Why Publishers And Literary Agents Will Reject Your Manuscript

Why would publishers reject your manuscript?

So, you’ve chosen to pursue traditional publication. Maybe you’ve already had success with self-publishing and are looking to tackle the mainstream, or maybe your brand of literary fiction isn’t especially suited to the cutthroat Amazon marketplace – whatever the reason, you’re now in an unenviable position: facing the stern gatekeepers of the literary establishment.

The next step is to decide whether you’re going to try for a small press or a large publishing house. If the latter, you’ll need a literary agent, as there are very few big publishers who still accept manuscript submissions directly from authors. This adds a new step in the process, but thankfully submitting to a literary agent is much like submitting straight to a publisher – you still need to wow them.

As I’m sure you’re aware, getting published is far from easy. Publishers will reject your manuscript and not think twice about it. Many writers amass dozens or even hundreds of rejections before their book is eventually accepted, and while many factors influencing acceptance or rejection will be out of the author’s control, it’s important to know why manuscripts are rejected. Armed with this information, you’ll stand the best possible chance.

What are the reasons why publishers reject your manuscript?

Reason 1: Timing

Often, the reason why a publisher or agent will reject your manuscript has nothing to do with the quality of your writing – rather, it’s simply a case of bad timing. This can be especially frustrating, since your submission isn’t to blame and, short of infiltrating the publishing house, there’s nothing you could have done.

That said, being aware of how important timing is in the publishing journey can help you avoid (or at least understand) these most impersonal of rejections.

Market dips and cash crunches

Put simply, the publisher may reject your manuscript because they don’t have the cash to throw around at the moment. Maybe the market’s in a bad place, maybe they’ve not met targets this year, maybe they’re laying off staff – publishers are businesses, remember, and operations are just as cutthroat at Lil’ Red Pine Books as they are at your archetypal American Psycho corporation.

Often, the editor rejecting your book might not even know the reason for the slump – they’ll simply have been told not to take on any new books by the powers that be.

Sales departments and distributors

Two more frustrating obstacles between you and sweet publication are publishing house sales departments and distributors. A note from either of these entities to a commissioning editor – about how, for example, vampire YA just hasn’t been selling this quarter, or how sales of cookbooks are inexplicably way down in the Midwest – can pop your balloon before the editor’s even finished reading your query letter.

Inventory glut

It may simply be that, when you submit, the publisher already has a backlog of your particular genre to work through. Maybe your dark fantasy epic is great, but if the commissioning editor’s list already has three dark fantasy epics, they’re not going to have any space for you. Try again in a year or two.

Reason 2: Genre issues

Sometimes, publishers will reject your manuscript due to the genre. This could be due to the issues of timing I’ve already discussed, but it could also be that the publisher or agent you’ve chosen doesn’t work in that genre or can’t see a big enough return in its current audience.

Submit to the right people

Before you send off any query letters or manuscript samples, make sure the publishing house or literary agent you’re approaching actually deals in your genre. There’s no sense submitting your sci-fi odyssey to an agent who deals only in literary fiction, and you’re wasting your time submitting a graphic novel to a publisher who’s never touched one before. This information will be easy to find on the agent/publisher’s website.

Profit versus loss

No matter how good your novel is, if its genre is so specific that it’s only likely to appeal to a small group of readers, publishing houses simply won’t be able to turn a profit. And if they suspect so, then obviously they’ll reject your manuscript. Bear this in mind before pitching your book as a literary werewolf murder mystery written in verse and set in ancient Greece. It might be fantastic, but if only two people are going to read (and love!) it, publishers won’t be interested.

Reason 3: Manuscript and craft flaws

Now we get to the most obvious decider of your manuscript’s fate: craft. By this, I mean how good your book is – how well-written, how engaging, how relevant, etc. Now, craft is a multi-faceted thing, so I’ll limit myself to the big issues.

Authority

Authority is a difficult thing to put your finger on. In her excellent article on rejection, Constance Renfrow defined authority as ‘absolute control over the language: every word is exactly right, placed just where it belongs, creating a narrative voice that says, “You can trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”’

This ineffable quality is difficult to introduce and maintain, but if your text doesn’t have it, they’re going to pass.

Language and style

A good editor will be able to tell from the first paragraph whether a manuscript is ready or not purely by the author’s style and use of language. A classic example is writers who submit what they call a ‘fiction novel’. If an editor sees this phrase, they don’t even need to read the sample.

