Editor’s books now on sale at Minneapolis store
December 4, 2012
All four of my books are now on sale at the Book House in Dinkytown store in Minneapolis. Book House in Dinkytown is located at 429 14th Ave. SE., near the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. The four books include: my novel, Windmill; both Hikes with Tykes guidebooks, A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids and Games and Activities; and a poetry collection, Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom. The long-time bookstore boasts more than 120,000 titles for sale.
Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
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book house in dinkytown, book reading, book signing, hikes with tykes, love letters to sophies mom, minneapolis, windmill
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Editor reading his new novel in Eau Claire
December 3, 2012
I’ll be reading from and signing my novel Windmill at Volume One in downtown Eau Claire on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The book reading/signing is hosted by Volume One, the premier guide to entertainment and the arts in the Chippewa Valley; its newspaper offices, located at 205 N. Dewey St., boast an art gallery and store that sells all things “Eau Claire.” Windmill tells the story of Carl Steinar and his sons, Peter and Lyle, who for 15 years have maintained a tenuous balance to keep together their family and farm on Nebraska’s western plains. Like blades of a well-oiled windmill, each works in harmony with the other. But when Abbie Blaire, the new reporter in town comes to write a story about them, a monkey wrench is thrown into their perfect machine: She is the spitting image of the wife and mother the Steinar men lost years ago. They soon find themselves on new trajectories in which their needs and goals can only collide. I’ll read about a dozen pages from the collection. Books available for signing will on sale at the Volume One store. Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
Tags:
book reading, book signing, eau claire, volume one, windmill, wisconsin
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'Hikes: Games' now available on Kindle
December 2, 2012
The second book in my Hikes with Tykes series, Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities, is now for sale on Kindle. Listing more than 110 diversions – and the ebook version contains several more games and activities than the paperback released this summer – Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities provides anyone taking kids on a day hike with loads of tried and true amusements to keep children from getting unruly or bored. Topics include: activities to get kids excited about a day hike; crafts in which kids make their own hiking gear; recipes for healthy snacks on the trail; games that will help kids better understand and appreciate nature; and post-hike activities to keep kids excited about the sport. Culled from the experiences of fellow outdoor-minded parents, Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities is the most comprehensive collection of diversions available, with something for every age group and childhood interest. The ebook can be purchased online.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
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ebook, hikes with tykes, hikes with tykes games and activities, kindle
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Editor's novel now on sale in Hudson, Wis.
December 1, 2012
My debut novel, Windmill is now on sale at the Chapter 2 bookstore in beautiful downtown Hudson, Wis. Chapter 2, the only indie non-used bookstore in west-central Wisconsin, is located at 422 Second St. You also can find my other three books – Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids, Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities, and Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom – on sale there. Chapter 2 in Hudson carries a large collection of other St. Croix Valley writers’ books as well.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
Tags:
chapter 2 bookstore, hikes with tykes, hudson, love letters to sophies mom, windmill, wisconsin
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Editor's poetry collection now on Kindle
November 30, 2012
My recently released collection of poetry, Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom now is available on Kindle. Passionate and evocative, Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom traces a relationship from the first dance of love at a coffee shop to its tragic demise as mental illness overtakes the narrator’s beloved. Inspired by a diverse array of writings, including the verse of Pablo Neruda, Dylan Thomas, and Bob Dylan, the collection’s 34 poems touch upon an array of themes including nature, and Southern California and Northwoods motifs. If using Kindle Fire, the best way to view my ebook version of Love Letters is in landscape orientation at font size 3. You can purchase the Kindle version at Amazon.com.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Tags:
amazon.com, ebook, kindle, love letters to sophies mom
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Editing client releases ‘Twin Identity’
November 29, 2012
