Showing results by author "Rob Bignell" in All Categories

You’ve written a short story or a novel. You keep receiving rejection slips from editors and publishing houses … and now you’re not sure it’s good enough to self-publish. You know your story needs a rewrite yet don’t know how to improve it … besides, work or school is hectic, the house needs to be cleaned, and the kids demand your attention, so who has time? … But we bet you can find just 7 minutes a day to achieve your dream of getting that story published. If you can, this is the book for you. This practical, how-to guide takes you step-by-step through improving your story ...

UPDATED FOR CHRISTMAS 2020 - INCLUDES AMERICA'S NEWEST NATIONAL PARKS - WHITE SANDS, INDIANA DUNES, GATEWAY ARCH! You’re visiting a national park but don’t have a lot of time. Maybe you’re just passing by or have only one day of your vacation to stop. What should you see, and how will you find those spots? “Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks” ensures you make the most of your limited time. It lists the must-see wonders at our most visited national parks and details the best short hikes for enjoying them. With the trails listed in this volume, you’ll never have to ...

LET’S WRITE YOUR NONFICTION BOOK! One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they're following a process when writing a book. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every writer goes through five basic steps if they finish and publish their nonfiction book. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they're having trouble writing. Maybe their book idea isn't very good. Possibly they haven't thought through it enough. Maybe they're not revising it efficiently. Following a Writing Process for Nonfiction ...

LET’S SELL YOUR BOOK! Most indie authors are nervous about buying ads for their books and for good reason. They wonder if the ads really will work or if it’s just dumping money into a bottomless hole. They even have been told not to buy them. I used to think that way too. Then I began to hear from a small number of authors that they actually were having good luck with Amazon ads. A lot of tweaking was necessary, but eventually they figured out a formula that worked. So I gave it a try. Within weeks, I was earning twice as much as I spent on ads, and my sales tripled. Sell Your Book with...

One of the most important tools in your writing kit is dialogue. It can help develop your characters, move the plot forward, increase tension, and establish a scene’s mood. Unfortunately, sometimes novice writers write dull dialogue. Like a flat tire that slows your vehicle to a near stop, so dull dialogue can quickly bring your story to a near halt. Write Engaging, Natural Dialogue is all about helping beginning writers better understand how to pen conversations between characters. If you’ve already written a story and know the dialogue is weak, the tips in this book can help you ...

For beginning writers, point of view often is the most difficult element to master. Without really understanding the role point of view plays in storytelling, aspiring authors frequently select the wrong one. Sometimes they prefer to write or read a specific point of view, so they just go with that, even though it's not the best choice for their story. Mastering Point of View addresses those and many other issues writers face with this element of fiction. It examines the three main points of view – first, third and second – and the different forms each one can take. It looks at when ...

UPDATED FOR 2023! Imagine a place where several waterfalls tumble more than eight stories over ancient rock, where you can hike to a mountain vista offering 100-mile views, where countless streams and rivers rush over riffles and cascades through dense verdant forests, where you can traipse past historic pioneer buildings or stand in awe before a rare, majestic elk that haven’t been seen in these parts since George Washington’s time. The place is real: It’s called Great Smoky Mountains National Park. America’s most visited national park, more than 10 million people annually enter ...

Imagine a place where dunes of white sand rise taller than a house and seemingly forever into the horizon, where a trail’s route shifts every day as wind remolds the terrain, where more than 800 animal species call an inhospitable desert home, where you can walk the shores of an ancient lake that mammoths and saber-toothed cats once drank from. The place is real: It’s called White Sands National Park. But with the park’s incredible size of nearly 228 square miles, how can you ensure that you see its main sights when vacationing or driving through? That’s what Best Sights to See at ...

An author’s platform is absolutely vital to your success as an indie writer. Consisting of your website, social media, and outreach efforts, the platform gives you the tools to reach others who might by your book. It also is a way for potential readers to stumble upon your book. Create Your Author’s Platform helps you build those tools to promote your books. Using practical, easy-to-understand explanations, Create Your Author’s Platform covers constructing a website, blogging, mailing lists, newsletters, social media, press releases, and book readings/signings. The tips come from a ...

The Grand Canyon rightly defies description. Most who see it for the first time say it reminds them of a majestic painting, appropriately suggesting it’s a place that only can be visualized by actually gazing upon it. “Hittin’ the Trail: Grand Canyon National Park” is the only complete guide to the parks’ great day hiking trails. With one tap of the screen, you can: • Plan days of fun family-friendly activities • Reserve a campsite or lodging • Receive a list of the parks’ current programs • Learn about special kid programs • Find directions, entrance fees, parking ...