Other red flags include overly flowery language, excessive use of clichés, flat writing, bad grammar and spelling, etc. These days, staff editors don’t have time to perform miracles on messy manuscripts, and will pass on books that might otherwise have a lot of potential if the text isn’t up to scratch. This is a common problem; often a book will have a great concept but will be let down by poor execution. Long story short: if your prose isn’t up to scratch, that manuscript’s going no further.

Tone

Problems of tone are as common as problems of language and style, particularly among certain genres. Sometimes, a writer will try to be as shocking and controversial and obscene as possible, all at the expense of decent content. This trick fools nobody – it is glaringly obvious that the writer simply has nothing to say. Alternatively, maybe the manuscript is excessively didactic, preachy, and moralistic; instead of posing interesting questions, it’s telling the reader what to think. That might be satisfying for the author, but readers aren’t browsing bookshelves looking for a lecture, which means publishers aren’t trying to sell them.

As with problems of language and style, a commissioning editor or literary agent will pick up on problems of tone straight away, so make sure you’re walking the fine line.

Content

While style, tone, and language are all of vital importance, they shouldn’t eclipse content. After all, your text can be as pretty and tonally appropriate as can be but, if nothing actually happens, your manuscript won’t make it far. Problems of content are particularly common in literary fiction, where writers feel they don’t have to worry as much about story. But, as any editor will tell you, there’s nothing more off-putting than text that, while stylistically problem-free, is deathly boring. This means creating an interesting setting, filling it with interesting characters, and having an engaging plot.

Reason 4: Submission errors

Of course, even if your timing is good, you’ve been savvy about genre, and your manuscript is top-notch, if your submission is poorly put together, you won’t get anywhere. There are lots of Dos and Don’ts when it comes to communicating with literary agents and publishing houses, some better known than others, but the most important thing to remember is that agents and publishers are looking for reasons to reject you – their slush piles are huge and their time is limited. To avoid falling at the first hurdle, be aware of these common reasons for rejection.

Attitude

While I’m sure this would never apply to our lovely readers, every literary agent and commissioning editor has dozens of stories of writers who’re inexplicably rude (or downright offensive) in their query letters or email correspondence. Obviously – obviously – being unpleasant in your communications is not going to get your manuscript accepted. Be more than professional: be nice.

Quality of query

Editors and literary agents are busy people, and they go through hundreds of query letters a month. You have maybe fifteen seconds in which to seize their attention, so your query letter had better be engaging right from the start. Utilize a good hook and summarize your book’s plot, its readership, and its genre. If you’ve already got a following or publication history, mention that, as well as any awards you might have won. Be professional and concise, and don’t waste your readers’ time with convoluted introductions. Oh, and avoid flattery and – needless to say (or so you’d think) – bribery.

Misrepresentative samples

This one’s simple: if the submission process involves you having to send a sample of your manuscript, make sure it’s a sample that’s representative of your whole book. Don’t send a prologue – prologues are more like framing devices than they are actual stories – and don’t send the weird flashback chapter where your romance novel briefly transforms into a horror story.

Failing to follow instructions

Follow every instruction your recipient gives to the letter, even if it’s given on some obscure page of their website. Remember: agents and editors are looking for excuses to reject you. If they specifically ask you to mail in your manuscript and you send it as an email attachment, they’re not even going to read it.

Submit!

If the above hasn’t dissuaded you from trying, you’re probably made of stern enough stuff to face the long road to traditional publication. Don’t expect a quick or easy journey, but don’t let rejections put you off – gather them like trophies! With each new submission, try to be conscious of and avoid pitfalls of timing, genre, craft, and submission. You can’t force an acceptance letter, but you can make sending it a whole lot easier.

Culled from Stand Out Books

Your Key Guide to Publishing A Book

 Publishing a book can be so much of a herculean task, especially if you do not know or have the right information to get you started. Once your manuscript is ready, you have to release it to the care of competent editors who will take it through the developmental editing  and copy-editing stages and have it proofread so that your thoughts are well articulated and captured so that no part of your ideas are missing in the print. After which your next step is to locate the perfect market niche publisher to publish your manuscript, and finally a marketer to push your book to its target audience. While these seems like a journey that might take forever even before you get started, the publishing tips below which would serve as your key guide to publishing a book have been collated to make your journey on book publishing an easy one.

