by Dave BrickerExplore this soon-to-be-released Speakipedia AI tool. Load one of the demos and view the AI-generated results. Intro Setup…
Pedantic means being overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning, often emphasizing the minutiae of knowledge rather…
Since time immemorial, clichés have sneaked in the door when we least expect them to. They're low-hanging fruit for writers…
There are plenty of good reasons to self-publish, but not all are profit-oriented or even rational. Before you invest in…
Business, technology, and how-to books can be viewed as one-sided sales conversations. Though the author may hope to sell products…
Verbs are the engines that move your writing and your readers, but many authors don’t spend enough time choosing the…
Selecting a book font seems simple enough, but important subtleties and fine points of typography are not obvious to the…
Book cover design tells the story of the story. It must convey the spirit and intentions of the author authentically,…
Find your favorite writer and give them this message: They no longer have to mire their writing down with awkward…
The following publishing advice is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it…
The principles behind the simple art of essay writing can be applied to most any kind of written work. Even…
This article discusses the pros and cons of traditional publishing. Abandon your biases, study the business of publishing, and choose…
Two-word clichés are perhaps the least obvious kind. Unless we’re vigilant, they sneak into our prose, steal color, mask our…
Writers often ask about the difference between "straight" or "dumb" quotation marks and traditional printers' quotes, commonly referred to as…
If you’re not using your Word Processor’s Track Changes function, you’re missing out on one of the best writing tools…
Tom Morkes published The Perfect Book sales Page on his blog. I'm usually the first person to reject formulaic approaches…
Should you give away books for free? The value of book giveaways can't be assessed by formula. The prevailing mythology…
Many self-publishers start their book projects with unrealistic expectations and misunderstandings about how publishing works. A huge industry has arisen…
Here's an addendum to Publishing Scams and How they Work. I wonder why so many authors, after spending thousands of…
This article explores ergonomic solutions to writers’ repetitive stress problems. As static as it may seem, writing is a physically…
This article explains how to produce and market a professional quality audiobook using Amazon ACX. Through ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange),…
This article explains the tab ruler found on every word processor and typesetting application. Understanding the simple and elegant split…
So many writers get discouraged. This stinks. I quit. Others are overconfident. They've always had "a gift for words" so…
Search for “one-sentence paragraph” on the Internet and you’ll mostly find questions about whether writing them is even an acceptable…
In my work with writers, I come across many common technical problems with manuscripts. These usually spring from the best…
A few years ago, I attended a nonfiction-writing workshop where I was told by the instructor that to qualify as…
You threw a grand party but nobody came. Your novel is so good but you're not selling books. What happened?…
Are images analogous to words? Is what makes a sentence sound "right" the same thing that makes an image "pop"…
"Passive writing" refers to a specific set of grammatical circumstances where emphasis switches from subject to object. The money was…
Generic descriptions are telltale signs of lazy writing. Add color to your writing by replacing overused and boring words. It's…
Dialogue presents challenges for writers. Some prefer to simply declare what was “said.” Many authors feel that “said” is both…
As a graphic designer, I see numerous parallels between the values that create engaging imagery and the values that create…
The word "that" is often abused. "That" is a perfectly useful pronoun but it's often the useless fat that slows…
This third installment of Judging a Book by its Cover looks at great book cover designs that won the 2012…
How can speakers, indie writers, and self-publishers use a blog to build a platform? This article explains how to publish…
Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued "professional" covers taken from Amazon's Editor's choice…
What do you think a professional editor's pay scale should be? Assume that a proofreader would be at the bottom…
I recently published a post about the difference between vanity publishing and true self-publishing. Fundamentally, the article defines a publisher…
Nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly crafted book cover. The standards for book design aspired to by trade publishers are…
One question that loops endlessly on writers’ forums is “How can I sell more books?” The question is a natural…
After completing the final draft of a manuscript for my fifth book, I wanted a reality check. I hired a…
The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes,…
Book reviews are critically important. Have you ever read a book hoping it would get better, only to find that…
Indie publishers complain that the mainstream publishing establishment acts as a "gatekeeper." Many readers rely on big publishing houses to…
The very idea of "book marketing" is vague. It's like subsuming advertising and fine art sales into a single realm…
Indie publishers are everywhere and so are indie bookstores, but apart from their names, the two have little in common.…
This section on dashes, hyphens and dots goes beyond typographic aesthetics to explore how we can communicate more effectively as…
The notion of real publishing as opposed to self-publishing and the stigma surrounding it is obsolete. I have no objections…
Use of Small Capitals—uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale—is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in…
