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Self-Editing: Two Half Brains Make a Whole Writer | by Deborah J. Lightfoot Sep. 20, 2011 | $0.99 | 13079 words | Sample 30% |
| Author bio: I began as a journalist, or at least that's what I got my degree in. After college, I worked for a newspaper, then as a magazine editor and feature writer. These days I earn my living as a freelance editor for a national nonprofit organization. I've written three award-winning books of history and biography. I'm a member of The Authors Guild. My newest work is a fantasy, WATERSPELL, an intricate, multi-layered trilogy about a girl and the wizard who suspects her of being so dangerous to his world, he believes he'll eventually have to kill her ... which poses a problem for him, since he's fallen in love with her. My married name, and a name I've sometimes been published under, is Deborah Lightfoot Sizemore. |
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Reading English News on the Internet: A Guide to Connectors, Verbs, Expressions, and Vocabulary for the ESL Student | by David Petersen July 08, 2011 | $7.99 | 27987 words | Sample 20% |
| Author bio: I am a writer and educator, with degrees in psychology and theater studies, certificates in English teaching and Japanese proficiency, and more than a decade of experience as a professional translator. I was born in Canada, but have spent most of my adult life traveling and working abroad. Along the way, I've climbed Mt. Fuji, touched noses with a Maori elder in New Zealand, snorkeled in Fiji, survived a tsunami evacuation in Samoa (and more recently, Nagasaki), snuggled a koala in Australia, chaperoned high schoolers on a bus tour of England, thrown up in the Czech Republic, attended grad school in Malta, worked on an archaeological dig in Spain, had laser therapy in Germany, taught at a university in Hungary, scaled pyramids in Mexico... Translation is my bread and butter, and writing is my passion. |
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Come Again? | by Graham Murray June 24, 2011 | $0.99 | 6171 words | Sample 30% |
| Author bio: As a full-time author, I have what is possibly the best ‘job’ in the world, though I do not see writing as a job. Having been blessed with a vivid and active imagination, I am never short of material around which to build a story and have enough backlog material to last several lifetimes. In any event, storylines are everywhere. Just look around you - wherever you are - and there’s your story! Even a pitch-black room is a story in itself if you have the imagination. A writer without imagination is called a blank page, or ‘writer’s block (which I do not believe even exists). That said, my work tends to include elements of humanity, loss and grief, revenge, retribution, riddles and a plethora other hooks to keep readers turning pages (or hitting ‘Nextâ€). Some of my simple riddles in stories have yet to be solved! (see “The Importance of Looking Right†for an example.) If you’re a ‘skipper’, i.e. you tend to ‘skip’ over blocks of text, then my work is definitely not for you. Very often in my stories, EVERY word is there for a reason, and if you’re a ‘skipper’ you are sure to miss a critical clue or aspect of the story which may render it meaningless to you. Who skips over stories anyway? Why read at all if you’re going to do that? In one of my stories, it is a single punctuation mark that emphasises the point of the story. Although it is a single ‘ . ’, the relevance of that single period runs into several paragraphs. The story in question is “Small Merciesâ€. All authors include aspects of their own life and personality in their writing. When I read back through some of my material, I often wonder how true this is. If a psychologist were to attempt to compose a ‘profile’ of me based on my writing, I would certainly either be the weirdest or most wanted person on earth! All of my stories contain a moral in one form or another and I like to keep these obscure and make the reader think about what they have just read. I never ‘spell it out’ in any of my stories. If you didn’t ‘get it’, your either skipped over a critical clue or misunderstood a vital part of the story. Read it again – the answer is ALWAYS there! Some people have read my short stories several times before they finally see the clues. And then they find them all! Try “To Be Frank†as a classic example of clues dotted all over the place. Many readers do not get this story, even right at the very end, where I DO spell it out. Amazing. As for my ebook entitled, “Li’l Red in the Hoodâ€, I am always flabbergasted at how many people simply do not get what that story is all about. 