#1. Choose the Topic That Best Interests You for Your Book

Most new Writers just want to write without considering a niche that interests them, and as a result ends up with a drudgery writing task.  Before you delve into writing, you should consider topics in the areas that best interest you, just so you do not end up getting stuck on your writing.

#2. Draft An Outline For Your Book

After finding a niche that interests you, you should draft the skeletal part of your book. You might use infographics to outline what areas you want to cover in your book.  The importance of drafting an outline for your book, is to help you stay organized and on track during your writing.

#3. Write out Your Thoughts

At this point, you do not have to worry about making a mistake. Just write down your thoughts and ideas using the outline you drafted as a guide. Don’t bother so much on how crappy your manuscript may appear, just write, and rewrite thereafter.

#4. Choose A Good Title For Your Manuscript

After you are done with penning down your thoughts and ideas, the next thing to do is choose a title for your book. You don’t want to end up with a boring title, so you might want to consider getting a short and catchy title. However, you should have SEO keyword in mind, especially if you desire to launch your book digitally as an e-book. This is to help get your target audience to see your book even faster.

#5. Proofread And Edit Your Manuscript

This is really as much as important as the entire writing process of your book, and if not well done, could cause a big setback for your book. You just shouldn’t overlook this aspect, as no one is going to read a crappy book. Except of course your manuscript is just for your personal book shelve. You should proof and edit your manuscript, after rewriting.

After rewriting your book, you should not jump into editing. You should probably take a coffee break before reading through what you have written but this time not as the writer. This will enable you pick out those things you might not find appropriate as a reader rather than as a writer.

However, to give your manuscript the immaculate error-free it deserves, you should consider getting a professional developmental editor. SOI Publishing renders this service efficiently, you might want to reach out to us for your editing/proofing generally.

#6. Find A Publisher

After your manuscript has been thoroughly proofed and edited, the next thing is to find a publisher that publishes manuscripts in your niche. You certainly do not want to take a manuscript dealing with topics such as love or romance outside academic, to an academic publisher.  You need not be told your manuscript would be rejected. So take your time and research into the publishing field to find out the best publishers for your manuscript.

Should in case you get stuck in your journey to being an author, SOI Publishing is ready to help you with the whole process stated above. You only have to think it, and we would transform your ideas into a finely finished book.  Reach out to us now.

Chima Rachael J.

4 Mistakes You Should Avoid When Working as a Freelancer

One of the easiest ways to grow your business as a freelance writer is to avoid making preventable mistakes. You can speed up your path to success by avoiding the following mistakes.

1. Working for friends and family

Many people in your immediate circle might be excited to help you start or grow your business. You might be interested in the prospect of helping them with a project they don’t want to do or don’t have time to do. This is a best-case scenario when working for someone you know. In the worst-case scenario, however, a friend or family member might not have any clue about market rates for freelance projects. They might assume that they’re entitled to a steep discount because they know you. And worst of all, if the business relationship goes south, your friendship or relationship could be damaged.

Another possible downside to working with someone you know is it can be hard to separate your personal and business life. For example, consider the tension that could be created if you’re working for a friend whom you’re connected to on social media and you’re late on their project. If that friend sees you posting pictures of your latest outing when their project is overdue, bad blood can ensue.

If you choose to work with someone you know, go the extra step of explaining your process. Someone who doesn’t fully understand your world as a freelance writer might need help understanding that you don’t work for them alone and that you could be busy with multiple projects at once. Before committing to work together, offer a basic overview of what they can expect.

2. Taking on low-paying, high-stress clients

As a new freelance writer, you’ll probably be excited when anyone offers you work. But this also means that it’s far too easy to end up in a cycle working for clients who don’t pay you enough. Considering the relatively low minimum wage and the challenges of leaving your house to pursue other income in a more traditional part-time job, an offer to pay you $0.05  per word might seem like a good deal.

But then when you sit down and factor in how much work you had to do to land that client, research the ideas, write and complete the work, you realize you might be making minimum wage or less. As a newbie, it’s common to accept lower rates than what you’d take if you’d been in business for a decade. But the truth is that you can’t live on low wages forever, and it also doesn’t reflect your growing experience and talent.

As your freelance writing ability and client list grows, so too will your rates. Don’t beat yourself up if you suddenly come to the realization that you’re charging way too little. Either fire these clients once you’ve replaced the income with someone better or tell the client that your rates are going up, including an effective date, and give them the choice to pay your higher rates or to move on.

