Eight Tips For Writing Character Voice In Your Novel

What are we talking about when we discuss the “voice” of the character you have created in your book? We’re discussing the way in which your character communicates with others in dialogue, but also how the character thinks and narrates to your reader. This is more than just how your character talks. This is the whole inner world of your character.

1. Physical Aspects

Your character needs to be able to communicate from within the body you gave them. A deformed mouth may mean no talking out loud, but the character can think and communicate to the reader. If your […]

Cate Baum2014-11-05T09:48:58+02:00November 5th, 2014|Categories: Features|

Winners of The SPR Full Moon Awards Announced!

We are happy to announce the winners of the 2014 Full Moon Awards! In the next few weeks we will be featuring these books in our reviews and interviews section. In the meanwhile, please take a look at the lucky authors!

Horror

Winner – Matt Drabble – Gated

Michael and Emily move to Eden Gardens, a US gated community that offers “Heaven on Earth and Twice as Nice”. The people are warm and friendly and welcome them with open arms. The town is a beautiful throwback to a bygone age, where the sun always shines and the sky’s always blue.

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Cate Baum2019-04-12T14:12:25+02:00October 31st, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: SPR Book Awards|

28 Free How-To eBooks For Self-Publishers

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Or perhaps you just need some direction, inspiration or technical help with your book? We’ve put together a list of 28 totally free ebooks you can download right now that should help you get going!

Writing

How To Write Fiction
Award winning writer, trained journalist and qualified trainer, Gurmeet Mattu, brings you a 15 Module Complete Creative Writing Course aimed at those who’d like to learn the nuts and bolts of writing fiction. The Modules include instruction on how to develop characters, write believable dialogue, how to vary tempo and how to ‘find your […]

Lysa Grant2018-10-22T12:30:36+02:00October 28th, 2014|Categories: Features, Resources|

Eight Ways To Be A Rockstar Author

In a time of blogs and tweets and quick shots of how to, ten tips, why you, why you shouldn’t, what this means, etc. ad nauseum, it’s not enough to write a book and try and blog about it. Now, you have to own your stage. In other words, you need to be a rockstar when it comes to representing yourself online. What exactly is a rockstar author?

In Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel “Gone Girl”, Tanner Bolt, the ‘rockstar’ lawyer hired by Nick Dunne suspected of killing his wife Amy, is having a conversation with Nick.

‘Juries love

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Cate Baum2014-11-01T04:55:55+02:00October 27th, 2014|Categories: Features|

Ten Ways To Publicize Your Book You May Not Have Thought Of

You’ve tried putting your book on all the usual sites, getting reviews and talking about it on forums and still you aren’t getting the sales you imagined. What can you do to improve this situation? Here are ten lesser-known insider ways to publicize your book.

1. Engagement, engagement, engagement

It’s not going to be enough to rock out a load of reviews and post your book on all the usual websites. It’s akin to spreading your wares very beautifully on a market stall that nobody can see. You’re going to have to get in deep with forums, groups and reading […]

Cate Baum2019-02-03T09:04:29+02:00October 23rd, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion|

Creative Commons Licensing For Authors

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about whether self-published authors need to use Creative Commons licenses for their work. This quick guide should explain how CC licenses work and when you should and should not use them.

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that has one goal: To utilize the possibilities for access the Internet gives content creators, and that includes you.

Free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms

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Cate Baum2021-07-30T05:20:19+02:00October 22nd, 2014|Categories: Features, Resources|

$15 Gift Voucher For NaNoWriMo Authors Until November 30!

If you are taking part in this year’s NaNoWriMo, Self-Publishing Review has a gift for you: An absolutely free $15 gift voucher to use on all editorial and review products until November 30!

NaNoWriMo is a great way to get started on that novel. The goal is to write a 50,000-word draft of your novel without going back, editing or perusing your work. Using NaNoWriMo’s system to write on, you also have support from other writers in the same boat, as well as famous authors ready to get stuck into a pep talk or forum to help you get […]

Cate Baum2014-10-21T03:25:16+02:00October 21st, 2014|Categories: Features|

Self-Publishing Success Story: Lisa Genova

Lisa Genova is a trained neuroscientist whose debut novel, Still Alice, is about a woman with an early onset form of Alzheimer’s, who has to learn to cope with the way her life is changing. Genova self-published her book in 2007 with iUniverse, and it was picked up by Simon & Schuster in 2009, and published by Pocket Books. It spent over 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and has been translated into 25 different languages. There is also a film adaptation in the works, starring Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, and Julianne Moore. Genova’s next two […]