| Subject | Date Asked |
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| Sources of Information | 8/11/2008 |
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 |
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 |
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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| Writing my life | 7/29/2008 |
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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| Length & Content | 7/18/2008 |
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 |
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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| writing | 7/17/2008 |
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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| writing | 7/16/2008 |
Q: im thinking that writing might be the thing for me since im a bigginer and don't have alot of ...
A: Hon, join a writers group Online. MSN has a lot of good ones. Learn from other writers although most ...
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| New Author | 6/17/2008 |
Q: Salutations, how are you. I am a new author. I write books based on Christianity and how I am called ...
A: Get with reality. Chances are all the good ideas you have thought up will not be any the publisher ...
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| Second Edition | 6/11/2008 |
Q: Are there any rules associated with publishing a second edition of a given book? My first edition ...
A: Are you self-published? Your publisher can answer and handle all of the second edition ...
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| Writing a Book - Getting started | 6/6/2008 |
Q: I have taken classes to help advance my writing career. The company is Long Ridge Writing Assoc. My ...
A: I know nothing about the school, and do not recommend schools because of liability issues. Any ...
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| Advice needed | 5/18/2008 |
Q: All right, I'm trying to get a book going, and I know my characters well, but whenever I start ...
A: You might have an idea for the climax, but the ending is not created as yet. Why? Because a good ...
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| question please | 5/18/2008 |
Q: 1- when I writing stories , how can I get a reference for my work to evaluate my work ? 2- whats ...
A: That's too many questions for a writer. Apparently, you are just beginning without any research or ...
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| Advice needed | 5/17/2008 |
Q: All right, I'm trying to get a book going, and I know my characters well, but whenever I start ...
A: If you get bored writing it, then think how your potential readers are going to be. Don't write all ...
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| rights | 5/16/2008 |
Q: What does it mean when publishers say they buy first world rights?
A: That means if the book gets an offer to print in China, Japan, the UK, etc. the original publisher ...
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| Writing a book | 5/13/2008 |
Q: I wish to write a book on my family and interesting events that surround them, as well as the ...
A: Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. As far as publishers go, no traditional publisher reads or accepts ...
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| Writing a book | 5/12/2008 |
Q: I wish to write a book on my family and interesting events that surround them, as well as the ...
A: It will be difficult since you have no experience or knowledge that you need to write a book. ...
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| Young writer incorporating romance in novella | 5/3/2008 |
Q: I am a young writer, working on a historical fiction idea (hoping to make it into a YA novella). A ...
A: The first rule of a writer, is to write about what you know, and in the location you know. If you ...
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| writing my first fiction | 4/9/2008 |
Q: i have been wanting to write a book for a few years now. i am always interested in cultural ...
A: Since you have started already and didn't pre-plan with an outline: just go ahead and write. When ...
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| External Conflict | 4/6/2008 |
Q: Hey Jannie! My name is Cassie and I need some help. I am working on a novel right now that calls ...
A: Cassie, use "real life" incidents, verbal exchanges (words and sayings) and draw from your own ...
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| BOOK TITLES | 4/4/2008 |
Q: Can one use a bastardization of a word or phrase with impunity? For example if I wrote a book about ...
A: Yes you can, however when you write about someone, you open yourself up to slander and defirmation ...
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| topic | 4/2/2008 |
Q: I feel kind of embarrassed as I write this. See, I am a 10 year old, but I do want to start writing ...
A: 10 years old is a difficult age to grasp topics to write, but if you keep your stories to your age ...
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| Getting started | 3/16/2008 |
Q: I am always hearing that you should write the type of book that you love to read. I enjoy cozy ...
A: There's nothing to loose, or anything wrong with writing in a genre that is popular and now, ...
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| Querying a self-published book | 3/10/2008 |
Q: If I have a book that I have self-published (or am in the process of self-publishing), should I ...
A: I'm not sure why you would need an agent if you are self-publishing. If you have an already ...
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| a too long idea incubation | 1/28/2008 |
Q: I'm a published writer here in Indonesia. I'm currently on the making of my second novel, and I have ...
A: Follow Up: I would suggest carrying a notepad and pen everywhere, and a cassette recorder ...
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| a too long idea incubation | 1/27/2008 |
Q: I'm a published writer here in Indonesia. I'm currently on the making of my second novel, and I have ...
A: Congrats on being "hot" right now and for the writing award! That's every writer's dream! I ...
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| book | 1/17/2008 |
Q: I have been plugging along. Have about 250 hand written double spaced pages written so far. Turns ...
A: Have you tried a word processor like MicroSoft Works or Word? You can type and spell check to ...
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| Trouble finishing what I start | 1/16/2008 |
Q: I have been writing fiction stories for the last ten years now. I have so many because I get ...
A: Your dilemma is a very common one. Not to worry, don't distress but rejoice in it... it means you ...
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| COpyright of collected stories | 12/8/2007 |
Q: . I have collected 15 TRUE stories written by others for my book......DO I COPYRIGHT IT ALL IN MY ...
A: Let me explain copyright. As long as you have your copyright symbol and date, name on each story- ...
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| My First Book | 12/5/2007 |
Q: i'm 13 from UK, i'm writing my first story, well short story. it's about 15 pages long so far but ...
A: So young to be writing- I am impressed. You have a good head start on the craft. Stories are two ...
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| short story | 12/4/2007 |
Q: i like your idea about short stories to get noticed. easier to manage and feedback should be good ...
A: Short stories fall under a few categories. Flash fiction: 500-1000 words (usually) Regular ...
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| book | 11/30/2007 |
Q: I am writing my memoirs from the 60’s and want to understand a few things about writing a book ...
A: Dick, you have your hands full. An interesting idea. Average number of words for 250 pages is ...
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| kind of stuck... | 11/25/2007 |
Q: I was wondering if you had any practices to help with getting rid of writer's block or how to ...
A: I wrote a humorous article about writers block located at http://jannieballiett.net/ForWriters.html ...
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| agents and characters | 10/28/2007 |
Q: Any tips on how to make characters both believable and likeable? Also, I am curious about the ...
A: Concerning believable characters: If necessary, create a character profile of the character(s) with ...
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| Character Deaths | 10/25/2007 |
Q: Without getting into too much details, I plan on ending my book by killing...well...everyone. It ...
A: No, it wouldn't turn readers off-- not all stories have a happy ending. You might leave a twist ...
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| writing | 10/23/2007 |
Q: Do you think it is out of the question for me to write a self help book - similar to Deepak Chopra ...
A: Al, it is not out of the question to write a self-help book, especially from an "average" person ...
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| Can I have legal issues for a true story novel? | 10/21/2007 |
Q: I've being thinking for quite a while to write the story of my life, in particular my youth. ...
A: Good question-- and the answer is a touchy one. When any author uses the real identity of people in ...
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| Real Settings | 10/16/2007 |
Q: My question is relatively simple, however it is one for which I have no answer. Does an author have ...
A: David, that is an excellent question. The answer is yes and no. Each university has their own and ...
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| How many words on a page | 10/11/2007 |
Q: How many words are on a page of a novel's text? How many chapters make a good novel? How do you ...
A: Generally, a novel has approximately 250 words per page. Chapters can be as short as 20, and as long ...
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| preface/roman numerals | 10/11/2007 |
Q: As a reader, not a writer, and it may be a "no brainer" that I'm not aware of, but, I was just ...
A: The preface presents the purpose and scope of the book. In it, an author explains why he wrote the ...
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