Joe Osborne

PERSPECTIVE PUBLISHING #MSWL for the 2025 Calendar Year OPEN SUBMISSIONS through OCT 1, 2024 (12:01 EST -5 GMT) LENGTH: 78K-126K words GENRES: Historical Romance, Espionage Thrillers, YA Mystery, Juvenile Mystery, Alt History We are a Traditional Publisher We offer "Nice Deals." Be aware that we work with talented, developing authors that we feel are overlooked by the big five publishers and most literary agents because it is not necessarily what the more prominent publishers want to add to their list, but we are. With a bit of work and our help, these authors have what is needed to become bestselling authors, and it is in our best interest to help authors achieve that. We welcome agented and un-agented submissions this year and have the same exacting standards as larger publishers. While we do not pay a lot, we do not charge authors as many hybrid or "vanity" presses do. We pay them. We cover the cost of a good cover, an extensive editorial process, enhanced distribution, and marketing. While our offers are nowhere near what you could expect to see from a more prominent publisher (you won't get rich or even make an annual income from our advances), we do pay more to authors than most self-published authors make on their own in their first two years and cover the costs associated with the cover, editing, distribution, and marketing - and we pay an advance. We are open to small print runs but do print-on-demand publishing. We also cover the cost of the copyright. Rights are generally negotiated for 30 years, and unlike many small publishers that require all the rights to your book, the rights we ask for are specified and not all-inclusive. DIRECT SUBMISSIONS: Submit a query letter in the body with 1st chapter as a Word or .pdf attachment to [email protected] In the SUBJECT LINE of the e-mail, include ONLY: [author name - title of the book] 1) Address all queries to our acquisitions editor (Kara L'an) with title/genre/word count and appropriate contact information in the header. This query letter should interest us in reading your 1st chapter and should tell us that you know your book, market, and target audience (where it would end up on a shelf in the bookstore or a library). Include your pseudonym(s) if you are not writing under your real name. Your query should be no more than 350 words, and spend 150-200 telling us why we should be interested in publishing your book (besides the fact that you are a great storyteller and yours is the best story ever written). Our editors are also mostly authors, so...stick to the story. If you have published anywhere in the relevant genre, please itemize the titles and where they have been published directly beneath the header. Please don't include this in the body of the query letter. We ask that you focus only on the book you are pitching. 2) include the first chapter as a .doc or .pdf attachment in an email attachment. The file name should be descriptive – author name/genre/logline.

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You probably know your MBTI (Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator)  But do you know your ILBS type? 👇👇👇 To help you identify your LinkedIn type, I’ve developed the ILBS (Inflated Language BS Scale). Here are the 4 types: I: Inflator: Masters of hyperbole, these folks can turn a simple project into a heroic story. F - Frustrated Aficionado: These are the seasoned freelancers who know their craft, but are trying to figure out how to escape the loop of needing followers for engagement and needing engagement to gain followers. W: Wisdom Warrior: These people are convinced they hold the keys to success and are generous (or annoying) enough to share their knowledge — often in posts that are longer than a CVS receipt. A: Annoy-bot: With the help of their chatbot cousins, these people flood your feed with so many updates, endorsements, and connection requests, you wonder if they ever sleep. My ILBS type is F.  I also share editing tips and common typos. ✍️ My Meyers-Briggs is INTJ. #humor #editing #proofreading

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Many writers and editors think the Associated Press Stylebook is against using the serial (Oxford) comma. That’s not true. AP style *does* recommend using the serial comma in complex lists. For example, if one of the items in a list contains a conjunction, AP style calls for a serial comma. Like this: Fritz enjoys snacking on bananas, cheese and crackers, and ice cream. Additionally, if the items in the list are long, AP style calls for a serial comma. Like this: Helen changed the car’s worn tire before embarking on her big road trip, Raul shined the fenders until he could see his reflection in them, and Sara double-checked all fluid levels. AP does not recommend using a serial comma in a simple list: Dante bought strawberries, sliced turkey and rye bread. This is in contrast to most other style guides, including The Chicago Manual of Style, which calls for a serial comma in all lists. To learn more differences between AP style and Chicago style, check out Dragonfly Editorial’s field guide on this very topic. It’s titled “AP Style and Chicago Style: 15 Major Differences,” and the link is in the comments.

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As the U.S. Supreme Court readies for Friday's arguments on a federal law that would ban the social-media platform, Numerator highlights data on the app's use among demographics. https://lnkd.in/gBVw53vU

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What people say when you mention you're a #writer. "Fiction or non-fiction?" Uh... insurance stuff? I guess that's non-fiction, since it's legally approved. 🤷‍♀️😂 #comtentwriter #contentwriting #uxwriter #copywriter #copywriting #content

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Sometimes there is value in asking "Who can't?" Early in my career, I was tasked with creating technical documentation for a new software platform. The standard approach was to create a detailed manual with screenshots. But when I learned one of our key users was visually impaired, it changed everything. Instead of just adding alt text as an afterthought, we rebuilt the entire documentation structure from the ground up with accessibility in mind. The result? A more intuitive, clearer guide that EVERYONE found easier to use. Lesson learned: Accessibility isn't just about accommodation—it's about creating better solutions for all. What assumptions about accessibility have you challenged lately? #OpenTrails #Accessibility #ContentStrategy #KeepItSimple

