Blog Archives | Inspired Quill Publishing

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Crowdfunding For Authors: An Introduction

Back in the 00s when Kickstarter began operations, only a few people knew about what came to be known as crowdfunding. Over the next 20 years or so, it became more and more understood and used among w...

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How to Write a Standalone (but Interconnected) Fantasy Novel

As a reader, I love a long string of books set in the same fantasy world. As far as I can tell from experience, these types of interconnected books seem to come in two varieties. Sequels Vs Series: Wh...

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How To Escape Your Reading Slump: A Practical Guide for Book Lovers

You’re determined to dive into the top book on your teetering TBR pile, so you grab the paperback (or fire up your kindle), sit down in your favourite reading-nook, open the front page and… …your eye...

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8 Women In Translation for 2024

If you agree that reading diverse benefits your brain, you’re probably open to reading novels in translation. Why Should I Read Translated Works? If language affects thought, there can’t be a better w...

Should Climate Fiction Be Scary?

Good climate fiction, in my mind, should enchant you. Draw you in. And then scare the shit out of you. With a little hope, there will be enough scared readers out there to protest, take up public offi...

5 Near-Future Climate Fiction Must-Reads

Good near-future climate fiction isn’t preachy. It isn’t pandering. It’s anxious and desperate and begs you to pay attention, lest it becomes prophecy. Dystopian post-apocalyptic fic...

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Listen Up! The Benefits of Audiobooks

As with eBooks, Audiobooks are simply a different way to enjoy stories. Just when we thought the ‘eReader versus paperback’ debate was losing steam after almost twenty long years, the new clash seems ...

5 Speculative Climate Fiction Must-Reads

A lot of the best speculative climate fiction feels like it belongs to the non-fiction shelf. Anxiety-inducing, because it speaks the truth and invites us to take a peek around the corner, at what’s c...

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How to Write Effective Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction provides an appealing alternative to longer forms of literature, offering readers the opportunity to experience a complete narrative in a short amount of time. As a result, the genre has...

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Independent Publishing and Artificial Intelligence

Traditional publishing doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being fast-paced, but the onslaught of AI (artificial intelligence) tools, ‘scandals’ and borderline (and over-the-line!) misuse might just...

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Historical Context of Monsters as Metaphors

Monsters can take many forms in literature and popular culture, but what’s interesting about them is that they often represent the beliefs of an era or appear as metaphors for human fears. Monsters ha...

Mother Language Day for Authors and Publishers

In 1999, UNESCO designated 21 February as International Mother Language Day. It’s an opportunity for all of us to acknowledge and celebrate language diversity and to resist the suppression of minority...

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How to Post Books on a Budget: Our Top 3 Tips

While the e-book was (incorrectly) hailed as “the death of the paperback”, many readers still love to see a well-stocked bookshelf standing pride of place. There’s just something about a friendly disc...

What Happens to Unsold Books?

If you’re environmentally conscious, don’t work in online relisting. The wastefulness will terrify you. As just one example, Amazon destroys millions of items of unsold stock (including books) in only...

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5 Novels with the Best (Authentic) Mental Health Depictions

Mental health is a popular theme in fiction but negative stereotypes abound. Charlotte Brontë has a lot to answer for with her madwoman in the attic in the classic novel Jane Eyre. As a former clinica...

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What Should I Read Next? 7 Strategies to Choose Your Next Read

We’ve all been there — you finish the last page, you close the book you were reading, and a feeling of emptiness crashes over you. You hopefully enjoyed the book, and if it was a particularly good one...

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10 Steps to Get through Your TBR Pile

Most readers have a TBR pile, even if they don’t know what a TBR pile is. In book lingo, a ”TBR Pile” is your to-be-read pile. It’s all those books that you’ve stacked up with the honest intention of ...

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Why We Need More Older Characters in Fiction

In a 2013 Guardian article the novelist Penelope Lively, then aged 80, bemoaned the depiction of older characters in fiction: “The stereotypes of old age run from the smiling old dear to the gru...