This week, we’re doing it by the numbers. At Career Authors, Polly Stewart offers five tips for creating suspense while Barbara Butcher explains six rules for writing true crime.

Mythcreants Chris Winkle and Oren Ashkenazi give us five ways to maintain tension in our stories and five mistakes to avoid when crafting our villain’s master plan.

Over at the Kill Zone, Sue Coletta shows us a formula for writing effective back cover copy while James Scott Bell reviews the latest news in the publishing industry.

If you want to make sure your characters aren’t boring, listen to Amy Wilson at Good Story Company. If you want your characters to be iconic, take some advice from literary agent Donald Maass.

All that and a lot more. Enjoy!

CRAFT

Boring Characters by Amy Wilson

3 Helpful Tips for How to Rewrite a Novel by Rhiannon Richardson

Better Book Descriptions in 3 Easy Steps by Sue Coletta

Five Secrets to Writing Suspense by Polly Stewart

Five Ways to Restore Tension by Chris Winkle

Five Questions to Ask About Your Villain’s Master Plan by Oren Ashkenazi

Six Rules for Writing About True Crime by Barbara Butcher

Iconic Characters: Made Not Born by Donald Maass

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BUSINESS

Eye on the Publishing Business by James Scott Bell

The Balance Between Indies by Lauren Wise

8 Unexpected Benefits from BookBub’s New Releases for Less Promotions by AJ Yee

Top Tips on BookBub Cost-Per-Click Bidding from 15 Advertisers by Carolyn Robertson

KKR in Advanced Talks to Buy Simon & Schuster for $1.65 Billion by Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn