HEARTICLES: Articles with Heart

Editorial reviews are objective, third-party reviews of a book by a professional editor, columnist, critic, or other authority in the book’s genre or subject. These professionals will focus on a number of elements within the book - technical vs emotional takeaway. This includes consistency in POV, pacing and plotting, as well as use of dialogue, character development and narrative consistency. They may point out grammatical errors and other inconsistencies. Most new reviewers will usually repeat the book's blurb in the review and follow up with a star rating and a 'buy this book' recommendation. A good and experienced reviewer will tell what the book's about in their own words but will also offer a more lengthy opinion of the book, to include both positives and negatives in the story...example - "Mary's character was well-developed and I could relate to her, but John's character needed a bit more depth for me to understand him..." Editorial reviews may...

You never know who you'll meet at a writers' event. Henry Winkler!  Do you write alone?     While most writers prefer to create in solitude, total isolation reflects in your writing. The world you’ve built reads exactly as you picture it in your imagination. You completely relate to your characters. You know what they want and how they’ll get it. The plot makes perfect sense to you. Will readers see things the way you do?      Involving others in your writing process can expand your point of view. When you are more connected, you can become a better writer and also cheer others on along their journeys. Here are three ways to expand your point of view and find your team: 1. Create in your story’s environment to expand your perspective. Locate places that inspire you and write there. Much of my first two romantic suspense novels take place in pubs. I wrote many scenes sitting at bars to collect stories and observe to soak up the vibe. If you have a tough sce...

Welcome romance writer, Paula Martin, to Hearticles. She's guest posting about adverbs in our stories. Take it away, Paula. • • • ‘The road to hell is paved with adverbs.' - Stephen King In one sense, I agree with him. Adverbs can often indicate lazy writing. Recently I read a novel (by a best-selling author) which was littered with adverbs, especially after dialogue tags. On one Kindle page alone, there was: said truculently, said coldly, retorted sarcastically, said wearily, reiterated sullenly, said dourly - and when I got to 'she ejaculated hoarsely’ I nearly splurted my coffee in the middle of Starbucks! Yes, there are times when we should avoid adverbs, especially when they are redundant e.g. she whispered quietly  or when the adverb can be replaced by a stronger verb, e.g he raced down the street  instead of he walked quickly . Of course, you could tell your readers: The rain came down heavily, and the wind blew strongly against the side of the car ...

Welcome crime writer, Sue Coletta, to Hearticles. She is guest posting about adding pets and animals to your writing. Take it away, Sue! • • • I love writing pets into my stories. Not only is a great way to  show a killer’s soft side , but they become important family members for the main characters. In my stories, I’ve used a Rottweiler, mastiff, and St. Bernard ( MARRED  and CLEAVED), a calico, tabby, and all-black cat ( Wings of Mayhem ), pet crows (Blessed Mayhem), and a black bear (A Sultry Abyss in  SCREAM ). I’ve even borrowed  a friend’s Bulldog  for Black Out ( RUN ), but I felt so responsible for him, I couldn’t include him like I’d originally planned. God forbid I returned him emotionally scarred from the experience. It’s much safer to use fictional pets. Need a way to show your character’s quirky side? Include a bearded dragon, snapping turtle, boa, tarantula, or exotic bird. Is your character adventurous? Give him a pet moose, lion, leopa...

Hashtags are an essential tool for any promotion. For the sake of conversation, let's talk books. What is a hashtag? Firstly, a hashtag is made up of two components...the hash and the tag or keyword. Using the two together creates a type of label or metatag used on social media to make it easier for users to find messages with a specific theme or similar content. The has looks like this #. Back in the old days, we called this the pound sign, but with most things, over time, names and meanings can change. In a time of social media, this innocent looking character has become something which holds much power. Why? Using this symbol alerts social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to share the topic on the hash, much like a neon arrow that's blinking, "Hey, over here...someone's talking about your book!" And with luck, that person will be inspired to buy your book, or whatever you're promoting. Each social media site uses the hashtags a little dif...

You've written your book, typed 'the end', and are now looking for a place to publish. STOP! Is your book ready? Of course, you'll need to edit, re-edit, and edit some more before you have a submittable project. But there are some things you want to pay special attention to before hitting send on your submission or query to a publisher. Here are some helpful hints that will get your book read with TirgearrPublishing : First, every publisher's guidelines are different, so it's important that you follow each publisher's specific guidelines, even if it means tailoring your basic submission. Tirgearr Publishing strives to make the submission process easy, so be sure to take a moment to ensure your submission is not only formatted correctly, but that the story is actually what we're looking for. Check our guidelines here Keep in mind that editors can read dozens of books per week, so the more well-presented your submission is...