Cherie Bratcher, an editing client of mine this autumn, released her first novel on Thursday. Set in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Chicago, “Twin Identity” tells the story of Nora and Aubrey, two young lovers who come from vastly different families. Their love appears strong enough to endure this obstacle, but then Aubrey's mother blackmails him into breaking off their relationship. Nora’s suicide attempt nearly ends her life, but she finds the courage to move on. Several years later, the loss of a loved one and the truth behind their break-up puts her back in Aubrey’s arms for a week…If they only knew that the decisions they make in that brief affair would twenty-one years later cause their two worlds to collide in a roller-coaster ride of deceit and danger! Can Nora and Aubrey find their way back to each other, or will their lies destroy any chance of happiness? “Twin Identity” is available on sale at Amazon.com and on Smashwords.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
Tags:
amazon.com, cherie bratcher, smashwords, twin identity
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Editor’s books now at Menomonie store
November 28, 2012
All four of my books are now on sale at the Bookends on Main store in downtown Menomonie, Wis. Bookends on Main, an independent bookseller, is located at 214 East Main St., near the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater. The four books include: my novel, Windmill; both Hikes with Tykes guidebooks, A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids and Games and Activities; and a poetry collection inspired by a Menomonie native, Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
Tags:
bookends on main, hikes with tykes, love letters to sophies mom, windmill
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Complete your Amazon.com book page
November 24, 2012
The Amazon.com page that sells your book may perhaps be the most important item in your entire marketing effort. All of your press releases, news articles, blog reviews of your book, radio appearances, website pages and more probably will point potential readers to this page. It is where potential readers can purchase your book.
For many potential readers, it is the page where they find out the most information about your book. If your Amazon.com page turns them off to your book, you’ve lost a sale.
If you’ve used CreateSpace to print your book, Amazon.com automatically will create a page for you, uploading your book cover photo, book description, price, and product details (such as number of pages, trim size and so on). If you used a different printer, at least as of this writing you’ll need to apply to sell your product on Amazon.com through its Advantage program.
The format of the Amazon.com page is predetermined for you, so you’re stuck with the appearance, even if you don’t like it. That’s okay, though – a standard format on each Amazon.com page means visitors don’t have to look hard for the information they want when they go to purchase the book.
What you can control is the text and some other gimmicky but useful stuff on the page:
n Click to Look Inside – This feature allows readers to flip through a limited number of pages of your book before purchasing it. Definitely do this; Amazon.com doesn’t give away enough pages to diminish a sale, and if at a brick and mortar bookstore, readers definitely would look through it.
n Book description – This is the equivalent of your cover blurb. Like a synopsis, it tells readers a little about your book without giving away the ending.
n Editorial reviews (about the author) – This is your author’s bio. Especially if writing nonfiction, you’ll want to show in your bio why you are qualified to write a book about the topic.
n Customer reviews – Marketing research shows that many potential buyers of a book make their decision after reading customer reviews. Rather than pay someone to write them, solicit them from your colleagues and friends who are qualified to comment on your book.
In addition, Amazon.com allows writers to build their own author’s page. Besides a biography of you, the pages lists (with links) all of your published titles. In addition, you can link a feed from your blogs. As with the page selling your book, the author’s page format is predetermined, but it’s still a very useful tool.
Need an editor? Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Tags:
amazon.com, book review
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Design your book cover to attract attention
November 22, 2012
You can’t judge a book by a cover goes the old cliché, but the reality is that people literally do so all of the time. That’s why you’ll want to spend some time coming up with an attractive cover for your volume.
Simply put, a good, unique cover draws potential readers to your book. It fires their imagination of what the book is about – meaning it doesn’t tell them exactly what it’s about, just gets them excited about it. Hence the hunky guys on the cover of romance novels and buxom beauties or space battle scene on science fiction novels.
The cover’s goal literally is to get readers to pick up your book, read the synopsis about it on the backside, maybe page through it for a few minutes, and then take it to the checkout counter and purchase it!
