Your Book Sounds Different Out Loud
By: Jimmy MacGregor | Posted on September 25, 2026
As authors, it’s easy to become blind to problems in our own writing. After reading and revising the same pages again and again, our brains just start to fill in the rhythm, emotion and meaning we intended to add. That’s why awkward sentences, repeated words, and unnatural dialogue can so easily slip past us unnoticed. But as author and audiobook narrator Jimmy MacGregor discovered, these problems become much harder to ignore when you read your manuscript out loud. In this week’s guest post, Jimmy explains how working behind a microphone changed the way he approaches his own books, from recognizing when dialogue doesn’t sound quite human to questioning whether a character’s emotions and distinctive voice have truly made it onto the page. In Jimmy’s experience, reading a manuscript aloud is one of the most revealing stages of the editing process, as it exposes weaknesses that silent revisions often miss, providing… Read More >
Amazon Terminated My KDP Account. Here’s How I Got It Back.
By: Ginger | Posted on September 18, 2026
For independent authors, few things are more terrifying than logging into KDP and discovering that Amazon has terminated your account. In an instant, years of work, thousands of reviews, and a major source of income can disappear, sometimes without warning and even when you believe you have followed every rule. And when a company relies so heavily on automation to enforce those rules, this sort of nightmare can happen all too easily, as Ginger discovered firsthand this summer. But instead of accepting Amazon’s repeated insistence that its decision was final, Ginger fought on. This week, he recounts the steps he took to get his KDP account reinstated, including the one that finally forced the corporate giant to give the case a genuine human review. Ginger’s experience offers both a potential path forward for authors facing an unfair termination of their own publishing account, and a powerful reminder of the risks… Read More >
How to Keep Technology From Dating Your Novel
By: Ginger | Posted on September 11, 2026
Technology can make a story feel immediate and authentic, but it can also date a book faster than almost anything else. References to popular platforms, cutting-edge gadgets, and specific devices may seem perfectly natural today, but can become distractingly obsolete by the time readers discover your work. That doesn’t mean authors should avoid technology altogether, but simply that they should use it carefully to avoid unnecessarily tying their stories to a particular moment in time. This week, Ginger looks at how authors can incorporate technology into their stories without quickly dating them. By focusing on what technology does, the problems it creates, and the human consequences of using it, authors can keep their fiction feeling contemporary without sacrificing its longevity. From avoiding unnecessary brand names to recognizing when period-specific details can add authenticity, these practical strategies can help ensure technology serves your characters and story without drawing too much attention… Read More >
Timeless Fiction Starts With Contemporary Issues
By: Ginger | Posted on September 7, 2026
While steering clear of contemporary issues and events may seem like the best strategy to ensure your novel doesn’t become dated, many of the books still read decades after publication did exactly the opposite. By writing about the fears, conflicts, and changes happening around them, authors who weren’t afraid to engage with the issues of their day created stories that continue to feel surprisingly relevant generations later. This week, Ginger looks at a few examples of these timeless books and explains why today, self-published authors in particular shouldn’t be afraid to let the real world find its way into their fiction. Whether you’re writing romance, thrillers, science fiction, or any other genre, grounding your story in the issues and experiences that feel urgent today can add depth and authenticity to your fiction without necessarily tying its relevance to the present. Not long ago, I was on a plane to say… Read More >
