So I’ve spent more than 15 years coaching writers and editing their books, and over the years I have slowly and methodically collected the absolute best strategies to end novels. The 9 strategies below aren’t foolproof, but one of them will probably be right for about 99% of novels. So let’s get into it. 1. […]
I spent nearly 4 months scouring Publisher’s Marketplace looking for all the books that had just sold. Most of these books won’t be published until 2025. Some won’t even be published till 2026. In the end, I read more than 1,000 book descriptions. It was truly eye-opening, and it forever changed the way that I […]
So last year I edited 51 novels. Yes, I was a busy guy. But after going through that experience, I came away with these 9 insights that I think every writer should know. These are insights which will help your writing career, they’ll help you write your novel, and they’ll just help you feel happier […]
Let’s talk about plot. Plot? What’s plot? You know. It’s the way a story moves from beginning to end. And you think that is going to help writers? Yeah. I mean, everybody talks about plot. Sure they do. They do. But is it the most helpful way to talk about a story? I think so. […]
Writers, do you wanna be a rule follower? A nice little meek writer who follows all the commandments out there on social media? I hope you’re a bit of a rebel and wanna write some stories that break rules. If so, keep reading and I’m gonna tell you exactly how to do it. Plus, if […]
You can’t have a story without an antagonist. You could, it just would be really boring. My goal in this post is to radically expand your vision of what an antagonist can be. In my work as an editor, I’ve found that writers tend to get into these ruts and keep on writing the same […]
Guest Post by Catherine Lanser Are you a master goal setter? If you are like me, you’ve already read all the rules of setting successful goals. Maybe you even treat your writing like a business and set goals at the end of the year or every quarter. Goal-oriented writers are all over SMART goals and […]
1. Present Tense This is the default tense of nearly all beginning writers. The trouble is that few established authors use it. It’s more of an exception than the rule. So when you write your book in present tense, it’s like you’re marking it with a giant stamp that screams to every agent, publishers, and […]
If you’re new to Bookfox, this post is a good place to start. It talks about the big picture decisions every writer needs to make, rather than the tactical decisions I talk about in most other posts. Basically, you need a giant, overarching plan for your writing life. When you start a business, you need […]
Look, this is basically a list of 100 Things Every Writer Should Do Before They Die. How many have you already done? Some of them are pretty ambitious — reading 100 books in a single year is difficult, no doubt. While others like “write fan fiction” or “go to a reading” have a much lower […]
