Aside from receiving the first copies of your newly published book in the mail, there is nothing more exciting than having your book reviewed or featured in the media. Not only does it validate that your book is interesting and worthwhile reading, but a simple review by a Book Editor in a metropolitan newspaper could also result in tremendous sales and royalties. Aside from the fact that your book has just been published (and requesting a book review), there are many different angles you can focus on when contacting the media.  Furthermore, achieving a book review is much like winning the lotto, especially with the more popular metropolitan newspapers and magazines. The Book Editors there receive dozens and dozens of books in the mail every week, and they all end up inside a big cupboard in the newsroom. Whether they are selected by a book reviewer comes down to pure luck they could just as easily spend months gathering dust and never being reviewed.  If you co...

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Well 2016 is here at last and it already feels as if we're racing towards 2017. At this time of the year I like to look ahead and set my writing goals for the coming months. For me 2016 has begun with the initial manuscript assessment of my latest novel. A manuscript assessment, aka structural edit or substantive edit, is a very important and sometimes overlooked part of the editing process. There comes a time, after countless self-edits, when you'll finally need to let your manuscript go by allowing someone else to cast a critical eye over it and give you feedback prior to the editing process. Copy editing and proofreading tend to look in detail at the accuracy of spelling, grammar and punctuation etc, while a manuscript assessment will give you professional advice on the big picture. Your editor will compile a written report by detailing aspects of structure, style and prose such as plot, character...

  Some novels are easily forgotten, almost before the cover is closed. Others stay in our memories for days, months and years to come. Naturally, these memorable novels are often shared and discussed. Due to the explosive element of social media, those discussions can turn a struggling novelist into an overnight success. What's the secret? One of the key factors to a memorable novel is credible characterisation. Character vs Plot It is the age-old question: Is plot the most important element in fiction writing? Or is the character the most important element? Frankly, this should not even be a debatable question. Of course, it is essential to have an interesting plot. If nothing happens in a story, why should the reader bother turning the page? Plot is crucial. However. . . Imagine if Ron Weasley were the main character at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, instead of Harry Potter. I think it's fair to state that Ron is a bit of a fol...

Should you protect your ebook or not? I wanted to spend a little time this month discussing ebook protection, because it seems to be a hot topic. Concerned authors often ask me how they can be sure their work will be protected from unauthorised copying and redistribution. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a system available to prevent just that problem. Normally it is offered as an option when submitting your ebook title to certain online stores and distributors, and can be as simple as ticking the appropriate box at the time of submission. 'So if it's that simple, what's all the fuss about?' I hear you say, rolling your eyes to the sky. There are a couple of things to consider when choosing DRM in your distribution model. The obvious advantage is the one I've already mentioned above: protection with just a few easy steps. There are a few disadvantages, however, and they are outlined as follows: Book buyers can be put off from purchasi...