Many readers still love to feel the subtle emboss of letters stamped on paper with metal type. I was rummaging…
Part 3 of Book Design Basics explores better ways to present numbers on your pages. Numbers (called figures) look simple…
Book design is a lost art. Though book design discussions usually focus on covers, consider how much more time a…
Part 2 of Fundamentals of Book Design explores optical margins, paragraph formatting and spaces. Read about margins, layout and leading…
Editing is one of the first hurdles you’ll encounter as an independent writer. Your fan club is your enemy. Encouraging…
There are plenty of good reasons to self-publish, but not all are profit-oriented or even rational. Before you invest in…
Thesis writing is one of the purest forms of self-publishing. In my work as a professor, I regularly encountered students…
If you're hoping to have mainstream bookstore distribution, using a Vanity Press may present some obstacles. Book buyers will likely…
Most book designers make the same errors. One sore spot for me and with many of my university design students,…
Epithet—a descriptive phrase that expresses a characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. It’s used to add to a person’s…
Colloquialisms are informal words or phrases that people use in everyday speech but which might not be suitable for formal…
Cacophony refers to a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds, used to describe a situation where a lot of noise makes…
Allegory is a narrative technique in which characters and events represent broader themes and ideas. Through allegory, storytellers explore complex…
Hyperbaton—a literary device that involves altering the normal order of words in a sentence for emphasis, to create a dramatic…
Hyperbole—an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally but used to grab attention, emphasize a point, or…
The monomyth, or the hero's journey, is a common narrative archetype that involves a hero who goes on an adventure,…
Metonymy—a figure of speech in which one object or idea takes the place of another with which it has a…
Litotes—a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite. It’s often used to convey modesty…
Oxymoron—a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in conjunction. It's used to create a dramatic effect or to…
A motif is a recurring theme, subject, or idea that appears throughout a literary work, which helps to develop the…
Narrative Hook—an opening to a story that grabs the audience's attention so that they want to keep reading or listening.…
A rhetorical question is a question asked to make a point rather than to solicit an answer. It’s a common…
Asyndeton involves omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. This can create a fast-paced and concise effect, adding urgency or…
Homiletics—the art of preaching or writing sermons. It involves the construction of a message and the effective delivery of that…
Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, particularly the use of figures of speech and other…
Pleonasm, which means using more words than necessary to convey meaning, often redundantly. ‘I saw it with my own eyes'…
Paronomasia, or punning, involves using words that sound similar but have different meanings, often to humorous effect. 'Time flies like…
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. It…
Verisimilitude is the appearance of being true or real in a literary work. It helps in making a story or…
Tone in writing and speaking refers to the attitude or approach that the author or speaker takes toward the subject…
A solecism is a grammatical mistake or nonstandard usage in speech or writing, such as a misplaced modifier or incorrect…
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using 'like' or 'as' to highlight similarities explicitly.…
Transcript Dave Bricker (00:07) Want to expand your speaking and storytelling skills and grow your influence business? This is Speakipedia Media…
Transcript Dave Bricker (00:06) This is Speakipedia Media brought to you by Speakipedia .com. Want to expand your speaking and storytelling…
Effective speakers wrap their messages in stories—but few understand what stories are and how they work. This brief guide explores…
Ethos, pathos, and logos combine to form a mode of persuasion that has ancient roots. Ethos appeals to the credibility…
One-sentence paragraphs are common when short pieces of dialog are being exchanged, but consider the effect of serial one-sentence paragraphs…
Words and Terms related to speaking and speechwriting: Adynaton [ad-uh-NAY-ton]: A form of hyperbole in which the exaggeration is so…
Writing teachers encourage us to engage the mind and senses. Describe sights, smells, tastes, sounds, feelings, thoughts, and tactile experiences…
Many write and speak absently about “starts” and “beginnings.” John started to talk about his feelings for Vera. Ed began…
A common mistake is to confuse “who” and “that” —another common misuse of the word “that.” She’s the girl that…
“That” is often useless fat that slows down an otherwise elegant sentence. Fortunately, misuse of “that” is one of the…
One of my colleagues has written a blog post every week for the past 17 years. If you’re that disciplined…
A rider is a document that addresses additional details, conditions, or terms of a contract. Copy and adapt this "AV…
Just sit down and write! Let the ideas flow! For many of us, they do—and it’s easy to become enamored…
I’ve written and published 14 books… And as far as book sales go, that’s made me tens of dollars. Two…
Preparing for a presentation? Ask about support with contest speeches, TEDx talks, and the big pitch. Rock your talk with…
Often—usually—we’re asked to speak for a certain number of minutes. If we have ten minutes to speak, how can we…
Writing an eloquent speech is 98% of the work. Delivering that speech in an engaging way is the other 98%.…
Explore this soon-to-be-released Speakipedia AI tool. Load one of the demos and view the AI-generated results. Speaker Introduction Wizard by…
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