August is VIP Author Membership Month! To celebrate, we’re offering you these three (3)  great reasons to join or renew:

1. The VIP Author Talks teleseries with industry experts and monthly Coaching Call recordings for the months of January  through July 2009 are available for immediate download on the Members-only page. These mp3 files will be removed on September 1.  Joining now gives you access to 7 months of Inncr Circle  exclusive educational material in addition to the 12 months of benefits you will receive as part of your membership for a total of 19 Months of Benefits. Review all the Author Talks teleclass programs here.
2. Beginning September 1, 2009, live VIP Author Talks sessions and audio recordings will be free for members only. Non-members will pay a fee to listen or participate in the calls or to access the recordings. Review all the benefits of membership here>>
3. VIP Authors Inner Circle will be upgrading to association status Fall 2009, with increased benefits and increased membership fee. Current members will be grandfathered in at the lower rate for the duration of their memberships. So, by joining or renewing right now, members will enjoy the increased benefits for the lower price. Check out all the membership benefits here>>

The sooner you join, the sooner you can start enjoying the benefits. And, this opportunity is good only during August. September brings the Fall and with it, higher prices. Plus, all the retro benefits and opportunity to join or renew now at the lower price will disappear. Don’t delay! Join now or review the membership benefits here>>

In her eight years in the business Laura Duksta has played many different roles— author, publisher, sales person, marketing, distribution, etc. This has given her an incredible vantage point to see how the self-publishing as well as traditional publishing worlds work. Fortunately for us, Laura loves sharing these insights with other writers!

Join us for “5 Things You Might Not Know about Publishing and Why They Are Important to You,” when Laura explains the publishing process and helps erase some of the “fear of the unknown.”

On this call, you will learn:

• What You Need to Be Thinking About Before You Even Start Writing
• 3 Key Tools
• What is a Niche Market
• How to Price Your Book Properly
• Why Your Royalty is so small

Plus:

• Bonus…How the Lists are Generated
• Bonus…a few pros and cons between traditional printers and POD, Vanity Presses or Self-Publishing Service

This is one conversation you don’t want to miss. Mark your calendar now for this free event*. Here’s how to get on the call:

What: VIP Author Talks with Guest Laura Duksta

When: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 8:00pm to 9:00pm Eastern (7:00pm Central, 6:00pm Mountain, 5:00pm Pacific)

Call-In Details: To get on the call, please dial 1 (218) 339-4600, and enter Access Code 992777# when prompted.

*The presentation will last one hour and is free to attend, but long distance charges may apply. Please note that anyone may call in and listen, but the audio recording will only be available to VIP Author Inner Circle members. If you are not yet a member and would like a recording of this call, find out more about all the benefits of VIP Author Inner Circle membership here>>>

Always plan to revise your first draft. Don’t send out your fiction manuscript until you make the following four separate reviews.

1. Review your story arc:

a. Who are your characters and what are they like at the beginning?
b. What is the situation that provides the conflict/tension?
c. What are your characters like at the end?
d. How has the protagonist/situation changed?
e. Your plot should provide a cohesive journey from the beginning to the
end. This is your story arc. Is it interesting and compelling enough to
justify reading the story all the way through? If not, analyze what is
missing and start your revision at that point.

2. Review your story scene by scene (yes, every one!) and decide:

a. Do you need this scene? (If it does not move your story or character
forward, the answer is no.)
b. Are you missing any scenes? Does the action jump ahead without
explanation or transition?
c. Is each scene clear as to who is present, when it takes place and how long
since the previous scene?
d. Can any long expository descriptions be converted to action or woven into
the action?
e. Does each scene come to life with vivid detail, dialogue or description?
f. Does each scene come to a satisfactory end—a rise in emotion, tension, a
new insight or story element revealed?
g. Does each scene have something to compel the reader to turn the page?
h. Are there proper and plausible transitions from scene to scene?
i. Rewrite each scene as necessary.

3. Review your manuscript paragraph by paragraph, looking for the following:

a. Is dialogue natural and consistent with the character?
b. Does each character have her own voice? Your characters’ voices must
match their personalities—distinct from each other (and from you).
c. Is there a flow and evenness of description and action? Are the paragraph
transitions smooth?

4. Review your manuscript sentence by sentence. Check spelling, grammar and
facts. Be nit-picky and don’t skip this step! Question everything and check twice.

a. Review for spelling and grammar errors, including sentence construction,
agreement of noun/verb and noun/pronoun usage.
b. Double check your facts—everything should be accurate. (For example, if
your heroine drives a ‘55 Mustang, you’ve created a vehicle that didn’t
exist yet.)