Saguaro Books, LLC Book Catalog, Spring 2023

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Top 10 Dos and Don’ts

  

Do: 

1. Read, read, read. Especially read in the generé in which you plan to write.

2. Make sure you have a comfortable place to write, a reliable computer if you plan to write online, you have Word software, a dictionary and a thesaurus.

3. Try to write as much as you are inspired to write every day.

4. On days when inspiration seems to be absent, do some research about writing. If you are stuck on explaining a particular action by a character, find out how it can be described on any number of writing helps on the internet.

5. Utilize your past experiences and those of others. Then exaggerate, if necessary, to make it even more interesting.

6. Be ready to take notes as inspiration strikes at odd times. Be organized with them.

7. The most challenging part of writing a book is the beginning. Think of a great opener, called “a hook” to grab your readers’ attention. Think about some of the books you’ve read. What grabbed you in the beginning? What made you want to keep reading?

8. Find a writing group who will take you through the complete process. Be sure the group has some experienced, published writers who can help with your writing and provide much helpful information as you progress through finding editors, graphics help and, finally, publisher selection. Be sure to get information and, if possible, examples of query letters. Those are essential for locating a publisher.

9. Writing the query letter is nearly as important as your manuscript. This letter is your introduction of yourself and your story idea to a publisher. In the letter; a) tell the publisher who you are as a writer, b) how you got the idea for your story, c) 2-3 sentences about your story, d) your contact information. The entire letter must not exceed one page. If you have received a positive response from a publisher to your query letter, proceed to the step below.

10. First, visit your selected publisher’s website. They will have a dropdown menu for submission instructions. Be sure to follow it with the utmost attention. Any deviation can result in your manuscript being rejected or ignored!

Don't:

1. Don’t be afraid – one step then the next.

2. Don’t get caught up in the grammar and syntax and lose the flow of your story and character development. Focus on your story idea, and don’t keep starting over.

3. Don’t try to write like someone else. Be yourself and write the way your mind works.

4 Don’t let writer’s block stump you. Change your scenery and return to it later. Go for a walk with a writer friend, talk about writing in general or the block you are experiencing.

5. Don’t let others interfere with your writing cadence. Establish a routine. If it’s too difficult to work in a quiet setting, use a radio or disc-player for soft music to help you focus.

6. Don’t worry about perfection on the first pass. Get your ideas on paper Develop your
story and your characters then you can go back and revise, edit, and tweak.

7. Don’t expect to get picked up by a legacy publisher. They are dinosaurs and likely won’t even read your manuscript. There is a new paradigm shift – hybrid publishing – publishers who want to work directly with authors; that is to your advantage.

8. Don’t send an incomplete manuscript to a publisher. You will get nowhere, and it indicates a lack of professionalism.

9. Don’t send your “final” manuscript to multiple publishers. Almost all publishers want an exclusive query. Publishers don’t want to spend editors’ time on a manuscript all the way to acceptance to have an author tell them the book has been accepted by another publisher.

10. For the love of everything you hold dear, don’t send your only manuscript copy in the mail! The preferred method is usually a digital emailed copy. Pay particular attention to what you were told by the publisher on how they want submissions.

 

Problems with Amazon KDP

 We are experiencing an outage for our sales. Our account is "on hold" while Amazon investigates "suspicious activity" related to our Saguaro Books account. They project it will be available for sales in 7 to 10 days, as of 3/22/23).

“Have" vs "Having" in Certain Expressions

 

Why can I say "I'm having my lunch" but not "I'm having a headache"? Some explanations I've read indicate it's all to do with possession.  But every time I think I have it figured, I have to wonder why I must say "I have a cold" when I can't say "I have a heart attack." I'm sure you'll be having a good explanation for me:-)

Here's the usual rule given to ESL students concerning the use of "have" to show possession or to describe medical conditions:

Have should always be in the simple present tense for the meaning "to own," or to describe medical problems. For example: They have a new car. I have a bad cold. It is incorrect to say "I am having a cold" or "I am having a new car."

"I'm having a heart attack" does seem to contradict this rule.

I think that the difference between "I have a headache" and "I'm having a heart attack" may have more to do with duration than with either a medical condition or possession.

One can "have a heart condition," but a heart attack is a singular event, usually over in a few seconds or minutes. One may say "I hope I won't have a heart attack," but in the event that one has one--and is capable of telling someone--"am having" is the only possibility.

A headache is generally of longer duration than a heart attack. It may last an hour, several hours, or days. The same applies to a cold. Both are events of indeterminate duration. You have them for a while.

