by Anita Stratos, Proof Positive Editor Did you trip over the title of this post? Did you have to read it twice? If so, that’s because both phrases, “superfluous verbiage” and “unnecessary words”, mean the same thing, but your mind was trying to discern a difference....
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Go That Extra Mile!
by Anita Stratos, Proof Positive Editor Your book is edited, polished, published, and out there for the world to enjoy. You’ve got it listed on Amazon, its beautiful cover (that you agonized over getting just right) beckoning readers with its siren call, “You want...
Hired Guns: Paying Someone To Research Your Book
Does it help or hinder your book to hire someone else to do the research? That’s the question of the day. Some editing businesses offer to do writers’ research for them – for a fee, of course. While it may sound good to save yourself all that research time, is it...
Writing Groups Are Great, But…
Writing groups are great – there’s nothing better than spending time with people who have the same desire to write as you do and understand the writing life. Everyone brings something new to the table, whether it’s an opinion, something they learned in a class or at a...
Can Writing Courses Kill Your Writing Career?
by Anita Stratos, Proof Positive editor It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Writing courses are supposed to help build your writing career with insights into style, content, character development, and all the other things needed for a good novel. They also offer a...
Why Freelance Writing is Your Creative Writing Inspiration
by Anita Stratos, Proof Positive editor One thing I’ve noticed about the writing world – it likes to separate itself into groups. I’m not talking about genres. Two of the main groups I’ve noticed are “Writing for Hire” and “Creative Writing”, and members of each can...
Meet Author TC Michael
Author TC Michael describes himself as being "an epic daydreamer with a wild imagination", and nothing could better prove this description than his first full-length novel, Secret of the Last Born. The first in the Dark Rising series, Michael mixes common fables and...
Intention vs. Reality in Writing
“But Your Honor, I intended to help that little old lady across the street. Her purse handle just happened to loop over my arm, and I didn’t realize it was there until I was several blocks away and that cop tackled me!” Do you think any judge in the world would...
Celebrities Are Off Limits. Here’s Why.
The next time you're going to include a celebrity name in your book, DON'T DO IT, even if it's flattering! You could be sued for something you didn't even know you were implying. In the French book La première chose qu’on regard, author Grégoire Delacourt included...
Free Giveaway Contest Results!
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who participated in Proof Positive's 20-page critique giveaway, and another big thank you to everyone who congratulated us on our new website! We're so glad you love it as much as we do. Congratulations to the winner of our...