for the agent’s personality through their website and social media. Since you will be working very closely with your literary agent, it is important that you can at the very least develop a solid working relationship. Your journey toward becoming a publisher author will be much more pleasant if you also actively like your literary agent.

At this point, before you send query letters, make sure that the agents you are considering are currently accepting new clients. Read their instructions carefully, make sure to follow them, and personalize your pitch. This way, you’ll be maximizing your chances of offers and signing with the literary agent of your dreams!

Novels, short stories, plays, songs, and poems might be what immediately comes to mind when you imagine creative writing, but your text doesn’t have to fall under the umbrella of fiction to be passionate, imaginative, colorful, and vivid. Have you recently decided to get (back into) creative writing? Unless you also explore creative non-fiction, you could needlessly be limiting yourself. This look at the types of creative non-fiction you could dive into should loosen your creative impulses and offer you much-needed inspiration if you’re a little bit lost. 

What is creative non-fiction?

Creative non-fiction differs from creative fiction in one crucial way — while fiction, though often inspired by real-life events and experiences, offers the writer complete creative freedom, creative nonfiction is instead founded on facts. That means that you can’t conjure any element of the text itself from the depths of your imaginative mind, and you’ll have to do your research to ensure any claims you make are factually accurate. 

Writing creative non-fiction does not, on the other hand, mean that your text has to read like an instruction manual or an encyclopedia entry. The “creative” part means you are free to experiment with the words, sentences, and structure of your writing as much as you like. If you are writing creative non-fiction from your own perspective, you also get to infuse your work with personal opinions and experiences.

Among the more common types of creative non-fiction are:

• Memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies. 
• Travel writing. 
• Book, film, and product reviews. 
• Personal essays. 
• Marketing copy.
• Interviews.
• Speeches. 
• Op-eds and thinkpieces. 

The primary difference between writing that falls into the category of creative non-fiction and plain old non-fiction is that creative non-fiction gives writers more of a chance to build their worlds and their words. Rather than getting only the cold, hard, facts, readers also gain something else as they dive into creative non-fiction — they may be entertained, inspired, angered, called to action, or feel so immersed in your text they can truly relate. To achieve that effect, creative non-fiction writers use many of the same literary techniques more commonly confined to fiction. 

How to start improving your creative non-fiction

Whether you’re writing a school or college essay, interviewing your uncle about his childhood, or giving a speech to raise funds for a local animal shelter, you can take your creative non-fiction writing skills to the next level by borrowing some of the elements you’ll find in any good work of fiction:

• Character development. To make your readers, or your audience, care about the people you’re talking about, they’ll need to understand their backstory and the hardships that shaped their lives. 
• Plot. True, you can’t alter the facts when you’re writing creative non-fiction, but you can change how you tell a story. How can you make your writing more engaging? Fiction often begins by setting the stage, and then excites readers with suspenseful rising action before the story reaches a climax. At the end, all the loose ends are tied up. Creative non-fiction writers can make effective use of this same structure, and if they keep that in mind from the start, it will help them in their research.
• The setting. You can truly draw your audience in by vividly describing the physical surroundings, the cultural background of the people in your writing, and highlighting small details that could easily be missed, whether you’re interviewing someone or explaining why you should be the next class president. 
• Your theme. What lies at the heart of your writing? What’s the point? When you have a clear theme in mind throughout, you can not just constantly steer your readers back to it, but also sneak in subtle word choices that reinforce your theme throughout.

The final element is one that’s sorely lacking in non-creative non-fiction — and the reason why that type of text is frequent so very boring to wade through. It’s your personal voice, the big and small ways in which you, as a creative writer, make your own unique mark on your text. Your voice may be the first thing you take out when you’re trying to craft a mechanical work of non-fiction, but as you explore the art of writing creative non-fiction, that voice can shine.

5 Types of Memoirs That Get Published

There are a few types of memoirs that get published, while there are a lot of other types that simply do not. Understanding what the best types are will give you the best chance of getting on the shelves of your local bookstore. Of course, you still need to look at all of the other factors that go into whether or not a memoir gets published, but at least you know if you are writing in one of these particular subgenres, then you have a better chance than the average person writing something else entirely. Let’s take a look at five types of memoirs that actually get published

Political Memoirs

Political memoirs, often by people close to a major political figure like a president, are one of the few types of memoir that gets published. People want to find out about powerful people in politics. Usually, it has to be a pretty high profile person; a governor, a president or someone on the White House administration staff at the highest levels. If you were in that position, or you are close to a person in that position, then you might be the right person to write a memoir.

