| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Prologue | 9/3/2008 | Bobbie Christmas |
Q: I recently read a prologue in a thriller and Chapter One coordinated with the prologue's description ...
A: By its very nature, a prologue is something that takes place before the main action of a novel ...
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| Writing a book with outside submissions | 9/1/2008 | Bobbie Christmas |
Q: I have two ideas for books that involve others contributing their stories. This would be my first ...
A: Before you do anything, get to know the legal ramifications of acquiring the works of others. I’m ...
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| where to go? | 8/25/2008 | Sandy McCutcheon |
Q: I'm a Nigerian, I've lived in Cote D'Ivoire for 12 years and just written my first novel set in Cote ...
A: Having had some experience in publishing books set in non-English speaking countries (Morocco, ...
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| Character Reactions? | 8/23/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I'm currently working on a situation (which is what I write when I don't have a story to work on, it ...
A: Joanne! Actually, I don't really see the problem. Cassie's unconscious. That's the PERFECT time for ...
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| Headers | 8/21/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Okay, I have manually typed my headers on the top right corner of each page that say Holton/Behind ...
A: Ahhh... You'll need to delete that header and put it on the page where you want it to start. Word ...
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| Headers | 8/21/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Okay, I have manually typed my headers on the top right corner of each page that say Holton/Behind ...
A: Here you go: 1. Click on View in the upper bar 2. Click on Header and Footers 3. A box will pop up ...
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| writer's group | 8/19/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Can you give me some links to really good up to date writer's groups. where i can post some parts of ...
A: Brandon! The two where I primarily hang out are very up to date, with daily activity. The biggest ...
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| Publishing | 8/19/2008 | Bobbie Christmas |
Q: I wrote on and email to a publishing group, a short note about my book. It was a rough out line of ...
A: It’s true that it’s difficult to get a legitimate publishing house to look at your book without the ...
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| Time & Dedications | 8/18/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I have finished planning out my novel. I plan on starting the actual writing this week. But school ...
A: John! Well, I tend to write in the mornings because I find that by the end of the work/school day ...
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| writing | 8/17/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: How do i go about getting my book published?
A: Chris! I'll need a little more information before I can advise you. Tell me what you mean by ...
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| "Headers: TITLE -AUTHOR-PAGE # | 8/15/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Cathy you gave me a link to AbsoluteWrite last week and it has proven invaluable - I'v distributed ...
A: again, Jenny! I'm glad AW has been helpful to you and your group. Yes, the header (for a printed ...
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| letters into book? | 8/15/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: I have a Bachelors degree (major History). I am 54 year old woman. I have many letters written by my ...
A: What a wonderful idea for a book. This kind of text - as you may know - is called by historians ...
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| Letters into book? | 8/15/2008 | Bobbie Christmas |
Q: I have a Bachelors degree (major History). I am 54 year old woman. I have many letters written by my ...
A: It's very possible, but without seeing the material, it would be hard to say where to start, and as ...
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| sase | 8/14/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Honestly, are sase's just a fast way to get a rejection, or has anyone actually gotten a return ...
A: Actually, the acceptance for our first book to a small press WAS received in the SASE. Not every ...
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| Book titles | 8/12/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I changed the title of my book twice. This time, when I saw that a title sold by the agency had a ...
A: Titles don't matter at all, so it's not a good thing or a bad thing. About half the time what the ...
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| purchase stock photos or wait till . . . | 8/12/2008 | Bobbie Christmas |
Q: I am publishing my third book and this one is more intense than the others. This is a 98 page + ...
A: First, agents donut represent your publishing business. They represent manuscripts in an attempt to ...
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| photos in book | 8/12/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I am publishng my third book and this one is more intense than the others. This is a 98 pg+ coffee ...
A: yvonne! I saw your question in the question pool and thought I'd offer to help. My first book was ...
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| Title!!!!!! | 8/12/2008 | Sandy McCutcheon |
Q: I can't figure out what to call my novella!!!! It is historical fiction, and everything I think up ...
A: First, a question - have you completed the novella? If not, don't worry about the title until you ...
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| Sources of Information | 8/11/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: I have gathered a lot of information and I want to put togehter this in a book that will be useful ...
A: I presume this novel is non-fiction. Therefore, you can use real cases as in the media and ...
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| Legal Issues - Real Organization | 8/9/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: I'm interested in using a real, existing organization as a secondary villain in one of my novels. I ...
A: The legalities of the organization, corporation, company, etc. is trademarked and registered and CAN ...