3. Plagiarizing others’ work

In the business world, there’s no faster way to burn bridges as a freelance writer than to copy someone else’s work. It’s bad business, and even if you’re lucky enough to slide by once, why would you want to? Eventually, your clients will find out and be disappointed, and you will have lost their business and any jobs they might have referred your way.

This is a lazy way to approach your freelance writing business and not ever worth the risk. I’ve worked with dozens of clients who came to me after they discovered that another writer was plagiarizing, so just assume your clients are checking your work for originality. Having a unique style and approach to each project makes you more marketable anyway.

4. Overbooking yourself

It’s a new freelance writer’s dream — and worst nightmare — to be so overbooked that you miss deadlines and upset current clients. There’s no easy well to tell what your own schedule should look like since this depends on the time you have available. One freelance writer might be comfortable cranking out 10 articles a day whereas another feels totally exhausted after doing the research for one.

If you start to feel like you’re barely keeping up with your projects or that you’re making mistakes and clients are making comments about it, this is a key sign that you could be overbooked. But there’s an upside to being overbooked once you dig yourself out of the weeds: It’s time to raise your prices. There’s obviously a demand for your services when you have so many clients that you can’t keep up with your current projects, so it might be time for you to raise your rates for any new clients you take on.

It can take some time to find your footing as a freelancer, and you’re likely to realize your own limits just after you’ve passed them. It’s a good reminder to decide how best to handle the situation so that it doesn’t happen again. If you’re overbooked, you might need to log some extra time in front of the computer, let a client go, or raise your rates immediately since there’s such a high demand for your talents.

Culled from Entrepreneur

How Content Marketing Brings the Best Out of Your Business

 

Building a strong connection with your audience has become crucial for all businesses to get ahead.

Doing this successfully requires the proper use of content marketing.

This post, for instance, serves the purpose of informing and educating you on how to use content to get ahead in your business. And that’s one of the purposes of content marketing.

Content marketing includes information that is shared through writing, audio, or video via various platforms to communicate with an audience, thereby building trust, increasing traction, establishing authority, and generating leads for businesses.

It is not done for the purpose of making sales alone. It serves the purpose of gradually building a good relationship with a potential audience – or target audience.

It is also a means of educating the public on certain topics, depending on the niche you’re in. While this helps to make people learn, it also helps your brand build authority in that field, which in turn builds trust. And trust helps improve sales.

 

Benefits of good Content Marketing

Content marketing is important for many reasons, some of which are:

• It helps to build authority with consumers: Creating content that shows that you understand the niche helps to position your brand as one that knows its role in the market.

• It builds trust: Content captures the audience’s attention and helps them get a feeling that they are understood by a brand, making them have a feeling of ‘we know them’ and ‘can trust their service’. This makes them want to look out for the brand when they need that service. This will also increase your brand’s reputation.

• It helps the business generate traction: Lead generation is important for business. While it’s important to create informative content, it also needs to help the audience take action: whether recommending the brand, sharing the content, or even making a purchase. This is why a Call to Action (CTA) included in the content pieces are helpful.

• Helps build visibility/Awareness: The more you create content that is consistent and useful to your audience, the more your brand gets appropriate visibility and awareness. The consumers will help speak for the brand due to the benefits they’ve enjoyed.

 

Forms of Content Marketing

Content marketing is carried out using various mediums which are mainly categorized under one of these three: writing, audio, and visual format. Specifically, it can be done using the following mediums:

• Blog posts
• Podcasts
• E-mail
• Infographics
• Seminars
• Webinars
• Social media applications, and many others.

When choosing a marketing form, it is important to look out for one that will be ideal for your business, and then place a lot of focus on that platform. This decision should be based on which platforms your target audience use the most.

However, this does not mean that you can’t use more than one platform. For example, ideally, a baker would use a platform that allows for picture display like Instagram to market the business, but can also use websites to publish blog posts that will be beneficial to the audience in the form of information that will help build authority, and help customers make easy purchase decisions.

 

Creating a Good Strategy

Here are the necessary steps for creating a good content marketing strategy:

• Understand your target audience
• Establish brand style.
• Have a content marketing goal
• Choose the appropriate means of reaching your audience
• Create a content calendar for the platforms
• Create content
• Publish the content
• Promote content
• Measure results
• Tweak content according to results derived
• Rinse and repeat

 

Conclusion 

Content marketing is the use of appropriate channels to create content that would promote a business, build trust with customers, and establish authority in that field. Mediums used in content marketing include social media and websites. A proper marketing strategy is needed to push the best content for businesses.