UPDATED FOR 2023! You’ve self-published your book, but now what? You can’t make marketing it a full-time job … work or school is hectic, the house needs to be cleaned, the kids demand your attention … But we bet you can find just 7 minutes a day to increase your book’s sales. If you can, this is the book for you. This practical, how-to guide takes you step-by-step through implementing a simple but effective marketing plan for your book – with just 7 minutes of work required a day. You’ll complete short, skillful exercises that allow you to publicize and sell your novel or ...

THE BEST GUIDE TO ENJOYING WISCONSIN’S TOP FALL COLOR TRAILS! Autumn in Wisconsin is like living in a painting. Mother Nature celebrates with masterful brushstrokes, from the brilliant yellows, oranges and red of maples to the scarlet and russets of oaks, from the ambers and golds of aspen and birch to the crimson and purples of sumac and white ash. Accenting it are the fiery reds of prairie grasses, the bronze cornstalks of farm fields, the oranges of pumpkins and gourds, and the carmines of plump ripe apples and cranberries. Nature finds her palette when September arrives. Wisconsin’s...

Most potential readers of your ebook will first encounter it online as an image – the book’s cover. If that thumbnail doesn’t cause viewers to take a closer look at the accompanying text descriptions of your book, you are farther away from making a sale. How do you create an ebook cover? Design Your Ebook Cover answers that question. Using easy to understand and short explanations, it describes what software/apps you need, moves on to the cover’s various elements, and finally looks at uploading it to a print on demand company like Kindle Direct Publishing. ROB BIGNELL is the author ...

UPDATED FOR 2023! You’ve written a book that’s languishing on your computer hard drive. You don’t have time to pitch it to a literary agent or a major publisher … work or school is hectic, the house needs to be cleaned, the kids demand your attention … But we bet you can find just 7 minutes a day to achieve your dream of getting it published.] If you can, this is the book for you. This practical, how-to guide takes you step-by-step through the self-publishing process – with just 7 minutes of work required a day. You’ll complete short, skillful exercises that allow you to self-...

One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they're following a process when writing a short story or a novel. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every story goes through five basic steps if they finish and publish their story. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they're having trouble writing a story. Maybe their story idea isn't very good. Possibly they haven't thought through the story enough. Maybe they're not revising it efficiently. Following a Writing Process for Fiction takes you through ...

THE ONLY GUIDE TO SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK'S TOP SIGHTS! Imagine a place where you can hike amid saguaro cactus forests or see glorious sunrises and sunsets...where you can explore centuries-old petroglyph sites and abandoned desert mines at which fortunes were made and lost...where you can traipse amid a desert alive with colorful wildflower blooms or spot hardy desert wildlife ranging from coyotes to roadrunners. The place is real: It's called Saguaro National Park. But with the park's incredible size of nearly 145 square miles, how can you ensure that you see its main sights when ...

You've written a book and want to publish it as an ebook. But how do you do that? Maybe you've watched a video about it, but your self-publishing house keeps rejecting what you've created. Or maybe they've accepted it, but its appearance is less than adequate, especially compared to all of the other books out there. Self-Publish Your Ebook Bundle addresses all of those problems and more. A collection of guidebooks in the popular Storytelling 101 Quick Read Series, this bundle includes Format Your Ebook, Design Your Ebook Cover, and Upload Your Ebook to KindleDP. Those three titles take you ...

Read any writing tip article or book, and one piece of advice you're sure to see is "Show don't tell." For many new writers - and even established ones - showing rather than telling is downright confusing. Just what does an editor mean when she notes "Show don't tell" on your manuscript? Mastering Show Don't Tell looks at how to identify and fix all the places where telling - or exposition - rears up in your writing: backstory; info dumps; backfill; vague descriptions; irrelevant character details; emotional states; motivational tells; narration; summarizing; poorly written dialogue; and ...

Imagine a place where magnificent peaks soar more than 2.5 miles high, where alpine lakes reflect snow-capped mountains and evergreens in crystal clear water, where blooming wildflowers fill meadows with color while towering forests shade sun-dappled paths, where rushing creeks and waterfalls are as common as driveways in the suburbs. The place is real: it’s called Rocky Mountain National Park. But with the park’s incredible size of 415 square miles and the large crowds, how can you ensure that you’ll see its main sights when vacationing or driving through? That’s what Best Sights ...

You need a website if you’re a serious author. A website is the hub where readers can go to find out about your books, a little about you, where to find you on social media, how to contact you, and more. Fortunately, you can construct a website for very little cost right in the comfort of your own home. Build Your Author’s Website explains how, using easy to understand, practical explanations. This book covers such diverse topics as finding a Website Host, deciding what your website will look like, pages needed for your website, share buttons, pictures, your website text’s readability...