99% of readers completely miss the point! Hint: it is British comedy! That may explain a lot . . . I take great pains to include these little titbits in my work, often taking days just to write a few paragraphs to ensure that the words are precisely the way they need to be. For me, writing is like building the innards of a fine Swiss watch. The face (cover) is easy, but the mechanism (story) is what makes it . . . well, Swiss. And therein lies the difference between experienced and new writers. New writers have yet to learn the subtle nuances and tend to blurt out stories, rather than sneakily guiding and misleading their readers and then smacking them with a punchline. My regular readers know that I make my books free for the first 24 hours or so, but then I charge for them. See my various works on the reasons for this. I don’t give away my work other than for promotional reasons. Freebies don’t pay the mortgage! Newbies just don’t get this. Between May and December of 2001, I sold just over 34,000 copies through Smashwords’ Distribution Channels, although I publish mainly on Amazon. 2012 looks like being a better year and hopefully we have now seen the end of all the vampire/werewolf/lesbian tedium and the real, adult fiction can come to the fore once again. I sure do miss it. If you need to contact me for any reason, the information is in any of my books, printed or ebooks. I look forward to hearing from you. I try to answer all my email, although this can take some time as my inbox gets quite hectic at times. |
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Guia Prático da Reforma Ortográfica | by Walace Freitas May 15, 2011 | $0.99 | 21981 words | Sample 20% |
| Author bio: Professor Walace Cestari, natural de Vila Isabel, professor de LÃngua Portuguesa, Redação e Literatura. Formado pela Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, leciona em vários colégios e cursos da rede particular e estadual do Rio de Janeiro. |
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Book on English Grammar, Punctuation and Capitalization. | by The Gifted Learning Project April 15, 2011 | $0.99 | 12788 words | Sample 3% |
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300 Days of Better Writing | by David Bowman July 07, 2010 | $9.95 | 64371 words | Sample 20% |
| Author bio: David Bowman, MA, MBA, brings nearly 20 years of experience as a writer, editor, instructor, and communications consultant to his exceptional writing guides. He has a straightforward, practical approach to writing and writing instruction. Having worked with business professionals, adult learners, and authors, David Bowman understands the writing issues that they face, and he can help you learn the strategies for powerful, professional written communication. David Bowman is the owner and chief editor of Precise Edit and has provided editing services since 1992. He is also a top-rated writing instructor for the University of New Mexico. |
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Common Writing Errors Workbook | by Katherine Ploeger July 01, 2010 | $14.95 | 33988 words | Sample 20% |
| Author bio: Writer, Writing Coach and consultant, Editor. Published author since 1980 with more than 55 book, report, instructional materials titles that have been published and self-published. Former college English (writing) professor with an MA in English - Composition and an MFA in Screenwriting. Currently writing an adolescent mystery novel. |
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Writing Clear Prose | by George Perkins April 28, 2010 | $2.99 | 28592 words | Sample 30% |
| Author bio: Born in Massachusetts, writer, scholar, world traveler. Books to date have sold over a million copies. |
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Be Your Own Editor: A Writer's Guide to Perfect Prose | by Sigrid Macdonald Feb. 20, 2010 | $2.99 | 28432 words | Sample 40% |
| Author bio: Sigrid Macdonald is a book editor and freelance writer. Originally from New Jersey, Macdonald currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario. Her articles have appeared in Canada's largest newspaper The Globe and Mail, The Women's Freedom Network Newsletter in Washington, DC, the American magazine Justice Denied, Toastmasters International, and The Anxiety Disorders Association of Ontario Newsletter. She frequently writes movie reviews for the women's magazine, She Unlimited. GETTING HIP: Recovery from a Total Hip Replacement is Macdonald's first book. Her second book, D'Amour Road, is a novel about two women who are about to turn forty. One goes missing and the other launches a massive search team to find her best friend in conjunction with the police, her colorful women's collective, and a younger man whom she finds particularly captivating. Macdonald is a member of MADD and AIDWYC, a Canadian association working on behalf of the wrongly convicted. She loves concerts, live comedy and Spanish movies by Pedro Almodovar. Read more about her at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/. |
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