Do you ever feel that the world is against you, and your book will never be appreciated?
Harsh words from the first people to review a book are difficult to deal with, but you are not alone.
Have a look at these bad reviews given to books we now see as classics.
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The exclamation mark is one of the most abused punctuation marks. Some people use it extensively when they want a piece to look informal.
The danger with that, and any other loose usage, is that it is very difficult to tell whether it conveys surprise or annoyance.
As a general rule, the simple plan is:
If in doubt, don’t
For a more detailed discussion, this flow chart is useful.
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Life is too short to read things just for the sake of it. If people don’t read what you have written, then the effort you put in was a waste of time, unless it was entirely for your own benefit.
People read because they need information, or want to be entertained. If you can do both, that is ideal, but if you fail to do either, you will be ignored.
The key is to put yourself in your reader’s shoes, & think about whether they need that point, that sentence, or that extra word.
That is a nice simple thing to remember, but it is harder to apply when you are focussing on writing your report or story.
This post explains how to spot problems in a story, but the principles can be used for any piece.
Any non fiction writers thinking that the item about not creating empathetic characters doesn’t apply to them, beware. Take that as a reminder not to fill your work with how wonderful you are. If you really are, people will notice.
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Pop up shops and cafés are common these days in our towns and cities. I’ve not seen a pop up book shop yet, but there isn’t really any reason why it couldn’t work.
If you think it is worth a try, this post will tell you more.
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Today’s post is a collection of links:
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I like these maps. They show detail of 9 areas of the UK, only marking the places with odd names. Some of them are very odd.
Nice to know that they haven’t succumbed to the temptation to re-brand!
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Have you ever wondered how book sculptures are made?
I had a go last summer. Mine looked nothing like these!
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