by Sandra Wendel

4.7 stars – 81 reviews

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You just wrote your first book. And there you are. Stark naked. Vulnerable. Wondering what to do next to get your masterpiece published.

This is the one book you need to read and follow if you’re writing a book for the first time. Why? Because you’ve never written a book before. This is new territory.

To write a successful book, you need to find and work with an editor who shares your passion for your work and your message and who will help you make your book sing. And sing a smash hit. A blockbuster of a message, clearly and carefully constructed so readers love you and your work and leave you five-star Amazon reviews only because they don’t have more stars to give.

This is a toolkit for tinkering under the hood of your working manuscript so you, the author, can take your work as far as you can before an edit and production such as cover design and not dump a half-baked chocolate cake on some poor schlub of an editor to “fix.”

Don’t make first-time author mistakes. No matter what you think, you do need an edit. Not from the English teacher next door. You can’t self-edit either. A professional editor knows how to navigate those thorny commas and can solve your organizational questions. An editor can guide you through the murky waters of modifiers and passive sentences, correct typos, and get your book manuscript polished and on its way to production.

Even if you slept through English class, never turned in book reports, and don’t know a thing about publishing the book of your dreams, your name is on the cover and you don’t want to be embarrassed. Turn your vulnerability into confidence with these insider secrets to publishing success when working with an editor.

No, this is not a grammar book (ick) or a guide to self-editing (can’t be done well). This is not a dry, boring book about usage or sentence structure.

Although the author, a veteran nonfiction editor, specializes in memoir, true crime, business/leadership, and self-help, her advice holds true for fiction writers as well.

Get your questions answered (and more):

• Why do I need an editor? How do I find an editor? What do editors do? And how much do they cost?
• What are the levels of edit? Developmental? Line edit? Copy edit? Proofreading? How do I know what level of editing my manuscript needs?
• Will an editor tell me if my manuscript sucks?
• Why do words make a difference? Which words do I overuse? Which words should I never use?
• How do I know when I’m done writing?
• How can I work with a cover designer and audiobook engineer?
• Can my local bookstore help me? Do I need beta readers?

Go to Giveaway Central to enter and to say thank you here is a bonus entry word: cover

by Tess Gerritsen

4.4 stars – 1,259 reviews

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From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, a terrifying novel of deadly proportions as an ER doctor tries to determine the cause and cure of a fatal and mysterious virus before it becomes an epidemic.

The quiet overnight shift at Springer Hospital ER suits Dr. Toby Harper just fine—until she admits a man in critical condition from a possible viral infection of the brain. The delirious man barely responds to treatment—and then disappears without a trace. Before Toby can find him, a second case occurs, revealing a terrifying fact: the virus can only be spread through direct tissue exchange. Following a trail of death that winds from a pregnant sixteen-year-old prostitute to her own home, Toby discovers the unthinkable: the epidemic didn’t just happen—someone let it loose….

by Mikhail Bulgakov

4.6 stars – 2,634 reviews

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Originally published posthumously in 1966, ‘The Master and Margarita’ has been called one of the masterpieces and the best-selling Russian novels of the 20th century by Mikhail Bulgakov, a Russian writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. The novel’s vision of Soviet life in the 1930s is so ferociously accurate that it could not be published during its author’s lifetime and appeared only in a censored edition in the 1960s. Its truths are so enduring that its language has become part of the common Russian speech.
At the intersection of fantasy and realism, satire and unflinching emotional truths, Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel eloquently lampoons every aspect of Soviet life under Stalin’s regime, from politics to art to religion, while interrogating the complexities between good and evil, innocence and guilt, and freedom and oppression.
Spanning from Moscow to Biblical Jerusalem, a vibrant cast of characters—a “magician” who is actually the devil in disguise, a giant cat, a witch, a fanged assassin—sow mayhem and madness wherever they go, mocking artists, intellectuals, and politicians alike. In and out of the fray weaves a man known only as the Master, a writer demoralized by government censorship, and his mysterious lover, Margarita.

by Jeffery Deaver

4.5 stars – 4,624 reviews

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The “master of ticking-bomb suspense” (People) Jeffery Deaver delivers the latest thriller featuring his beloved protagonists Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs as they search for a criminal whose fascination with breaking locks terrorizes New York City.

A woman awakes in the morning to find that someone has picked her apartment’s supposedly impregnable door lock and rearranged personal items, even sitting beside her while she slept. The intrusion, the police learn, is a message to the entire city of carnage to come. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate and soon learn that the sociopathic intruder, who calls himself “the Locksmith,” can break through any lock or security system ever devised. With more victims on the horizon, Rhyme, Sachs and their stable of associates must follow the evidence to the man’s lair… and discover his true mission.

Their hunt is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme’s previous cases. He’s fired as a consultant for the NYPD and must risk jail if he investigates the Locksmith case in secret.

The Midnight Lock is a roller-coaster read that takes place over just a few days’ time, features surprise after surprise and offers a fascinating look at the esoteric world of lockpicking.

by Bradley Stone

4.8 stars – 8 reviews

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by Tom Clancy

4.4 stars – 2,146 reviews

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Don’t Miss the Original Series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Starring John Krasinski!

Tom Clancy reveals the details of Jack Ryan’s first days with the CIA in this #1 New York Times bestseller.

It’s the early 1980s—and historian, teacher, and recent ex-Marine Jack Ryan is now a CIA officer on loan to the British SIS. On his very first day, an extraordinary document crosses his desk. Because of government repression in Poland, the new Pope, John Paul II, has threatened to resign his papacy.

In Moscow, another man is contemplating the very same document. Yuriy Andropov, the chairman of the KGB, does not like what he reads, does not like what it means for him or for his nation. All it takes is one man to cause everything he has worked for to crumble. All it takes is one man to stop him. The Pope is very powerful, but he is also mortal….

by J. Steven Paul

5.0 stars – 9 reviews

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A fascinating history that reveals Christianity’s roots, its often-unknown and surprising traditions, and its influence on the world today.

There is the accepted, often-repeated version of Christian history—and then there’s the real story. In this gripping volume, author J. Steven Paul uncovers the little-known details of the world’s largest religion.

How did Christianity originate? Who created its earliest writings? Who decided which books would be in the Bible? Where did the ideas of heaven and hell originate, and when did people begin taking the Bible literally? How did Christianity evolve and fracture into the many forms it takes today? From fascinating background on its central tenets to curious details that have been largely swept under the rug, this comprehensive overview traces Christianity from ancient practices through its centuries-long rise in popularity, power, influence, and dominance.

Paul’s detailed account sheds light on doctrine, dogma, and traditions, observing Christianity’s interaction with related faiths, including Judaism, Islam, “heretical” Christian sects, and atheism. Paul outlines how this once-tiny religious cult has shaped centuries of Western civilization and inspired great acts of compassion and kindness. But, in the process, it also viciously attacked its enemies, legitimized the practice of slavery, and collaborated in colonialism and imperialism while shaping the way communities continue to view social and scientific issues.

To understand Christian history is to unearth the roots of our current divisive American culture—and hopefully find the tools to fix it in order to grow into a more cooperative society.