If you're seated at a table having your lunch, you're engaged in an activity with a predictable end. You'll stop "having lunch" when you've finished eating.

That's my theory, anyway.

 

From: Daily Writing Tips

What are Gerunds?

 

Like the word grammar itself, the grammatical term gerund is often mentioned with a shudder. If you already understand all about gerunds, this post is not for you. If you’d like to review the concept, read on.

A gerund is a verbal. If you’ve read previous posts about present and past participles, you know that a verbal is one of the principal parts of the verb that retains some verb functions at the same time it is being used as a different part of speech.

A gerund is an -ing verb form used as a noun.

Like a verb, a gerund can take objects and be modified by adverbs and adverbial phrases, but its function in a sentence is to serve as a noun–a noun that ends in -ing.

What do nouns do? Nouns are used as the following parts of a sentence:

1. Subject
2. Direct Object
3. Subject Complement
4. Object of a Preposition

Anything a noun can do, a gerund can do–because a gerund is a noun. A gerund is a noun that ends in -ing. Gerunds may be used alone or as part of a phrase.

1. Gerund as the subject of a sentence
Reading is her favorite pastime. (Reading is a gerund used alone as the subject of the sentence.)

Studying English has its rewards. (Studying is a gerund that has a direct object, “English.” The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the verb “has.”)

Picnicking in the woods has its downside. (Picnicking is a gerund modified by a prepositional phrase, “in the woods.” The gerund phrase is the subject of the verb “has.”)

2. Gerund as a direct object
My Aunt Rose loves traveling. (Traveling is a gerund used alone as the direct object of the verb “loves.”)

After a week in the wild, we appreciate sleeping inside. (Sleeping is a gerund modified by the adverb “inside.” The gerund phrase is the direct object of the verb “appreciate.”

Farhad enjoys singing in the shower. (Singing is a gerund modified by a prepositional phrase, “in the shower.” The gerund phrase is the direct object of the verb “enjoys.”

3. Gerund as a subject complement
My cats’ favorite occupation is sleeping. (Sleeping is a gerund that completes the being verb “is.”

Jack’s daily exercise is running laps. (Running is a gerund that has a direct object, “laps.” The gerund phrase completes the being verb “is.”

Hester’s hobby is gardening on her rooftop. (Gardening is a gerund modified by a prepositional phrase, “on her rooftop.” The gerund phrase completes the being verb “is” and restates the subject.

4. Gerund as the object of a preposition
His parents punished him for stealing. (Stealing is a gerund functioning as the object of the preposition “for.”)

The search party rescued the child by climbing a cliff. (Climbing is a gerund that has a direct object, “cliff.” The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition “by.”

Falstaff attempts to flee by hiding in a laundry basket. (Hiding is a gerund that has a prepositional phrase, “in a laundry basket.” The gerund phrase “hiding in a laundry basket” is itself the object of a preposition: “by.”)

From: Daily Writing Tips

Conjunctive Adverbs

Conjunctions are words that link words, phrases, and clauses and provide a smooth transition between ideas.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Some adverbs can also join or show connections between ideas. When they do this, they are called conjunctive adverbs.

Conjunctive adverbs show comparison, contrast, sequence, cause-effect, or other relationships between ideas.

The most common conjunctive adverbs are:

accordingly
also
besides
consequently
conversely
finally
furthermore
hence
however
indeed
instead
likewise
meanwhile
moreover
nevertheless
next
nonetheless
otherwise
similarly
still
subsequently
then
therefore
thus

Conjunctive adverbs function in three ways.

1. They indicate a connection between two independent clauses in one sentence:

The primary meaning of the term ḥeḥ was "million" or "millions"; subsequently, a personification of Ḥeḥ was adopted as the Egyptian god of infinity.

In this explanation of why a particular word was personified the way it was, subsequently joins the ideas and conveys sequence at the same time. The word heh means millions; it follows that the personification derived from heh would be a god of infinity.

2. They link ideas in two or more sentences.

Democracy has empowered thousands upon thousands of the “selfish, ignorant, timid, stubborn, or foolish,” who come from a mix of different nationalities. All hope is not lost, however, since there are “hundreds who are wise.”

 3. They show relationships between ideas within an independent clause.

We are determined to do whatever must be done in the interest of this country and, indeed, in the interest of all to protect the dollar as a convertible currency at its current fixed rate.

In this quotation from a speech by John F. Kennedy, indeed connects ideas within the sentence: the idea of doing something on a national level and on an international level as well.

From: Daily Writing Tips