Ready to submit? Use Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript to help!

Here's a glowing review for a seemingly dull book: Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, by Chuck Sambuchino and published by Writer's Digest Books. It goes into the nitty-gritty, boring old details of exactly how you present your precious writing to a potential agent or editor.

It's all in the details

It covers all major forms of writing, from article writing to nonfiction to short stories to novels to children's books, scripts, and poetry, and it details not just how to present your manuscript itself but also all the essential elements that go along with it: a query letter, a book proposal, an author bio, a synopsis, and more.

You might think the book would gloss over details, like that you'd have to infer from a generalized description of fiction submissions how to cater for a particular genre, but this book is all about details. I love books that are all about details! Are you writing a mystery novel? Covered. A graphic novel? Covered. An author-illustrated (or not) picture book? Covered. Need to know how to submit the acknowledgements page for your nonfiction book? Covered. An endorsements page for your novel? Covered. How about your radio commentary? Dude, it's covered.

Add tension to your novel

I liked this writing how-to article from Writer's Digest:

"How to Make Your Novel a Page Turner," by Elizabeth Sims

The basic idea is to throw your beloved characters into trouble. It's a lesson I've been told before, but I can always stand to hear it again!

In Sims' article, the "trouble" is labeled a Heart-Clutching Moment, anything that makes your readers sit on the edge of their seats in suspense for what will come next.

There are a lot more tips than just that one, so head on over and ramp up your novel's page-turning potential.