Five Reasons You Should Abandon the Traditional Advertising Mindset

 

In today’s world, there are many competing viewpoints – for everything you agree with, there is an alternative point of view. I aim to set one point straight today: The traditional mindset needs to be put down.

The traditional advertising mindset refers to the status quo that has been accepted by companies with their marketing agencies. They get comfortable dressing up vague ideas and painting them in various lights. Alternatively, a data-first approach is black and white — either it works or it doesn’t. The traditional mindset lacks accountability, honesty and effectiveness.

My agency was once running digital lead generation campaigns for a client. We had all necessary trackers in place to attribute form submissions to our ads and collaborated with the client to confirm which leads turned out to be fruitful customers. Upon reviewing the numbers, our ads resulted in a confirmed 366% return on investment, not even considering potential future value. So you can imagine our shock when we reported this to the client’s decision maker, and their response was: “I’m frustrated with digital because I feel powerless. With traditional, at least I can drive by my own billboard …”

This is the mindset that, let’s be frank, we vehemently oppose and battle against every day. Maybe you share this frustration. Maybe you lean traditional but think this example is absurd. Or maybe you even share the sentiment in the client’s response. Regardless, here are five reasons for you to abandon the traditional advertising mindset and shift towards a data- and revenue-first approach.

Your opinions don’t matter; data matters.

There is a simple reason that some businesses fail and others survive. With all other things being equal, it is fair to say that a business that survives sees what works and does it repeatedly. The same principle applies to advertising. Too many times we have seen agencies that deliver exactly what the client wants, simply because they want it — and then the campaign fails.

We never run a campaign based on what the client thinks they want. Instead, we come to them with data showing what works. If there’s one saying that has helped us build trust and break down the traditional mindset with our clients, it’s this quote attributed to W. Edwards Deming: “In God we trust, all others must bring data.”

You can improve your tactics real-time; no more getting stuck in a rut.

Real-time account optimization is not only beneficial for us advertisers — it’s even more important for clients since it saves you money. Here is a solid example that manifested from an unfortunate situation. Hurricane Irma was one of the most devastating hurricanes in modern-day history and was projected to make landfall in Florida. About 36 hours before Irma made landfall, its path changed and it was aimed directly where we’re located in Tampa, Florida. When the news broke, we shut off various accounts for three days and saved our clients a combined $14,536 by not paying to deliver ads during a time when no one would convert.

You can attribute return on investment.

A 2014 survey revealed that 93% of CMOs said that they are under more pressure to produce an ROI. This insanely high static is just another example of how and why the traditional mindset should be broken down. Attributing an ROI to your campaign is not only possible, but it should be a standard across all agencies. Using conversion pixels and analytic tracking, we can attribute ROI for our clients by comparing revenue versus spending. A conversion pixel is a piece of code placed on the backend of your website that allows advertisers to track online interactions and attribute them to various campaigns. As we like to say around our office, “a campaign without metrics is a campaign without merit.”

You can combine the power of traditional and digital media.

In 2009 we coined the term “The Activation Bridge,” and since then it’s been the best way to get the point across to clients about taking a digital-first approach. The Activation Bridge is a means to close the gap between traditional and digital media to create an effective, holistic advertising strategy. We do this is by taking a digital-first approach to solving a client’s problem. By accessing behavioral targeting through our digital products, we can figure out exactly who is engaging with a product or service and then apply that data to a targeted traditional media approach. Through this process, we are once again able to steer our clients away from the traditional mindset of jumping on board with an idea that simply sounds good in theory.

You can evaluate your business goals more objectively.

The traditional mindset is clearly ego based. The ego has been proven to be a good thing and in many cases, allowing you to be more competitive and driven toward your goals. The issue surfaces when the ego starts to take over the way in which you operate.

In the instance where a client wanted to see the company on a billboard, the ego clearly won. Yes, you can see yourself on a billboard, but what direct benefit does that have for your business? At some point, you must subdue the ego and let the facts speak. The fact that you are not seeing your digital ads every time you pop online is a good thing. It means we have vetted the target market appropriately and are optimizing the campaign based on purchases. Unless you are directly in that behavior-based target, you probably won’t see the ads.

