40 literary terms you should know

Malapropism: When used properly, deliberately replacing words with different ones (usually homophones) can really make a humorous scene pop. This technique comes from the character Mrs. Malaprop, created by Richard Brinsley Sheridan for his play The Rivals, whose verbal quirks reflected such things.

Harsh But Eye-Opening Writing Tips From Great Authors

1. The first draft of everything is shit. -Ernest Hemingway

2. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass. -David Ogilvy

3. If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy. – Dorothy Parker

Fashion Your Book To Match Others In Its Field

By Dan Poynter

As you survey the shelves in the bookstore, you will note that each genre or category has its own unique look. For example, business books usually have a hard cover and a dust jacket. Books for professionals such as doctors, lawyers and accountants are hardcover without a dust jacket. Children’s books have a larger trim size, are four color and have 32 pages. Cookbooks are wider than they are tall so they will open and lie flat. Travel books are lightweight, slim and may have rounded corners to make them easy to slip into a pocket or pack.

Milt Strong writes and publishes books on square dancing. All his books measure about 4½ x 8 inches. He explains that dancers want a tall, skinny book so they can read the steps and then slip the book into a back pocket.

Your book must look like the rest on its shelf. It must have the same dimensions, type of cover, a common typeface and so on. Do not break out of the mold on your first attempt. If your book is different, it will lose credibility. Potential buyers will think you are an amateur and not ready to be a serious author-publisher. In book design, different risks avoidance.

If you want your book to sell like a book, it has to look like a book. Give your buyer what he or she expects, wants and deserves and you will sell more books. Respect your category.