Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Regardless of how much planning you do as an author, it's of little value to you unless you write. But then we often get bogged down on what to write....

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Author theme and a novel's theme are NOT the one and the same. A novel's theme is specific to that particular novel. The author might write fifty novels,...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Q. When you're writing a novel and want it critiqued, I was always told to drop backstory and add the action or move the action up, in order to trickle...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 What is basket accounting? Is it good or bad? Important? Basket accounting is pooling income on several books, typically two or more books being...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Please be advised that I am currently looking for an editor for my book and don't want to be taken advantage of. What is a reasonable price for someone to...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Once a brief idea has been fleshed out into a story set in a specific place and peopled by specific, three-dimensional characters, the writer must...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Q. I've been with my current agent for about 3 years, but business is being handled in a way that lets me know I need to change. Will my publishers frown...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Changing gears, or changing from writing one novel type to another, presents new opportunities for the writer and new challenges. It also presents special...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 (Blog Post) When asked, a group of editors from top publishing houses, responded that the following are the most often seen mechanical errors in works...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Q. What 5 things do you consider most important in book contracts? A. Literary contracts are long--averaging about 30 pages--and complex, and there isn't...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Q. I've had a number of books published, and I just learned my publisher isn't copyrighting my books. They say I'm covered under the "automatic" copyright...

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 (Blog Post) What follows is a compilation of guidelines often used successfully between critique partners in a critique group. SECTION A: GENERAL...