The traditional mindset approach toward advertising is destructive and irrational. It can foster unhealthy relationships with clients, and the “big idea” — the idea that sounds cool but isn’t backed by ROI-based data — doesn’t cut it anymore. Approaching your campaigns with data to show an ROI is key in today’s market, and there’s no better way to do it than using a digital-first approach.

Culled from Forbes

Elements of Fiction: Literary Techniques

 The fiction writer’s choice of “literary techniques” is an important element of fiction.

There are many techniques available to the writer, such as allusion, alliteration, allegory. Some popular techniques/devices include symbolism, imagery, and figurative language–such as simile, metaphor, and personification. The writer can use any number of literary techniques to tell his/her story.

Unlike the other elements of fiction, which must be part of the story, the fiction writer has a choice about the literary techniques to use. The writer’s choice often depends on the type of genre he/she is writing and personal preference.  As well, the writer uses more techniques in a novel than in a short story. The writer uses these techniques in his/her writing for the purpose of creating a more interesting, meaningful, authentic, and entertaining story.

The following identifies the most common literary techniques that fiction writers use:

• Allegory
• Symbolism
• Irony
• Imagery

• Allegory. The writer creates a story in which the characters and events form a system of symbolic meaning. George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is a story in which each animal represents a specific person from the Russian Bolshevik Revolution.

• Symbol. The fiction writer can use a word, object, action, or character in the story to suggest or mean something other than its dictionary or literal meaning. For instance, an owl can represent “wisdom.”

Symbols can be universal or cultural. These types of symbols are known to both the writer and the reader.

The writer can also use contextual symbols. These are created by the writer for the story, and must be discovered by the reader. For instance, a motif is a recurring symbol that is incorporated by the writer into the story to express deep meaning.

As well, a contextual symbol can be an archetype.  An archetype is a recurring symbol that embodies some essential aspect of human experience. An archetype can be a theme, symbol, setting, or character. Essentially, the archetype is an “original model” or “type” after which other similar things are patterned. For instance, “‘Frankenstein’, ‘Dracula’, and ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’  are archetypes that have influenced all subsequent horror stories.

The archetype has a dual nature, in the sense that it has its literal meaning and another meaning, such as wind, sun, fire, water, and the four seasons. Examples of archetypal symbols include the snake, whale, eagle, and vulture. An archetypal theme is the passage from innocence to experience; archetypal characters include the blood brother, rebel, and loving prostitute. There are many others.

• Irony. The writer can use three types of irony. The first is verbal irony. Essentially, the intended meaning of a statement is different from the actual meaning. It is often a form of sarcasm. The second type is situational Irony. It occurs when the expected outcome of an action is different than the actual outcome. The last type is dramatic irony. Essentially,the audience knows more about the character’s situation than the character does.

• Imagery. The writer uses language that appeals to the senses to create “word pictures” in the mind of the reader. The writer can use imagery that appeals to the sense of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.

Imagery can be figurative or literal. Example: “The war zone looked like the moonscape” is an image that is based on a simile. Figurative imagery is based on figurative language. Literal imagery is the use of concrete and specific language to create vivid images. Example: The boy walked along the muddy, wet, gravel road, as the red maples and crimson birch blew in the cold autumn wind.

 Some other popular literary devices include alliteration, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, word play, and stream of consciousness.

Figurative Language

A writer can also use figurative language to create a more interesting and meaningful story. Figurative language is language used to make a comparison between two different things. Common figures of speech include the following:

• Simile. A figure of speech in which the writer makes a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words” like” or “as.” Example: Her cheeks were as red as cherries…He runs like a race horse.

• Metaphor. A figure of speech in which the writer makes an implied comparison between two unlike things, without using “like” or “as.”Examples: Love is a treasure box…Life is a journey, not a destination.

• Personification. A figure of speech in which the writer assigns human qualities or attributes or abilities to an animal, an object, or an idea. Example: The angry wind knocked over the chair and slammed the shutters.

• Hyperbole. A figure of speech in which the writer uses to exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis. Examples: The journey took forever…He was so hungry that he ate everything in the refrigerator.

