KRISTEN CORRECTS, INC.

Setting is one of the elements that makes up an author's writing style: Some authors describe their book's setting thoroughly, whereas other authors are light on the details.

In many cases, setting is an auxiliary element to build the reading experience and draw the reader deeper into your story. But in other cases, such as in sci-fi or fantasy books, setting is known as world building and is a crucial, non-negotiable element...

The central conflict of a story is like an engine that drives the book. Without a central source of conflict (or, better, several sources of conflict), many aspects of the book suffer: the pacing, the tension, and overall reader engagement, ultimately detracting from the overall success of the book.

The conflict of any successful story must be immediately noticeable, as without a central source of conflict, it makes it diffic...

As an author, it’s your job to create an attractive narrative using the best/most ideal point of view and perspective. The book’s perspective is who is telling the story (the Harry Potter series would be much different if told from Voldemort’s perspective!) and the book's point of view (POV)

Tension is the high-stakes feeling readers get when characters are in trouble—and as a book editor, it's probably the number-one thing I see that causes a book to fail.

When done properly, tension will propel a reader forward through the book, encouraging them to turn the page to find out what will happen next—whet...

Pacing is everything in a hard-to-put-down novel.

In the current market, readers prefer plot-driven fiction, which means that they prefer to read a story about a character overcoming a major obstacle by the end of the book. Yet when your book has 

Detective Col...

The majority of my author clients are first-time, self-publishing authors. This is a compilation of all the advice I've given to self-publishing authors in the months leading up to their first book's publication. Let's go!

Before writing your b...

If you're an author, you should know that your purpose is to create books that are as concise as possible. (After all, that's my number-one goal as your book editor: To help you create incredible, well-written books!) What does that mean? That means cutting out whatever words don't propel your book forward. 

An...

To determine what your writing voice is, take a look at your writing. What words do your readers use ...

As a book editor, I've seen fiction novels take place in a variety of settings and even a variety of times, from Tanya S.M. Kennedy's The Terarch...

Although I mostly specialize in fiction editing, I make an exception in the world of non-fiction books when I work with memoirists. Although most memoirs focus on a piece of the author's past, especially those that are poignant and meaningful, other memoirs are fun and exciting in a different way: travel.

I don'...

One mark of a talented author is rhythmic writing, but this can be a difficult writing strength to master. Rhythm in writing is defined as the way the words and sounds come together, usually to create a beat. Long sentences might sound smoother but more rich and complex, and short sentences are snappier and easier to understand. When these two types of sentences are combined, they can create an incredible rhythm to your writing.

Many times, I’ve checked back with a client on the progress of their manuscript only to find that they haven’t made much progress at all.

“What happened?” I ask them, expecting something major—like a house fire, a financial catastrophe, or a death in the family.

Usually, it’s none of the...

Every time I go through an author’s manuscript, I find words or phrases that don’t always lend themselves to making the author sound eloquent. To put it a different way: Too much wordiness in a sentence can make an author sound amateurish.

As a