I can hear you saying, Noooooo! Not another thing I have to do to build a platform! I'm already on FB, Twitter, Pinterest, I Blog, have a website, Instagram, Google Plus , Linkdin, Goodreads . . . Okay, I'll stop, because I'm depressing myself, but just know that I could go on. But what if there […]

 Stephen King reflected on the magnitude of a novel’s first line. “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story,” he said. “It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.” Preach it, Steve. I’m not saying a killer first line will get you an agent, get your book […]

Like many NY published authors, I've watched the publishing landscape change over the past years - watched friends opt to self publish. I was curious, even, at times, envious. But there were contracts, and deadlines, and edits (oh my!) so even a trial-balloon-novella was out of the question.  I've had an idea for a book […]

It was just Thanksgiving in the U.S., and that reminds me how thankful I am for our WITS readers. And in the spirit of giving, we want to give you all a chance to share your talent. You may have seen and even participated in a FB post, to share the first 7 lines of […]

Everyone knows what I call the 10,000 foot edit – it’s the content/developmental edit – it’s looking at your story from a plane, to spot the plot mountains and canyons that need to be fixed. Genre no-no's? Unsatisfying ending? That night with the weasel scene? Everyone knows about ground level edits – copy/line/stylistic edits that […]