How to Create a Nonfiction Book Outline

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How to Create a Nonfiction Book Outline

This might sound a little crazy, but when I was in high school and university, I loved to make outlines. It was the stuff that came after the outline that I always had trouble with. But, because I had a detailed outline I could refer to, the writing was a lot easier than it would have been without an outline.

I've created countless outlines whether they were for essays, short answer questions, or a formal presentation. I’ve even created mini-outlines when I wrote exams to help me stay on topic.

I still enjoy creating outlines today and use them for many of my daily tasks. If it wasn't for a detailed outline, I wouldn't have been able to write my book Keep More Money in just two months. Let’s dig into why outlines are so great.

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Writing Advice from Author and Writing Coach Kevin T. Johns

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Writing Advice from Author and Writing Coach Kevin T. Johns

Today I’m excited to chat with my writing coach Kevin T. Johns about all things writing craft. I first “met” Kevin when I signed up to receive emails about writing from him a few years ago. At that point, I knew I wanted to write a book but had done absolutely nothing to achieve that goal. So, I watched one of Kevin’s free webinars and signed up for a course he was offering called The Novel Writer’s Blueprint.

Through Kevin’s class, I learned there are many elements to writing a novel. Today, we touch on some of those elements as well as the secret to being a productive writer.

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Self-Care Tips for Writers

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Self-Care Tips for Writers

I feel like I’ve been hearing a lot about self-care lately, and feeling a bit of pressure to have a daily self-care routine. When I thought about it, I realized I already have a great self-care routine, but I hadn’t made it formal by calling it that.

Self-care can be anything you do for your well being, whether it’s mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual. I like to think of it as anything that’s just for me, that makes me feel good. We spend so much time doing things for other people, it’s nice take some time to focus on ourselves.

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Read More to Write Better: 3 Types of Books Every Thriller Author Should Read

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Read More to Write Better: 3 Types of Books Every Thriller Author Should Read

Did you know April is Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) month? Me neither! I’ve recently started reading every morning before I do anything else. I was tired of getting smacked in the face by my book as I fell asleep reading before going to be at night. Please tell me I’m not alone on this!

It turns out that reading every morning for about an hour is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m amazed at how much I’ve read and learned. I’ve heard many successful authors say that if you want to be a good writer, you need to be a good reader, and I feel like all the extra reading I’ve been doing has really helped me be more critical of my own writing. Well, I’m always critical of myself, but this is a much healthier version.

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Happy World Poetry Day 2019!

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Happy World Poetry Day 2019!

When people think of poems, they often go straight to love poems, but there are many different forms of poetry. You could say there’s something for everyone! I thought it would be fun to share the beginning of my rhyming picture book designed to teach kids the value of budgeting and taking good care of their money. It will also be fun to look back on this post and see how much my illustrations have changed!

Enjoy!

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Want to Write a Book? This Online Group Coaching Program Will Help You Do It

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Want to Write a Book? This Online Group Coaching Program Will Help You Do It

Many people dream of writing and publishing a book ‘someday’, but statistics show only about 2% of those people actually realize their dream. I’m going to share a secret weapon with you that’s helped me with my books, and I know it will help you too!

It’s very fitting that I’m writing this post on March 8, 2019, International Women’s Day. It’s the final day of the Women In Publishing Summit, hosted by one of my favourite women in publishing, Alexa Bigwarfe.

Two years ago, I met Alexa after I won a spot in her group coaching program for writers as part of an online summit I was speaking at. Talk about divine intervention—I didn’t even know there were prizes for speakers or that one of them was for writers. I had just published my first book and had started working on my first novel, so I was super excited to meet Alexa and learn about her program.

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Writing Tips from Author K. Kris Loomis

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Writing Tips from Author K. Kris Loomis

K. Kris Loomis was one of the first authors I virtually met in a Facebook group when I was just getting started on my self-publishing journey. I read How to Sneak More Yoga Into Your Life some of her short story collections and instantly fell in love with her writing style and sense of humour.

I’ve enjoyed watching Kris’s progress as a self-published author since meeting her in 2016. In the past year alone, Kris wrote and publish two novels and the non-fiction book, Surviving Revision. Kris’s guest posts are some of the most popular on my site, so I knew I had to interview her and share her tips!

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Is Your Writing Hobby Actually a Business?

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Is Your Writing Hobby Actually a Business?

Is your writing hobby actually a business? And does it really matter? Absolutely! Especially if you want to save a bit of tax while you’re getting your business up and running.

So you’ve been earning a bit here and there with your self-published books or maybe bloggers have been paying you to write posts for them, but when you look at the money you’ve spent to publish those books or the tools you’ve paid for to run your freelance writing business, you realize you haven’t broken even, so you decide not to include your writing “business” on your taxes.

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