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Are your passwords secure? 🔑 Hive Systems just published a table showing the amount of time it would take to hack a password by brute force based on length and the use of letters, numbers, and special characters. 🔨 It astonishes me to see the difference between 8 characters (7 years) and 9 characters (479 years), when both use upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.  🔐   Here is my favorite way to create memorable passwords:  ◆ Select a line of at least five words from a song.  ◆ Use the first two letters of each word.  ◆ Choose a number not associated with you (e.g., the street number of a friend).  ◆ Add a special character. “Just a small town girl” gives you the following nonsense: Juasmtogi. You could then add a number and special character into the word to give you something like this: Juasm4287Togi. 😀 I store my password list in a password protected Word document. I never store passwords to banks and credit cards on my devices. 🏦 What is your favorite method for creating passwords? Do you use a password manager? #Cybersecurity #Technology #Healthcare -------------------------------------------------------------------- I am a freelance healthcare writer and editor. I write about cybersecurity and HIPAA compliance for medical practices. Source: https://lnkd.in/g-k3-Kn8

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The Midpoint (Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 7 of 12) via Helping Writers Become Authors #amwriting #writetip #nanowrimo #pubtip https://lnkd.in/ewEiumuZ

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Anybody else get super excited about major readability edits like this one? Watch the before & after on this article on purple veggies for Real Simple 💜 Then check out the article here: https://lnkd.in/gmUGBt7Z

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Excellent advice for aspiring game writers and narrative designers.

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Is your privacy policy protecting your business or scaring away your players? Early in my career, I was tasked with rewriting a privacy policy for an iGaming client. Their original policy was dense, full of legalese, and made users feel uneasy about sharing their data. I restructured it into clear, reader-friendly sections: 1. What data we collect– Simple bullet points like “name, email, and gaming activity. 2. How we use your data – Explained that it was for personalization and better service, not for selling to third parties. 3. Your rights – Gave users confidence by stating their right to delete or update their data anytime. This approach reduced complaints and increased sign-ups, showing that transparency builds trust. When drafting legal content, use headings and subheadings to make it easy to skim. Test it by asking someone outside the legal field to read it—if they can summarize it in simple terms, you’re on the right track. I am Emmanuel Omoloyin; follow me for more tips on content writing, SEO strategies, and mastering the art of creative and legal writing.

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What I appreciate more than sharing this post about AI displacement of human writers is that LinkedIn offered to write this comment with its AI. :D > ... the internet is finite. And so too is the sum of every word on every page of every book ever written. So what happens when the last pamphlet, papyrus and prolegomenon have been digitised and the model is still not perfect? What happens when we run out of words? The date for that linguistic apocalypse has already been set. Researchers announced in June that we can expect this to take place between 2026 and 2032 “if current LLM development trends continue”. At that point, “Models will be trained on datasets roughly equal in size to the available stock of public human text data.” https://lnkd.in/d5KkTt4a

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[NEW] Technical Writing Essential Toolkit "To craft clear, concise, and effective documentation, technical writers rely on a variety of specialized tools. This article explores these tools, with which every technical writer and IT professional should be familiar to enhance productivity, ensure accuracy, and deliver high-quality documentation." > 🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gZMeFMBY > Read now: https://lnkd.in/gtYYsFm2 #TechnicalWriting #documentation #IT

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While this article is directed to writers pitching screenplays, the tips are exactly spot-on for pitching novels. I've personally found these to be true (to great pitching success) for my own novels: https://lnkd.in/gBetyZVe

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These are good guidelines, David Akin! In my experience, the greatest murkiness comes from the difference between "background/not-for-attribution" and "deep background." I generally try push something that is offered on "background/not-for-attribution" into either "on the record" or, if unsuccessful, "deep background" (that I then go find an alternate source for, be it a human or a document). Why? Communications staffers (especially in politics and government) have a tendency to offer an on-the-record written statement and then below that offer information "on background" (without negotiating that ahead of time, which is a whole other thing.) It is rarely clear whether they mean "not-for-attribution" or "deep background." And journalists let it go too often, too. In the best-case scenario, that additional information is context or facts easily confirmed elsewhere (in which case it can be treated as deep background to inform reporting.) In the worst-case (and too frequent) scenario, that material is an argument, an opinion or some other information meant to mitigate the concerns raised from reporting. And that makes it pretty useless to a journalist. 1. If you want to make an argument in your defence, put your name on it. Journalists are not here to do that for you. 2. A single person cannot be both a named source and an unnamed source in a story. It misleads our readers, which is a violation of their trust. A solution for both journalists and spokespeople: Always spell out what you mean and make sure you both agree on the definition and the terms before proceeding with anything other than fully on the record. #journalism #media

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So, you’ve written a somewhat final-ish draft of your novel… First of all… Good. For. You. Really. That’s quite a feat. Maybe you want some perspective - maybe a few perspectives - Maybe you want to take it out into the world and give it a spin before you start searching for an agent or publisher. Your next step will be to find a few beta readers to see how your story lands. So, how do you find beta readers, and what can you expect from the process? That’s what this video is about. Have a listen, then leave me comment about your experience with beta readers, your experience being a beta reader, or ask me any questions you might have. Want to stay connected and get regular writing tips and advice? Join my email list: https://lnkd.in/g9hJmZQv Register for The 5Ws + How class—https://lnkd.in/gcUd_HNc Get my COMPLIMENTARY "Alchemy of Writing—First Steps to Conjure and Nurture Your Writing Practice!": https://lnkd.in/gKkdfqwt... JOIN the Alchemy of Writing Membership Group - STILL at the Founding Member price - $18 - https://lnkd.in/gnWxSuv2 My website: https://lnkd.in/g9hJmZQv My blog: https://lnkd.in/g-6KuTkG Instagram: @johnniemazzocco Pinterest: @johnniemazzocco #writing #writinglife #writingpractice #writingsupport #writingtips #writinghelp #writingtips #beta #betareader #betareaders #firstdraft #novel #novels #writingnovels #writeyournovel #findbetareaders

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