Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 Let’s celebrate the magic of books! Books are magical. They must be. What else could explain our reading words on a page and those words firing our...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 As the year draws to a close, we make resolutions and look forward with great promise. Too often we fail to carry through on those resolutions and...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 How come when I read books, I see long sentences and sentences that begin with "And" when I'm told not to do either? What's the rule for sentences? The...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 At my writing group meeting, an author mentioned a sell-through on her book. It sounded important, but I've never heard the term. What is a sell-through?...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 As of 10.30.07 What follows is a question and my response from the Aids4Writers Program. I’m including this exchange in the Writers’ Aids Library because...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 Q. Could you please go over the difference between a subsidy/vanity publisher and self-publishing? I have heard that the first is sleazy, and the second...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 As of 10.30.07 Romantic Suspense has been a hot, marketable commodity. According to many of the publishers surveyed, the heat is holding--at least, for...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 I was studying a book on craft and ran into an unfamiliar term: "Telescoping characters." The context didn't hint at what it meant, and I haven't seen it...

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 My editor is "concerned" that I'm playing it too safe in my books. He says I need to get edgier and take more risks. But if I take more risks, then don't...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 I just had my mainstream fiction manuscript edited and was told that my characters are two dimensional. What does that mean? What is the difference...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Since the attacks of September 11th, I haven't been able to focus on writing, to concentrate on anything. At first, I was stunned. Now, I'm angry and...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 The following question is in regards to writing a trilogy synopsis to an editor. Does the author only explain about the first book and ignore what the...