When designing a cover, there are three parts you’ll need to think about:
n Front cover – A good front cover has interesting artwork that draws a potential reader’s attention, the book’s title (and usually its subtitle), and the author’s name. It also may include a quick blurb about why it’s such a great book and some note explaining who the author is (such as “Author of (title of last book she wrote).”
n Spine – This is the side of the book that we see when it’s placed in a bookcase. It typically includes the title, author’s name, publisher and if fiction then possibly the genre.
n Back cover – A blurb or synopsis about the book, aimed at getting readers to purchase it, usually tops the page. The ISBN with bar code and price typically appear in the lower right corner. The back cover also might possibly include an author’s bio with photo, publisher and a website to learn more about the author/book series.
You can use a self-publishing house’s templates to create a cover fairly quickly and inexpensively, but be forewarned that they all look much the same and are fairly unimaginative at that. In addition, a self-publishing house’s templates are a dead giveaway that you’ve got a self-published book, which for a number of readers – especially those in the media who might give your book some attention – means a “lower quality” book (though that perception is changing).
If you lack the talent to create your own cover, you’ll want to get a designer or artist to handle that part of your self-publishing project. It can get expensive, though, so be aware of this when budgeting for your book.
Granted, in today’s digital age, a book cover is not quite as important as days past when the only place to purchase a book was a brick and mortar store. Still, the cover – perhaps wrongly – tells the reader a lot about the pages in between. A poor cover hints at unprofessional writing and vice versa. So invest a little time working on the cover, even though you’re a writer; after all, you wouldn’t dress your child in rags during her first public outing!
Meet the editor. My name is Rob Bignell. I’m the owner and sole editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing, proofreading and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. I’ve helped nearly 50 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams and am a published author.
Tags:
back cover, book cover, front cover, self-publishing, spine
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Your Rx for first draft-itis
October 26, 2011
Ever suffer from a bad bout of “first draft-Itis”?
We all have. First draft-itis refers to the various flaws that everyone – including the author – during a first read of a manuscript all quickly agree should be corrected. In short, they’re common flaws that appear in first drafts.
What are some common problems in first drafts? In my editing of novels, short stories and nonfiction books, I generally see:
n Spelling errors (usually just typos)
n Punctuation errors (especially with commas and quotation marks – you know, those pesky little rules we didn’t bother to learn in sixth grade)
n Capitalization errors (particularly with pronouns used during dialogue)
n Misplaced modifiers (such as “We ate the hamburgers we just bought quickly” really should be “We quickly ate the hamburgers we just bought.”)
n Using vague words (like “thing”) and weak verbs (like “walk” instead “saunter”)
n Shifts in verb tense (often moving between past and present tense)
Many other problems can’t be quickly agreed upon and so aren’t first draft-itis: Plot turns that don’t seem to make sense, characters acting in a way contrary to how they were previously presented, and point of view shifts. These issues all are a matter of craft and style. In addition, what might be perfectly acceptable in one genre, such as a romance, won’t fly in another genre, such as literary.
First draft-itis certainly is not a problem – so long as you take care of it. The best medicine is to proofread and edit and revise, over and over, until you get it right. You don’t want to send a manuscript to a literary agent or a self-publish your book on Amazon.com when it’s full of errors.
In short, your first draft shouldn’t be your final draft. If it is, first draft-itis can be fatal.
Rob Bignell is owner and chief editor of Inventing Reality Editing Service.
