Create a publishable and profitable novel with this 340-page treasure trove of dos and don'ts of the writing and publishing world: Want to write a book but have no idea where to start? Written a book but don't know where to go from here? Lots of ideas but struggle to write them down? Ever wondered if you can write? Faced with too many rejections? Unless you can generate guaranteed sales, it is incredibly difficult to obtain a traditional publishing deal, so with this as your goal you need to ensure your novel is the very best it can be. Experienced coaches Rebecca and Claire will get you steps ahead of less-disciplined writers with this ABC of writing and publishing a captivating novel. A complete, professional writing course under one cover, this workable road map provides everything the novice writer needs to know, with a reminder for the more experienced - 'No messing! At last! A REALLY useful book for debut writers and published professionals alike.' (Carla Leach, CAL-Edits)

Table of Contents:
Foreword 1 Chapter One - Developing Your Craft 5 Introduction 5 A Potted History of the Book 7 Developing the 'Write' Mindset 9 Step One 9 Step Two 10 Step Three 11 Equipment 12 Being Organised 16 When to Write 17 Where to Write 18 Rejections 19 Summary 22 Key Points 22 Exercises 23 Chapter Two - Research and Preparation 25 Introduction 25 Reading Widely 26 Target Audience 27 Getting the language right 29 Gender specific 30 Language 31 What to Write About 32 Memoirs/Autobiographies 33 Choosing Your Title 36 Getting Started 37 Writer's Block 39 Sourcing More Ideas 42 Style 44 Libel and Slander 47 Bias 48 Copyright 48 Permissions 50 Plagiarism 51 Key Points 51 Exercises 52 Suggested Reading 53 Chapter Three - Laying the Foundations of Your Novel 59 Introduction 59 Finding Story Ideas 60 Market Research 63 Deciding on a Genre 63 Basic Ingredients 66 Adding Rivalry or Competition Between Two or More People 68 Adding a Pursuit 69 Race 71 Adding Clues to Forthcoming Events - Often Called Foreshadowing 72 Flashbacks 73 Coincidence 74 Deciding on an Era 75 Research 78 Researching Process 79 Summary 80 Key Points 80 Exercises 81 Chapter Four - Crafting Your Storyline 83 Introduction 83 Structuring Your Novel 85 Length 88 Synopsis 88 Creating a Blue Print 95 Structuring Your Storyline 102 Time Span of Your Story 104 Developing Subplots 106 Characters 107 Summary 107 Key Points 107 Exercises 108 Chapter Five - Characters 109 Introduction 109 Photofit/Layout 113 Choosing the Right Kind of Name 118 Mannerisms 121 Motivations 121 Basic Emotional Needs 122 Contrast 123 Consistency 125 When to Introduce Them 126 Avoid Stereotyping 127 Creating a Believable Main Character 127 Creating a Bad Guy/Gal 130 How Many? 132 The Role of Minor Characters 135 Snob Value 135 Summary 137 Key Points 137 Exercises 138 Chapter Six - Adding Power 139 Introduction 139 Finding a Suitable Setting 140 How to Describe a Scene 143 The Five Senses 146 Setting the Atmosphere 147 Changing the Mood of a Scene 150 Atmospheric Images 150 What Makes a Page-turner? 151 Pace 154 Adding Humour 154 Creating a Sinister Side 156 Adding Power to Chapter One 158 Creating a Powerful Opening Line 160 Opening Paragraph 161 When to End Your Chapters 162 Summary 163 Key Points 163 Exercises 164 Chapter Seven - Dialogue 165 Introduction 165 How to Set Out a Conversation - Dialogue 175 Direct and Indirect Speech 176 How You Can Use Dialogue to Create Pace and Excitement 177 Shelf Life 178 Colloquialism, Dialect and the Vernacular 180 Summary 182 Key Points 182 Exercises 183 Chapter Eight - Grammar and Other Important Factors 185 Introduction 185 Adjectives 188 Metaphors 190 Nouns 190 Collective Nouns 191 Participles 191 Prepositions 192 Pronouns 192 Similes 194 Split Infinitives 194 Verbs 194 First, Second or Third Person? 198 Choosing the Right Tense 201 Can You Use Both Past and Future Tenses in the Same Novel? 203 Choosing the Right Word 204 Linking Words/Pointers 211 Sentences 212 Ambiguity 213 Paragraphs 215 Summary 216 Key Points 216 Exercises 217 Chapter Nine - Spelling, Punctuation and Other Important Considerations 219 Introduction 219 Spelling 220 Vowels 224 Punctuation 225 Apostrophes 225 Exclamation Marks 229 Full Stops/Points 230 Hyphens 230 En and Em Rules 232 Ellipsis 233 Question Marks 233 Quotation Marks 234 Brackets 235 Colons 236 Semicolons 236 Commas 237 Comma Splice 239 Repetition 240 Tautology 240 Verbosity 241 Cliches 242 Idioms 243 Foreign Words 244 Jargon 244 Parochialism 246 References to Current Events, People or Cultural Elements 246 Slang 247 Italics, Bold, Underline 247 Capitalisation 247 Abbreviations 249 Summary 251 Key Points 251 Exercises 252 Chapter Ten - Consolidating and Final Polish 253 Introduction 253 Carrying Out a Constructive Review 254 Objective/Constructive Feedback 258 Revising Your First Draft 260 Bringing Your Work Up to Standard 261 Proofreading and Editing Your Work - Why Choose a Professional? 263 Benefits of Getting Your Work Edited 265 Difference Between a Proofreader and an Editor 267 What to Look for in an Editor or a Proofreader 268 How to Set Guidelines and Instructions for Your Editor 269 Things to look out for and other advice 271 Summary 274 Key Points 275 Exercises 276 Chapter Eleven - Steps to Publication 277 Introduction 277 Synopsis for Submissions 277 Guidelines for Submissions 281 Presentation 283 Presentation Guidelines 284 Covering Letter 288 Agents 290 Royalties 291 Vanity or Subsidised Publishing 292 Self-publishing 292 E-books 293 Compiling a Blurb 295 Dealing with Rejection 296 Handling a Bad Review 299 Summary 299 Key Points 300 Exercises 301 Select Bibliography 303 Index 304