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Q&A

Posts tagged book

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Q&A Choice of words on writing

Novice on writing here, except few academic reports. I've got an idea to write a blog about my travel experiences, Although I speak Queen's English, I wish to write this blog for anyone interested...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Vishwa‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Secespitus‭

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Q&A Books in a trilogy are significantly different lengths. What to do?

I’ve managed to write a fantasy book, Lord of the Rings-style. That is, a single story that would almost certainly be published as three separate books with multiple branching plotlines. Or at le...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Galendo‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A What innovative techniques can make a textbook for learning a foreign language "pop"?

One of the biggest obstacles I've encountered learning Chinese is the incredibly dull and boring textbooks. Yes, the grammar in them is important, but it's so boring! Typical writing reads like: ...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by becky82‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by johnDanger‭

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Q&A Writing a Non Fiction: Need to Format a Continuous Side Bar

I am writing a novel with two stories simulatenously running alongside each other. That is, on each page there is a main story, taking the body of the page, and there is a 'side story' which runs a...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Max‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is the correct way to use semicolons vs. commas vs. em dashes?

In Sabriel by Garth Nix, near the beginning of Chapter Two, there is the following sentence: Anything powerful enough to cross the Wall usually retained enough magic to assume the shape of a soldi...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by matt_rule‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book punctuation
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Q&A Is my story a rip-off?

So basically I'm writing a story set in a magical world where there are separate covens, each with different mission statements (there is one for those who want to be healers, one for those who wan...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Wurrie Wart‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book originality
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Q&A What kinds of skill does writing require?

I legitimately don't know the answer. Background I said something a little silly today, and was told I was incorrect: Writing requires no skill. You basically just have to write down what y...

3 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Daniel Cann‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Impact of views about author on buying book

As a reader, I have found that when I disagree with an author's views or actions, this has influenced me not to buy their books. As an author, I therefore wonder whether readers generally view the...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Symbio‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book
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Q&A Do I need to make use of paragraphs when writing a novel and if so, how?

This might be a stupid question but I am trying to write a small novel, and my structure just doesn't seem right. The text just flows continuously until the end of the chapter (with dialog being ty...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Osiris93‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question novel book structure
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Q&A What do I do with the length of my book and how to split it in two if needed

I have almost completed a high fantasy novel that I have spent over 10 years designing the world and everything that works in the story. It is the first of a trilogy and therefore has a main story ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Shonna‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book book-length
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Q&A Sequels and avoiding sequelitis

Many of you have probably read a sequel to a book and have found it to be worse than the original book. I am writing a sequel and would like to know if there is any way to avoid this "sequelitis"....

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Deau X. Machinus‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How add my alphabet to new book? [closed]

How joining a writers and a conscript creators (artifical language similar conlang). How put my alphabet into writers book? Many universums like StarWars, Bionicle ,Star Trek etc. have alphabet, l...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Marwin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can I trust that the proofreader and designer of a book will not plagiarize our work?

My friend and I are writing a book in English in the Electrical Engineering field. At this stage, we need someone to proofread our texts and also to design the layout of the book, so we will need t...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Electricman‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Do I really need disclaimers?

I write non fiction books about computer science and security (Zzz) but with the security bits in particular, do I really need to put a disclaimer saying "hey don't go hack the government" on my eb...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Crizly‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question legal book
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Q&A Perspective and Balance with Multiple Characters

I am working on a piece of fiction and am having some difficulty locking down which perspective/s to utilize. The main issue at hand is that I have 4 characters that will play "lead" roles and dif...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to format and where to place the "thanks" section for websites in a book?

I just finished a "long" short story. And I want to include a section where I thanks Writers SE for the writing advice and Scribophile for the critiques and feedback. How is that properly done? Wh...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Figuring out when a book was printed [closed]

I've recently purchased a book from Amazon, and I was curious as to when it was printed. I looked at the copyright page, which looks like this: The biggest year number shown in this page is 19...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Ram Rachum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question publishing book
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Q&A Should a piece of fiction be made of 100% concise writing?

I recently finished reading William Strunk's Elements of Style. The book mostly teaches how to write concise paragraphs (e.g. by removing, changing, and rearranging words). So I decided to apply t...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question style book rules
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Q&A Converting Word pages to book pages, for novels?

The title says it all. How can I gauge how long my novel would be, if for example I've written 400 single-spaced pages of size 12 Times New Romans in Microsoft Word?

3 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by temporary_user_name‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book book-length
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Q&A Creative Commons and / or Public Domain library

Does anyone know an online library with free books (I mean not "free of charge" but free as a concept) that provides access to e-books published by Creative Commons, Public Domain, etc? (I'm not s...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by Stanislav German-Evtushenko‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Self publishing: Do I still need to follow the arbitrary word count limits?

I am thinking of going down the self publishing path. Now looking at most agents and publishers websites, it seems the expected word count for most novels is around 70-90K. Now these word counts m...

3 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Shantnu Tiwari‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is the order of appendices according to their references fixed?

Is it really necessary to place the appendices in a book in the order in which they are referred to, or is it possible to have a "logical" order, i.e. place them in an order which would be chosen w...

1 answer  ·  posted 12y ago by Stephen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Front-matter or back-matter?

I'm re-releasing a novella of mine as a self-published ebook shortly, and I'm wondering what to do with the traditional "front matter" of the book: copyright information, dedications, acknowledgeme...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by JSBձոգչ‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Fiction writing book recommendation for a 10-year old

My 10 year old niece enjoys writing fiction and writes very well for her age. I would love to encourage her love of writing. Can anyone recommend a good fiction writing book that is accessible to ...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Scott‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question fiction book-rec book
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Q&A Bogged Down with Legends of Wind

It's not that I have a lot of writer's block, it's the mash-up of stories I'm compiling that all have to fit together in some way. I have outlines and I have a heap of unfinished stories, all going...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Matthew Paul Chapdelaine‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece?