Resources for Writing Fiction

There are several good books available to help you learn about the elements of fiction. The following books—and resources that I recommend— were used to research this article:

• Writing Fiction: A Guide to the Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway
• Creative Writing: A Guide and Glossary to Fiction Writing by Colin Bulman
• The Art and Craft of Storytelling by Nancy Lamb
• How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
• The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
• A Passion for Narrative: A Guide for Writing Fiction by Jack Hodgins

Next, I will discuss  “dialogue”, an essential component of fiction and one that the aspiring writer needs to master, in order to craft memorable fiction.

Culled from Davehood59

5 Reasons You Should Write (and Publish) Your Work

Ever since I can remember, I loved the idea of being a writer.

After all, how cool would it be to create something as epic as The Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or Gates of Fire and know that this amazing story came from you?

But time passed and I never did write my great novel…

Sure, I made some half-hearted attempts; a few paragraphs here, a few sketches there…but never anything substantial.

And certainly nothing I would actually “publish.”

Fast forward 15 years and I’ve finally written and self-published my first book (a couple actually), as well as published about a half-dozen books from other amazing artists and authors.

In these past two years since I finally hit the “publish” button on my work (and others), my life has improved dramatically (same for the authors I publish).

Below are the 5 most important reasons I’ve found for writing – AND publishing – my work…

Reasons that I hope inspire you to do the same.

Good luck.

5 Reasons to Write and Publish Your Work

#1. Become a Sought-After Authority

Before I published my first book, no one knew my name.

Or at least not the people I specifically wanted to know my name.

Since I’ve published, I’ve been interviewed on top-tiered shows like Growthhacker.tv, EntrepreneuronFire.com, and FirepoleMarketing.com. More importantly, people consider me an authority on the topics I write on.

The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing has given people a reason to call me an expert (and even guru) on the topic.

I don’t say this to brag – the point isn’t whether or not I’m the expert – the point is to show you how powerful this is.

Think about it: if you’re looking for help on a topic (“Pay What You Want” in my case), who do you go to? Probably the subject matter expert, right?

Exactly.

Because of this, my writing and publishing has allowed me to leverage my authority on the subject to create lucrative consulting gigs and get invitations to speak at conferences and meetups, and it has improved my credibility when the topic comes up.

#2. Conquer the Imposter

According to Psychology Today, over 70% of people suffer from imposter syndrome (at some point in their lives).

While there are lots of ways to overcome feeling like a fraud, the fastest way is to write and publish your work.

Why?

Because it forces you to get over yourself, get outside your own head, and come to grips with reality (that most people probably won’t read what you write anyway, so why not do it, right?).

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes about “Resistance” – that nasty thing that keeps us from doing great things in life.

Well, imposter syndrome is just one element of “Resistance,” all of which can be defeated by the commitment to write (daily) and publish (as soon as you can).

#3. Create Additional Streams of Revenue

In my last year in the Army, I had no idea what I wanted to become after I left.

Lawyer? Wall Street broker? Real Estate Investor?

Because I had no idea, I figured the simplest thing I could do was test out various creative pursuits to see if they were economically feasible. Since I can’t program to save my life, I figured writing would be the thing I could legitimately test in the marketplace.

Sure enough, it only took 1 published book to show me what was possible (and that was PWYW!).

Since then, I’ve written and published more, and scaled that impact dramatically by publishing other people’s work.

Now, with every new book, is another stream of income that will continue into the future (I try to only write and publish “evergreen” content – stuff that doesn’t fade over time). Best part is: all of this compounds.

So if you’re waiting around believing you’ll eventually finish and eventually publish. Stop.

Set a ship date and launch in the next 30 days (I dare you).

#4. Build Something That Lasts Forever

This is the reason I do what I do in the long run.

Money fades. Success fades. What’s cool or hipster or whatever fades.

But good books don’t fade.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is as applicable today as it was 1,000 years ago.

And through his writing, we get to experience a piece of what he was like. Certainly not the entirety of his personality, but better than nothing.

So when you question your writing, or your ability, or your worth, stop, and remember:

It’s not about you.

#5. We Become What We Do

In the past two years, since writing and publishing my first book, I’ve realized something important:

Envisioning myself as the person who has written a bestselling book is a lot different than actually writing one.

Too often we love the idea of being someone or something, but don’t embrace what it means to become that person (guilty).

It’s nice to envision oneself as a bestselling author.

It’s a different thing entirely to work every day to become one.

No, it’s not easy.

But then again, it’s not supposed to be.

The question is: what do you want to become 1 year from now?

And while the answer differs from person to person, the next step is always the same:

Start today.