Tags:
editing, first draft-itis, proofreading
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Orion’s Child Magazine
March 22, 2010
Publishing since 2007, each issue of Orion’s Child Magazine centers on a theme. n Pay: Nonpaying market n Word count (maximum): None given n Seeks: Each issue is themed n E-mail to: EditorOrionsChild@galadarn.com Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Marginal Boundaries
March 15, 2010
Marginal Boundaries is a new quarterly online publication that doesn’t believe short stories need to be “short” to be good. n Pay: $10 per story n Word count (minimum): 5,000 words (on up to about 30,000 words) n Seeks: Speculative fiction that is “is character-driven or is a breathtakingly and painstakingly created world that reverberates with unknown adventure.” n Doesn’t want: Flash fiction; gratuitous violence, sex, or language n Reading periods: Accepts submissions only during the months of January, April, July and October n E-mail to: Send as .rtf Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Kasma Science Fiction Magazine
March 8, 2010
A new online publication, the first issue of Kasma came out at the end of 2009. n Pay: Averages about $10 for fiction over 1000 words and $5 for flash fiction (under 1000) n Word count (maximum): 5000 words n E-mail to: Paste story in the body of the e-mail Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Not One of Us
March 1, 2010
In print since 1986, Not One of Us prints character-oriented stories from a variety of genres, not just science fiction. n Pay: ¼¢ per word ($5 minimum) n Word count (maximum): 7500 words (prefers 6000 words) n Seeks: According to the zine’s Website: “Not One of Us is a hardcopy zine about people (or things) out of place in their surroundings, outsiders, social misfits, aliens in the sf sense — anyone excluded from society for whatever the reason. We want to explore ‘otherness’ from every possible angle.” n Doesn’t want:Stories about vampires, alcoholic villains without any understanding of their motives, tales about writers, sword and sorcery, deals with the devil, and revenge stories that have no other point, especially if the punishment far exceeds the crime. n Mail to: John Benson, Editor, 12 Curtis Road, Natick, MA 01760 n E-mail to: john@not-one-of-us.com Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Planet Magazine
February 22, 2010
An online magazine of short science fiction and fantasy by emerging writers and illustrators, Planet Magazine has been publishing since 1994. n Pay: No payment n Word count (maximum): No maximum given n Seeks: Hard SF, retro SF, weird SF, sword-and-sorcery, and weird fantasy n Doesn’t want: Horror stories, fairy tales, magical realism, science fantasy, pornographic, gory, ultra-violent, perverse, or in violation of any copyrights. n E-mail to: Send as plain, unformatted text-only file Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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The Martian Wave
February 15, 2010
A biannual print magazine, The Martian Wave primarily publishes stories about colonization of our solar system. n Pay: ½ cent per word n Word count (maximum): 7,500 words n Seeks: “…works that center around the exploration and colonization of outer space, with an emphasis on our solar system” according to the magazine’s Web site. n E-mail to: Send as .rtf or Word doc Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Electric Spec
February 8, 2010
A tri-annual e-zine, Electric Spec publishes science fiction, fantasy and macabre short stories. n Pay: $20 per story (via Pay Pal) n Word count (maximum): 250- 7000 words n Seeks: Science fiction, fantasy, the macabre. n Doesn’t want: Over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction. n E-mail to: Send .rtf submissions only Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Leading Edge
February 3, 2010
Published since 1980, the semiannual Leading Edge is produced at Brigham Young University. n Pay: 1 cent per word, $10 minimum n Word count (maximum): 10,000 words preferred (but up to 15,000 considered) n Doesn’t want: “Stories with sex, profanity, excessive violence, or that belittle traditional family values or religion” n Mail to: Leading Edge Magazine, Attn: Fiction Director, 4087 JKB, Provo, UT 84602 Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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Short story to appear in anthology
January 29, 2010
Intergalactic Medicine Show
January 25, 2010
A bimonthly online fantasy and science fiction magazine, famed science fiction writer Orson Scott Card serves as publisher and executive editor of Intergalactic Medicine Show. n Pay: 6 cents a word up to 7500 words and 5 cents a word thereafter n Word count (maximum): No length set n Seeks: According to the magazine’s web site, "‘Science fiction’ includes hard sf, sf adventure, alternate history, near-future, far-future, psi, alien, and any other kind of sf you can think of. ‘Fantasy’ includes heroic fantasy (based on any culture's mythology), fairy tales, contemporary fantasy, and "horror" in the sense of supernatural suspense … well-developed milieus and believable, engaging characters. We also look for clear, unaffected writing.” Editors like writings of Asimov, Niven, Tolkien Yolen, and Hobb. n Doesn’t want: Blood and gore n E-mail to: Use submission form at Web site Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2010 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, submitting your story
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