I’ve ‘completed’ three novels – a thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a mystery. I’ve had expert readers for all three including Sue Grafton who read two of them. All the expert readers have the s...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by mitatur‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Author's notes: yay or nay?

Should a writer include author's notes in their book that either express thanks to the reader or provide background information on the book itself? If so, should these be at the front of the book o...

3 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Steven Drennon‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Write to the finish, or edit as you go?

Someone asked this question in another forum, and I thought I'd bounce it around in here to see what kind of responses we get. If you are working on writing a new book, is it better to just write a...

3 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Steven Drennon‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question editing book
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Q&A Our note in footnote of a book

How do I designate the footnotes that are mine inside a quote? I tried "our note", "note ours" and "remark is ours". Which one is the correct one and most commonly used? Or is there some other way...

2 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by Andriy Drozdyuk‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book notes footnotes
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Q&A Writing first programming book

I was recently asked if I was interested in writing a book for a pretty reputable publisher, which of course I accepted. I am not a writer by trade, I am a software developer with some technical wr...

2 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by Nodey The Node Guy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Chapters of a Book and Story Structure of McKee

Considering the "story structure" proposed by Robert McKee; like: A story is a large structure composed by acts which are composed by sequences which are composed by scenes, which are composed by...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by M.N.Raia‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it time to start closing up my novel?

I realize this may be a duplicate question. I've seen, for reference [ How long can a first novel be? ] yet I think my situation is a little more specific. I find myself in a similar situation. M...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A First Chapter for Free?

I am currently working on a novel, and am approximately 45% of the way through (~37,500 words / 100 A5 pages). Working full time, I am unable to finish my story within the next month, and I plan o...

2 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by M.Y. David‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A When a story is longer than a book, is it best to wait until the entire story is done before completing the first book in the story? [closed]

I have been working on a story for several years. The manuscript is now currently longer than 1,000 notebook pages (roughly 615 pages in print by my calculations) and it’s only a third of the way t...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by RE Lavender‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book book-length
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Q&A Problems with picture alignment in Microsoft Word - which other DTP software can I use?

I have been struggling to write a book on my 14 years research. I have used Microsoft Word exclusively, but I have a problem that the book uses lots of pictures, sometimes six per page and this is ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Ivan Wain‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What are the stages between publishing a book on KDP and producing an audiobook?

I have known gaps - voiceover artist, studio time, editing, distribution, but what are the unknown unknowns that I need to consider? Having read previous threads, there are some very wise answers,...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Brereton‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What paper stock should I use for the soft cover of my book?

I do soft cover books and laminate the top side, and therein lies the problem. The cover keeps curling up too much. I have tried Ningbo 350gsm which works perfect except that now it's too stiff and...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A how to tell if a book will be a bestseller? [closed]

I wrote a novel and it is Science fiction based novel. Almost every close friend of mine read the novel and none of them gave a negative response. What are the possibilities that I need to assume, ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Niranjan Mahajan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Author and Illustration owner

I paid an illustrator to do the art for my picture book and I now own the artwork. Am I then allowed to submit to agents as an author/illustrator? How does this work?

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Sunchic2020‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Synopsis for a village full of characters

My book is about a sleepy Devon village and is a compilation of tales that feature over thirty characters. They weave in and out of each other's stories, in the pub, Post Office and village shop et...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Owly‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question book synopsis
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Q&A Should I write a companion book/blog?

As a spinoff to this question: Incorporating research and background: How much is too much? I'm writing a middle-grade fantasy novel with a historical fiction component based in Ancient Egypt. I'm...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Materials to promote my book in person

Say I have a book...or a comic series...or a podcast...or another published work. Marketing written or scripted works is perfectly on topic here, and most of the promotional materials are also wri...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to insert music lyrics on an book

i'm writing a book where the protagonist is a musician, it's a novel, and in those books I think of drawing a scene where his passion is listening to him. What's the best way to insert a scene like...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Quota‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question novel book romance
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Q&A Is there a practical time limit on a children's book meant to be read out loud? [closed]

I am posting a new question because the previous one was answered as "Is the child able to read a book this long?" I really wanted to know "Is an adult willing to read this long?" From cursory r...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by crj11‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A A children's book that takes 25 minutes to read out loud - is it too long?

I've written a 3rd grade level (8-9 years old) children's book that takes about 25 minutes to read out loud. I read it to a 3rd grade class, with a few posters for illustrations, and it actually s...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by crj11‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What about pictures in a story book

I am looking for feedback on the idea of including pictures in a fantasy story e-book to be sold on Amazon. The book is not a graphic novel as it has over 60,000 words spread across 15 chapters. Th...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Robertcode‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is my book too similar to Harry Potter? [closed]

The story takes place in a fictional country I created. There are 6 main characters, 3 girls and 3 boys. They are all "gifted" which are people with special abilities. There are 3 types of gifte...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Zeena Imam‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to add depth to writing - turn a story into a book [closed]

I've had a few 'great ideas' for books. I'm a big sci-fi fan, especially Michael Crichton. I'm not sure if that's relevant but there it is. I want to write a full length book, not a short story, a...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by user6916458‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What factors to consider when choosing an e-book platform?

Some students that I mentor have written a number of short stories that they want to publish now. I am totally new in this area. I did preliminary research which indicates that there are now a nu...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by Javeer Baker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What marketing techniques are effective for short story eBook collections?

I have a collection of short stories that I'm currently selling in the Amazon Kindle marketplace, and one of the biggest hurdles to actually getting my works read is lack of exposure. My passive p...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Strozykowski‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