word processor

Verbs: Spice Up Your Writing with Verbs that Rock

Verbs are the engines that move your writing and your readers, but many authors don’t spend enough time choosing the…

5 months ago

Book Design Basics: Choosing a Book Font

Selecting a book font seems simple enough, but important subtleties and fine points of typography are not obvious to the…

5 months ago

Publishing Advice – Practices & Principles

The following publishing advice is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it…

5 months ago

Track Changes – The Essential Tool for Writers and Editors

If you’re not using your Word Processor’s Track Changes function, you’re missing out on one of the best writing tools…

5 months ago

Tabs, Indents, and Margins: How to use the Tab Ruler

This article explains the tab ruler found on every word processor and typesetting application. Understanding the simple and elegant split…

5 months ago

Fine Control Over Justified Text

Page layout programs like Adobe Indesign and Quark, allow typographers to exert fine control over justified text to remove gaps…

5 months ago

Book Design Basics – Use Hyphens for Justified Type

Hyphens are an important contributor to elegant, easy-to-read typography, especially when text is fully justified as is the convention in…

5 months ago

A Manuscript is Not a Book: Ten Tips for Manuscript Preparation

In my work with writers, I come across many common technical problems with manuscripts. These usually spring from the best…

5 months ago

Writing is Design: Boring Words & Generic Descriptions – Not Nice!

Generic descriptions are telltale signs of lazy writing. Add color to your writing by replacing overused and boring words. It's…

5 months ago

Writing is Design: Avoid Bland Pronouns and Boring Verbs

As a graphic designer, I see numerous parallels between the values that create engaging imagery and the values that create…

5 months ago

Writing is Design: Eliminate THAT Fat From Your Writing

The word "that" is often abused. "That" is a perfectly useful pronoun but it's often the useless fat that slows…

5 months ago

Reality Checklist for Self-Publishers

One question that loops endlessly on writers’ forums is “How can I sell more books?” The question is a natural…

5 months ago

Self-Publishing & Vanity Publishing: Confuse Them and Pay the Price

What is true self-publishing? What is the difference between self-publishing and “vanity publishing” or “subsidy publishing?” How do these differ…

5 months ago

Proposed Standards for Book Typography

The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes,…

5 months ago

Self-Publishing IS Real Publishing-The Difference is up to You

The notion of real publishing­ as opposed to self-publ­ishing and the stigma surrounding it is obsolete. I have no objections…

5 months ago

Book Design Basics Part 1: Margins and Leading

Book design is a lost art. Though book design discussions usually focus on covers, consider how much more time a…

5 months ago

Book Design Basics Part 2: Optical Margins, Indents and Periods

Part 2 of Fundamentals of Book Design explores optical margins, paragraph formatting and spaces. Read about margins, layout and leading…

5 months ago

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