We're storytellers. We write books that plunge readers straight into other worlds and other lives. It’s a super power. But doesn’t it suck when we use our own story telling abilities against ourselves?

Are you ready to write the book description for your back cover—your blurb—for a book of nonfiction but don't know where to start? Have you started writing your blurb and gotten stuck?

Here’s some summer listening that that will enrich your writing life…and happens to features a few of the women from Pages & Platforms.

Are you ready to write the book description for your back cover—your blurb—for a book of fiction but don't know where to start? Have you started writing your blurb and gotten stuck?

Almost all writers who sell a lot of books are do these three things. Writers who don’t sell books aren’t doing these things. Simple.

If you don't really want to offer your knowledge to others, there are much better ways than writing a book to make money and improve your social status.

If you want your book to succeed, you are going to have to put your own energies into making it happen. And there are plenty of good reasons to start your marketing well before your book is published, or before you even have an agent.

My editing colleagues and I go to packed writers conferences and ask everyone we talk to, “Are you a writer?” You wouldn’t believe the amount of “Well…sorta,” responses we get.

The outline is one of my favorite writing tools. You might want to consider writing an outline if, like me, you get stuck in the process of bringing your story to fruition.

One of the questions I get most frequently from authors is this: “There are so many possible marketing and outreach activities, how do I decide which to do?”

There's a big problem with most writing groups. They don't actually help people become better writers.

While editing and re-writes are required after a first draft, I have some tips and tricks that will help you overcome the blocks of a first draft (and move onto your second draft) by clearing a path toward a great story.

How well do you know your secondary and tertiary characters? A common early-draft issue is minor characters who act as mere props for the protagonist’s arc.

If you’re confused about the different types of editors (which to hire and when), rest assured that you’re not alone.

Start by considering your proposed female character as if she were a real human being. Even if she’s a secondary character, take time to sketch a little history for her.

Publishing companies no longer rely on in-house editors for improving acquired works. Manuscripts are now expected to be professionally edited before they are sent to agents and publishing houses for review.

If you already know you need to be growing an email list and sending out regular content to your subscribers — Bravo! But if you’re stuck on how to actually execute an author newsletter, read on for some dos and don’ts.

Here are just a few of the books that have made my editing colleagues and me better writers at every stage of the process.

When you work hard and write hard for months or years, your book really deserves a chance to succeed. And the only way it’s going to get that chance is through a sound marketing strategy.

So many authors spend endless hours trying to figure out how to grow their personal social following — only to find that, ultimately, social media doesn’t sell books very well at all.