Before I get into strategies for writing a prologue, I want to address the whole prologue thing. Basically, agents like them or hate them. Readers love them or skip them. People have strong feelings about prologues and you should be aware of the general discussion before you publish a book with one or start sending out queries. So, let’s talk briefly about why some agents don’t like them and why a...

If you plan on traditionally publishing your novel, you will need several other materials in addition to your  novel when starting to query.  One of those items is a synopsis.  What exactly is a synopsis, why is it an important marketing item, and how can you make yours the best it can be? Let’s dive in! What is a synopsis? A synopsis is an overview of your novel from beginning...

I started my true writing journey eight years ago. I’d been writing stories for most of my life at that point, but I didn’t set out to write an entire novel until then. What I didn’t realize was that writing a novel is more complicated than it looks, and I’ve learned crucial lessons through the process of failing to produce one. My biggest mistake was beginning with a number of...

Hi, Scribblers! If you’ve been around our Scribblers Facebook page in the last few years, you’ll recognize the excitement that begins in October. What is the buzz about, though? Scribbler’s Annual Icelandic Book Exchange. It’s an annual lottery-based exchange in which members of Scribbler’s Facebook page order books (and/or other small book-related gifts) and ship directly to their exchange partner.  Scribbler Aven Whitehorne, the mastermind and moderator behind the Annual Icelandic Book Exchange,...