If you haven’t noticed, I’m blogging bits of my next book, The Author Training Manual (Writer’s Digest Books, 2014), here on this blog. Now, why would I do that? And why would my publisher want me to do that? Let me explain. Blogging a Book is a Good Idea First, the concept of blogging a book, writing, publishing and promoting…
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Funky Language Monday In today’s writing prompt, we focus on a unique dictionary that contains all kinds of funky words, including African American idioms, expressions, and slang terms. Just like other major social media projects, UrbanDictionary.com was created by a student. Since its inception in 1999, this website has grown in popularity and cultural significance. Your job is to research…
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History Friday 2013 is flying by! Today is the last Friday in February and our final History Friday writing prompt. Let’s go back in time to honor a little-known inventor from the mid 1800s, Joseph Lee, whom I fondly dub “the Bread Crumb Guy.” Joseph was a forward-thinking African American man who revolutionized the food industry with his invention of…
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Dr. Maya Angelou Wednesday In today’s writing prompt, we focus on an interesting turn of events that leads Dr. Maya Angelou to a unique business venture. We already know that Dr. Angelou has done a great deal of writing. She’s a published author, an accomplished public speaker, a champion within the civil rights movement, and a general inspirational person for…
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When I wrote my first book proposal, I relied on three books about how to actually write the all-important document that helps you land a contract with a literary agent and with a publisher. One of those books was agent Sheree Bykofsky’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published, which is now in its fifth edition. Sheree was also one…
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Funky Language Monday There is no better way to tackle the topic of funky language than with rap music. Let me loosely define rap as “a tiny bit of history of words with a little bit of pop culture and music mixed in for good measure.” Also referred to as hip hop music or MCing, rap music originated as a…
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This post is a blogged draft excerpt from The Author Training Manual (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2014). Read the previous blogged excerpt, here. So you want to write and publish a successful book. Do you even know what that means to you—or to a publisher? Before you begin writing your book or publish it, it’s important to: Come up with…
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History Friday Today, we go back in time to 1869, the date when Howard University School of Law (HUSL) was founded. This is an important fact in the history of African Americans because it marks the creation of the first law school intended for black people. It is also important to me; Howard University School of Law will forever hold…
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