Author Archive: Sandra Herner
I help writers with professional editing that helps them turn their stories (particularly: mysteries, SF/F and series) into published books that engage readers.
Are We There Yet? (Book Writer’s Quandary Decoded)
When is your book ever right? When is it good enough, or even actually done? A new writer contacted me, in that same quandary that most writers face, whether with their first book or their 30th. Here was his message:…
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Need the Perfect Book Title? Maybe Not.
Is the perfect book title essential for selling a book? Many would say “yes” but I’m here to say “not exactly.” Writers seem to agonize over a book title longer than it seems to take to write the book itself! Here’s…
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3 Secrets Comic Books Teach Book Writers
When I was tapped to become the editor by Gateway Comics Presents for their webcomic The Stalker, I was in for a surprise. I expected the written format would be different (it is) and the pacing much different (it is)….
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Writing Experts–Who Should You Trust?
When you ask an expert, you expect, well, the perfect answer, right? Yet, sometimes the answer is wrong! Why? I was recently asked about editing genres not in my wheelhouse. Why did they even ask me, I wondered? And have…
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Book Editing Services or Writer Groups? What’s Best?
When it comes to book editing and discussion of writing plans, can a group of fellow writers replace a professional book editing service? But BETA readers are important, right? Yes, they are. Writers love to get together and help each other….
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Amazon’s Black Hole Swallows Reviews
In my last post I talked about the oddities of Amazon’s categories and how to work around getting what you want to show up for your book. Since then, I’ve been attacked by the Book Review Black Hole that Amazon…
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Ah, the Mysteries of Amazon
I’ve just published a book on Amazon. What a fascinating (if not confusing) ride! One little sidetrack to share with you: When you publish a book on Amazon you get to choose 2 categories to include it in from a…
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The Scope (and Scoop) on Publishing
(an excerpt from “How to Publish a Book, Novel, or Series”) The Slippery Slope of Publishing Terms It seems simple enough: you write a story, publish it, and people read it. Even the intermediate terms (printing, marketing, etc.) used in…
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Sell Your Book This Summer
Do you have printed copies of your book and wish you could “get them out there.” Well, summer is a great time for selling books. From leisurely beach reads and books tucked in a car for travel to simply mentally…
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How Hemingway and Stephen King’s Advice Fail Us
Should you — or should you not — take the sage advice of Hemingway? Or Stephen King? Or of any great writer for that matter? I enjoy dipping into quotations from best-selling authors. I add their quotations to photographs and…
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