SGA Books & Creative Services

🥳 HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO DEBUT AUTHOR ALANNA GRACE! 🥳 If you want a masterclass in making writing dreams come true, follow Alanna Grace on TikTok. She set her mind to writing a romance novel nestled in her favorite place in the world, and man, did she DELIVER. ❤️‍🔥 This is the first project I've walked alongside the author from start to finish, participating in every step of production. When Alanna came to me, she wasn't finished writing, but we strategized and planned to get her to this Very Big Day. Not only did I edit and proofread but I did the cover and interior design (plus bookmarks!) and helped with KDP, Ingram, and D2D setup. Such an awesome experience collaborating so closely on someone else's book baby. CRAZY PROUD OF YOU, ALANNA! Fans of small-town romance set in idyllic locales with delicious main characters, pick up 183 REASONS everywhere books are sold! 🥹🌲🍾🌊👨‍🌾

Happy birthday, Mr. Shakespeare! 💀💜📜 . . #williamshakespeare #happybirthday #shakespeare #bard #storyteller

Oooooh, I adore this resource! It's clever, engaging, and a blast to read. Buy it in paperback and refer to it often for inspiration! 🧙🏼✍🏼📚 . . #wonderbook #jeffvandermeer #imaginativefiction #specfiction #fantasy #scifi #dystopian #epicfantasy #novelist #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #buymorebooks #storytelling #storyteller #writer #writersofig #write #writingbooks

Benjamin Dreyer served for years as the copy chief for Random House. As such, he knows what he's doing. I ADORE THESE RESOURCES and own both. His writing style makes these books more than just reference guides; he's witty, clever, and sharp. You will laugh and learn stuff at the same time. WIN-WIN. 📚💜💻✍🏻 . . #sgabooks #benjamindreyer #dreyersenglish #writingadvice #referencebook #musthavebook #writersofinstagram #writing #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #aspiringwriter #amwriting #copyeditor #lineeditor #editingtips #grammarhelp

Popular formatting software such as Vellum and Atticus (and formatters via Draft2Digital, KDP, et al.) will have cleared permissions for the fonts and typefaces baked into their programs. However, if you're formatting your own interior OR designing your own cover, you must LICENSE the font from the creator. Not licensing could result in copyright claims against you and your book. For more, visit Reedsy: https://blog.reedsy.com/book-fonts/. Do your homework now to save heartburn later! 📚💜✍🏻 . . #sgabooks #font #typeface #license #fineprint #myfonts #creativemarket #fontshop #adobe #reedsy #formatting #bookdesign #garamond #caslon #baskerville #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting

LESS IS MORE. Yes, you will need to use these words now and again, but do a search in your document to COUNT how many you've really got in there. Echoes and repetitions can be annoying to the reader. Do whatever you can to keep your beloved fans turning pages! . Partial list: just, gaze, gasp, voice, that, tone, eyes, heart, stomach, throat, chest, breathe, look, turn, back, soft, low, know, feel, felt, hear/heard, stare, staring, stared, glared ... . LINK IN LINKTREE on SGA's Instagram for more great self-editing tips OR direct at https://www.sgabooks.com/self-editing-tips! 📚💜💻✍🏻 . . #sgabooks #selfediting #writingisrewriting #revision #theend #wordwarrior #writersofinstagram #writing #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #buymorebooks

I know it's VERY tempting to type a bazillion dots when you're making a point or posting for fun on social media, but an ellipsis (in punctuation terms) is THREE DOTS only. When referring to faltering or interrupted speech, some prefer to call them "suspension points." We can talk semantics all day, but really, for books, science, and academic writing, an ellipsis is THREE PERIODS WITH SPACES IN BETWEEN. . Major style guides (like Chicago Manual of Style) state that there should be one space before the first dot and one after the last dot. Since MS Word automatically formats the three periods into a formal ellipsis, you'll need to go in and add that space before ... and after. . Typesetters with traditional publishers (or even your editor) will format the ellipsis so they look like . . . this. 😊 . If you want more info on the mighty ellipsis, refer to Chicago section 13.50 (and section 13.53, which includes information on the "four-dot rule"), or pick up the *fantastic* resource, THE BEST PUNCTUATION BOOK, PERIOD, by June Casagrande. 😍📚💜💻✍🏻 . . #ellipsis #ellipses #dialogue #styleguide #stylesheet #chicagomanualofstyle #thebestpunctuationbookperiod #junecasagrande #punctuation #sgabooks #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #copyeditor #proofreader

Hey, lovers! WHO'S IN THE MOOD FOR ROMANCE? Check out MUST LOVE OTTERS by Eliza Gordon (one of my pen names) and then check out the GAME (!) on Chapters Interactive Stories. Crazy fun! 🥰🦦🌲 . . #sgabooks #mustloveotters #hollieporterbuildsaraft #revelationcove #romcom #romanticomedy #laughingisfun #chaptersinteractivestories #game #hollieporter #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #bookrecommendation #bookworm #bookstagram #bookish #buymorebooks #happyvalentinesday

When you're reading a novel and the author has omitted the comma before "too" and/or "either," it's not a typo, I promise! This is a STYLE CHOICE based on The Chicago Manual of Style, which is the INDUSTRY STANDARD for the rules about grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, you name it. Pretty much everyone in the North American publishing industry uses CMoS, often in tandem with their own in-house style guide. (Also, listen to what your editor wants. My editor at SkyPony for SLEIGHT would twitch when I didn't use that terminal comma before "too." Love you, Alison!)📚💜💻✍🏻⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #sgabooks #cmos #chicagomanualofstyle #efa #comma #grammarrules #editor #editorsofinstagram #copyeditor #lineeditor #writersofinstagram #selfediting #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #buymorebooks #supportauthors #supportsmallbusiness

A new month already? How'd that happen? Check in and let us know how your projects are going! 💜💻✍🏻 . . #february #valentinesday #sgabooks #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #buymorebooks #supportindiebookstores #tomesandtales #westernskybooks #totallybookish #shoplocal #supportauthors #supportsmallbusiness

I ordered one of these, and it's very cool. I'm actually kind of afraid to write in it, which is typical for me. I love all the pretties, but when it comes time to actually use them, I freeze. Weirdo. What about you? Think this is something that would help you get your buns in the chair? (Also, Fox and Falcon Press said they're looking into getting these done spiral bound for 2023, so check 'em out.) Happy writing! 📚💜💻✍🏻 . . #sgabooks #dailylines #foxandfalconpress #journal #toysforwriters #practice #writingcalendar #writingresources #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #buymorebooks #supportauthors #supportsmallbusiness

Come on, we are all guilty of this. How many of us have made fun of TWILIGHT or 50 SHADES, even if we secretly LOVED them? (I'll admit it: I saw Twilight in the theatre five times with my teenage daughter and her friends. My kid was even an extra in NEW MOON. And Jacob's ramshackle house is about five minutes from where we live.) I enrolled in a year-long writing intensive years ago, and during that 12 months, I learned what kind of writer I did NOT want to become -- a snobby one. Romance, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, kidlit, steampunk, crime fiction, thrillers -- whatever you love, don't be shy about it. GENRE WRITERS ARE REAL WRITERS. Suck on that, literati poo-poos. 📚💜💻✍🏻 . . #sgabooks #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinghelp #education #resources #inspiration #community #aspiringwriter #amwriting #amediting #thecreativeacademy #socialmedia #findyourpeople #genrefiction #romance #ya #kidlit #horror #steampunk #thrillers #womensfiction #mystery #cozymystery #romanticsuspense #enviromance