Rags-to-Riches

People love rags-to-riches stories, and this type of memoir actually does get read quite often, even when the person writing it is not particularly well-known. The problem is, there are a lot of these types of stories out there, and you have to figure out a way to make yours unique and marketable if you want to get published.

Celebrity Memoirs

Of course, any celebrity that publishes a memoir is going to have their own fan base for marketability. But if you are a friend of a celebrity, publishing a memoir about your own experiences with them might lend you a publishing deal. It depends upon the level of fame that your friend has, how close you are and whether you will be presenting a picture that the public hasn’t seen before.

Tell-All Memoirs

If you know the story behind something – particularly something scandalous – then you might want to think about writing a tell-all memoir. This type of memoir is one of the more popular ones, but it has to be something that is extremely well known or something that only happened recently.

Humorous Memoirs

Another type of memoir that you might be interested in writing using humorous memoir; Jean Shepherd was probably the most well-known humorist of the last century, and one of his essays became the basis for the holiday classic A Christmas Story.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that if you choose one of these types of memoirs to write, you will have a much better chance of getting published. Reedsy.com is a website with lots of articles and resources for publishing, including advice on how to write a memoir. Check them out and get as much information as you can before you begin writing your own memoir.

An ebook is similar to a book but just in a digital form. The fantastic thing about an ebook is that you may actually utilize it to boost your reputation with others but also to help increase visitors to your site. If you’ve got 30 ebooks you’ve written and they’re excellent ebooks and appeal to a lot of customers, then your aim of selling one million ebooks increase greatly and a lot more quickly then selling only one title. If you just have one ebook that you would like to sell in order to earn a million dollars then you might have to sell one million copies making one-dollar profit on each one. Although it’s very feasible to sell one million ebooks from just 1 title in a brief time period on a viral campaign, most authors have a couple ebooks from a catalog for sale.

If you put in a lot of effort, you will get into the habit of writing an ebook in 1 day. Your next step is going to be to post your new ebook to some of many ebook directories. Though it may appear lucrative to compose your own eBook and sell it, making enough sales to earn decent money isn’t as simple as it appears. Review your eBook and search for the benefits your eBook provides to the readers. Despite the fact that the ebook might cover the subject they need help in and it might even inform them how to repair the issue. The advertising ebook has turned into a very significant part marketing on the web. Actually, developing an advertising ebook is only the start.

If you’re using it for business, you should shower your leads with the suitable quantity of attention at the appropriate times.  Your likelihood of selling one million ebooks increase dramatically once you have several titles which you’re selling at exactly the same moment. After you have your very first benefit idea selected. You don’t need to know all the answers at this time, you don’t even must know all of them ever but what you do need is to be aware that the answer you need will be seen at precisely the correct time that you require it. There are not any easy answers as both offer advantages and pitfalls. Among the problems I see for men and women who have chosen to turn into an Affiliate Marketer is they think that they will need to know all the answers until they begin. With the inadequate communication, it may lead to other problems particularly linked to your affiliate commission payment.

Generally, the net has been shown that it has helped up change so many facets of our lives. Today people online want information. Whether you own a site or not, you are able to take advantage of autoresponders. Some sites provide free ebook cover templates. Just about any feature that you can place into an internet site can be placed into an EXE format ebook. Some sites won’t be user-friendly. There are sites which provide eBook reviews.

There are many topics on which you may write an ebook, just pick one that you’re suited for. Writing articles about your eBook can be among the most successful methods of eMarketing. Establishing a blog using Googles Blogger is a very simple and fulfilling experience.

Even small online stores will substantially increase your complete revenue. In addition here are a few steps to follow to explode your eBook sales employing totally free articles. Often up to 50% lower than what is earned from an ebook sale for a complete read.

Delighting customers has an immediate effect on the main point, so keep in contact with your customers. If you’re in a company that involves selling like affiliate marketing then the main step to take is to learn your target marketplace. Marketing should be in the work of creating lasting customer marriages, not only courting prospects. If you wind up doing affiliate marketing, keep in mind that honesty is vital.

You will discover and learn why the marketing business is suited to individuals who need to begin their organization and top 4 strategies to prevent the scam of affiliate programs. Online business is the quickest and fastest ways to make additional money on the side. The face and manner of the net and home based affiliate advertising company is constantly changing. When you run your own affiliate advertising business you don’t have a boss telling you what things to do. An individual ought to be suspicious of businesses that operate only by email. In the event the company does not have any excellent site, then you need to consider something different. An excellent affiliate provider knows that a greater commission will continue to keep their very best affiliates happy, and that keeping their affiliates happy is vital to good enterprise.