Stepping Stones Magazine | For Writers and Those Who Love Them

Writing Tips

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."
Robert Frost

"Substitute damn every time you're inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

Mark Twain

"Writing is not a visual art. It is a symphony, not an oil painting. It is the shattering, not the glass. It is the ringing, not the bell. The words you write make sounds, and when the sounds satisfy the reader's ear, your writing works."

Gary Provost

"Rewriting is like scrubbing the basement floor with a toothbrush."
Pete Murphy

"You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft, then you can add all the genius you like."
Phyllis A. Whitney
____________________________________________________________________

Word Count

For many writers the question of word count comes with a mix of answers. To make it clear, here is the list of word counts from Writer's Digest.

Short Stories   1,5000 - 3,000

Novellas         30,000 - 50,000

Novels         55,000 - 300,000

It is recommended writers do not aim for the high end. 80,000 to 100,000, about 300-500 double-spaced typed pages. Lori Perkins with L. Perkins Literary Agency is quoted in Writer's Digest: "When you're writing, don't impose word limits on yourself. Wait until you finish the first draft to go back and tighten it to a reasonable length."

Manuscript Format

Always typed - never send out a handwritten manuscript
Double-spaced
One side of the page only
Numbered with Header (Name / Book Title)
Times New Roman 12
Indent Paragraphs
Do not place an extra space between paragraphs

Cover Page:

Name, Address, email, phone in upper left corner
Word Count - right upper corner
In the middle of the page -     Title
                                              By
                                      Author's Name

Style

1. Sentence Structure: For fast-paced action scenes, use short sentences and paragraphs. For more slow-moving scenes, use longer ones.

2. Show - Don't Tell: Write out your character's actions, gestures, movements. This way you don't have to tell the reader your character is angry, depressed, joyful, or grieving, whatever the emotion may be. It is more dynamic to 'show' what your character is feeling.

Example:

Telling:
Laura felt depressed and wrote a letter.

Showing:
Laura dipped the quill into the inkwell, balanced it above the paper, and hesitated. After writing his name, she blinked back tears. Then she shoved the quill back into the ink, crumbled the paper in her hands, and tossed it into the fire.

3. Point of View: Stick to one character's point of view per scene.

4. Voice: Use active voice opposed to passive.

Publishing statistics:
The six U.S. conglomerate publishers are

1. Random House, Inc.

2. Penguin Putnam Inc.

3. HarperCollins

4. Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings

5. Time Warner

6. Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Book Sales in the U.S.
A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
--Authors Guild. http://www.authorsguild.org/
A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.
--Authors Guild. http://www.authorsguild.org/

Book Purchases by Store Type
24.6% Large chain stores
17.7% Book Clubs
15.2% Smaller chains and independent stores.
5.4% Internet such as Amazon.com
--Book Industry Study Group.
http://www.BISG.org

Royalties / The average royalty is 10.7% of net. The average advance is upward of $1,500 and $7,500.
--John Huenefeld. Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, page 121.
TWoll@aol.com