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| writing tools | 8/8/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: Saw Dick Schlueter's note to you about the difficulties of negotiating Microsoft Word (I have Word ...
A: I prefer MicroSoft Works to any other program. There is no pre-setup problems, unless you are ready ...
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| Speaking to writers' group | 7/30/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I co-chair a writer's group in the New Haven/ Hamden, CT area. I am looking for a published writer ...
A: Jenny! Sorry for the delay in answering. My ISP provider decided to do an "upgrade" and I'm now ...
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| Fictitious life story being penned | 7/29/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: My manuscript's currently going through the pre-production process at a publishing co. It was ...
A: I believe that is standard practice in the industry, or if it isn't, it should be. If you want your ...
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| Writing my life | 7/29/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: I am about to begin writing a book about my life (which has been very eventful). I want people to ...
A: To write a biography, you have to change the names and places of the real people and cities. Unless ...
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| Question | 7/29/2008 | Sue Viders |
Q: I am writing a book on refined hedonism. Could you provide me with any insight on pleasure through ...
A: Not sure exactly how to answer this question as "pleasure" is such an individual emotion. What ...
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| learn to love your own stories | 7/27/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: I love to write, i've been writing stories since i was in reception class. As i went through school ...
A: You are not alone! I'd say 50% of the questions I get here involve this very matter. Here are some ...
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| writing a book | 7/25/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: "Hiya, I just have a few quick questions about how to write in a book style. 1. how do you ...
A: Generally, I like my questioners to confine themselves to at most two questions, as I tend to answer ...
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| hi | 7/24/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: right now i'm writing a novel and i wanna be a poet how can i be? answer me please
A: arein! Well, if you want to be a poet, why are you writing a novel? They're sort of different ...
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| published/unpublished | 7/23/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Concerning the terms "unpublished" and "published" authors, by "unpublished" or "new" does this mean ...
A: I think we discussed this before as part of a "platform." The author credentials have to do with any ...
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| Novels | 7/23/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: I wonder if you can help me. I am attempting to write a novel and am trying really hard to do my ...
A: again, Michelle! Well, a lot is going to depend on your protagonist. There are different kinds of ...
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| published/unpublished | 7/22/2008 | Cathy Clamp |
Q: Concerning the terms "unpublished" and "published" authors, by "unpublished" or "new" does this mean ...
A: By and large, the term "author" refers to books and, occasionally, short stories. Magazine article ...
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| characters' background and tone of speech | 7/21/2008 | Sue Viders |
Q: i want to write i novel. most story i very well developed in a storyline i created, but my main ...
A: Salvador... One of the best ways to develop a character is to "use" someone you know as an ...
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| styles of fiction | 7/21/2008 | Vincent M. Wales |
Q: to begin let me tell you that English is my second language, but I write English as good as i can. I ...
A: Salvador: The simple answer to your question is: Sure! It's perfectly okay. So long as it sounds ...
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| Starting a novel | 7/21/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: well, let me start by telling you that English is my second language. I am a desperate writer that ...
A: First, put aside your desperation, and let's proceed calmly. Second, please realize that you are ...
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| Length & Content | 7/18/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: im having trouble with the length of my stories, i have been suggested to add more description, but ...
A: Length i irrelevant. Why bother worrying about "length" such as word count, pages, etc.? Stories ...
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| writing | 7/17/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: im thinking that writing might be the thing for me since im a bigginer and don't have alot of ...
A: I've been there today and posted and done some minor changing around. It's: ...
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| Romance as Lesser Art? | 7/17/2008 | Vincent M. Wales |
Q: Oh, Vincent! You have no idea how glad I am to come across you at allexperts! I love writing. ...
A: Jennifer: 1) My personal opinion is that "art" is highly subjective. Asking if Romance is a ...
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| writing | 7/17/2008 | Jannie Balliett |
Q: im thinking that writing might be the thing for me since im a bigginer and don't have alot of ...
A: I founded MSN's Writers Cick 101 at http://groups.msn.com/writersclic101 I have not been there in ...
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| Memoir | 7/16/2008 | Sandy McCutcheon |
Q: I've completed my memoir entitled Killing Of Innocence. The story tells of my upbringing as an ...
A: What a fascinating and exciting project! My first reaction is to agree with the suggestion that you ...
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| Preface | 7/16/2008 | Susan Rand |
Q: I am writing a non-fiction story that when finished will most likely be book length. I want to ...
A: Prefaces, forewords and introductions are commonly associated with non-fiction. These elements in ...
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