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How to Write a Book: a Step-By-Step Guide
A comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to write a book, by award-winning author Melissa Delport. If you are new to authoring, start here.
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How Long Should My Book Be – A Word Count Guide
The ideal length of a book is a topic that writers have debated for years. How long should my book be? is a question almost every new author has asked themselves. Word count is dependent on many variables - the book's genre, the trend at the time of publication, the author's preference - all of these factors come into play when determining the length of your manuscript but a standard must be set so that authors have a benchmark to work toward.
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The Big Five Publishers: An In-depth Look at the Giants of the Publishing World
These five companies are undoubtedly the largest and most influential publishing companies across the globe, and each plays a significant role in shaping the literary landscape. While every publisher gets to decide which books they want to publish, these five influence trends due to their size, reputation, and power within the industry. And that power is well-deserved. Every one of these five has made significant contributions to the publishing industry.
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The Hero’s Journey: A Framework for Writers
Whether you are writing an epic fantasy, a contemporary drama, or even a short story, understanding and utilizing the hero's journey can significantly enhance your writing. In this post, we'll explore what the hero's journey entails, its core components, and how you can apply this framework to create compelling narratives.
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The Importance of a Great Opening Line
The importance of a great opening line cannot be overlooked, and writing one is a challenge every writer will encounter. As an author, I know how challenging it is to sit down and start writing a book – it’s why I created my step-by-step writing guide. But the opening line is a challenge all on its own. This introductory sentence will set the stage for the entire story that comes after. It will be your first impression on readers and those initial words must inspire them to keep reading. Over the course of my career, I have written 28 opening lines… some good, and some bad. Most were written before…
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Books to Read this Halloween
Looking for the perfect books to read this Halloween? Look no further… I’ve compiled a list of my top ten Halloween books to get you in the mood for spooky season!
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The Benefits of Reading Every Day
Reading not only benefits your brain, but it also has incredible social benefits for adults and students alike. It's no secret that we are addicted to our screens. The good news is that reading is the perfect distraction from the mindless scroll. And it has benefits way beyond the page.
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How To Write A Query Letter
As an author, you should be effective when creating a query letter. It will help you to make a good first impression and, in the world of literary agents and publishing houses, a first impression can mean the difference between an offer of representation and a prompt rejection. A well-written query letter will also convince the recipient to invest further time into reading more of your work. Here's how to write a compelling query letter.
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The Role of Foreshadowing in Storytelling
Foreshadowing refers to subtle clues, hints, symbols, events, dialogue, actions, or descriptions that prepare the reader for something that will occur subsequently in the plot. It builds anticipation and hooks the reader, so they want to read more to see if their predictions come true. Foreshadowing sets reader expectations so the narrative threads tie together neatly rather than appearing random.
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Writing Great Female Fictional Characters
Characters drive your plot and can make or break a reader’s connection to your story. As an avid reader who doesn’t easily DNF, nothing will have me setting aside a book faster than failing to develop a connection to the character/s. To write exceptional main characters, you must have a good understanding of the different character archetypes: maiden, mother, warrior, sage, rebel, lover, queen, mystic, huntress & femme fatale.
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Marina Auer: Doctor, ninja, baker… and now, Author.
Less than a year since her debut medical thriller, Double Edged, launched with Kwela Books, Marina Auer is already gearing up for her next release. Melissa Delport sits down with the author to find out more about her publication journey.
The Author
