THGM Writing Services

How to describe a character (with free character development crib sheet)

August 3, 2019 By 1 Comment

It’s been said that every story has been told over and over. But characters are unique and refreshing…if you write them right. Here’s how to develop a character.

Every story is built on two fundamental bases. The foundation is the plot. The plot is fairly simple. It can be told in a few sentences.

You might spend a further few pages describing the many twists and turns in the plot.

On that foundation grow the characters.

This is where it gets exciting. People follow the plot, but they relate to their fellow humans (or non-humans given humanesque personalities). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Writing and editing

Infographic: Do I need a ghostwriter? How to tell if you should hire a ghostwriter

July 14, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Many authors hire ghostwriters. But how do you know if you should? This handy flow chart will help answer the question: “Should I hire a ghostwriter?”

Surprisingly, not everybody needs to hire a ghostwriter. Some people write their own books, screenplays and business materials.

But people come to ghostwriters for a variety of reasons. This flow chart will help you determine if you have one of the common reasons that people need to hire a ghostwriter. [Read more…]

Filed Under: The writing business

How to write a professional bio for sales or for credibility

June 30, 2019 By 1 Comment

A short biography, or “bio”, opens your door to your audience. Here’s how to make it open the right door.

A bio serves one main purpose: it gives you credibility.

Consider the after-dinner speaker. If nobody introduced him and gave a little background about him, you’d be saying to yourself, “Who is this guy?”

The introduction answers that question before you ask it. That introduction is a short bio. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business writing

How a ghostwriter can help you get your book published

June 2, 2019 By 1 Comment

Want a publish-ready book manuscript? Here’s how a ghostwriter can get you ready to publish.

Some people come to us thinking that we’ll publish their book. We won’t. But we can make their manuscript publishable.

Getting published is always a challenge, unless you self publish. But even then, you need a publishable manuscript. You need a book that people will want to read.

That’s where our ghostwriters come in. [Read more…]

Filed Under: The writing business

Proofreading saves lives! How I almost became a hitman by signing a murder contract

May 13, 2019 By 1 Comment

Never publish anything without proofreading. Ideally, have several people proofread. Here is a a case study of how proofreading saved me from becoming a hitman.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Something Amazing – song lyrics in need of music

April 22, 2019 By 3 Comments

This song is an amazing song. But it’s just lyrics, so far.

This song is intended to be a pop-rock song. It’s been played once as heavy metal. It has a tune, just no music written down. What it needs now is music. Then, a singer or a band to run with it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Proofreading saves lives! How a celebrity chef became a cannibal

April 6, 2019 By 3 Comments

It’s easy to miss vital details, which is why multiple proofreaders are often needed. Here is a tragic story – a proofreading case study – of how a typo turned a celebrity chef into a cannibal.

It all happened so innocently. In fact, at first nobody even noticed. Rachael Ray, a well-known celebrity chef, loved her family. And her dog. Apparently, she really, really loved them. In fact, she was normal in every sense of the word.

But then, somebody at a magazine made a fatal mistake. A proofreader failed to proofread the cover before publishing… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

How to write a non-fiction book cover blurb that sells

March 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment

If you plan to self-publish your non-fiction book, the most important thing you will ever write is the cover blurb for your book. Here’s how to do it right.

If you self-publish, you have to do it all. That includes preparing the cover of your book. Your book is like any other product – the packaging sells the cookies and the frozen dinner. Likewise, the cover sells the book.

People will get a feel for the book from the cover. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

How to write a fiction book cover blurb that can make your novel a best-seller

February 24, 2019 By Leave a Comment

If you plan to self-publish your novel, the most important thing you will ever write is the cover blurb for your book. Here’s how to do it right (with examples from top authors of the 21st century).

If you self-publish, you have to do it all. That includes preparing the cover of your book. Just as the packaging helps sell crackers and cereal, the cover sells the book.

Yes, people do judge a book by its cover.

A cover is more than just a title and an image. On the back, people read the author’s bio. They read the reviews. They look at the author’s picture. But most of all, they read the back cover blurb. Those few lines answer the book buyer’s critical question:

“What’s this book all about?”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Books and publishing

Smarten up your text with real verbs

February 3, 2019 By 1 Comment

Too many businesses use nouns to describe an action. That makes your message harder to read. Here’s how to fix that.

Speaking in plain English is never dumb. In a previous post, I shared a list of words that can be simplified without dumbing it down. A couple examples were “base” instead of “foundation” and “help” instead of “assist”.

But it’s not just the words you use that can make your text harder to read. It’s also the structure of the words.

The poor structure I see most often is replacing verbs with nouns. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against nouns. Some of my best friends are nouns.

But nouns describe things.

Verbs describe actions. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Writing and editing
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