You can't edit a blank page - you must write that first draft. First drafts are the toughest part of the process. They're rough, they're messy, and they're necessary. So how do you keep going when you hate every word you've written? Don't be just another "aspiring author" — it's time to finish. ★ In this issue of Indie Author Magazine, you'll learn how to optimize your first draft process and join the ranks of working indies. ★ ✓ How to conquer the muddy middle of your first draft… and finish strong. ✓ How to use dictation software like the most productive authors. ✓ What writing software can make your first draft a joy instead of a slog. In this issue of Indie Author Magazine, you'll learn all about first drafts, and meet Jami Albright, our featured author. She's hilarious, relatable, and shares her story of pouring literal blood, sweat and tears into her first book — a runaway hit. Besides the in-depth topic articles on first drafts, we have over a dozen more articles for you! How do top-earning authors leverage collaboration? Read their strategies! Discover what readers of Urban Fantasy expect and how you can satisfy them. Learn how to design your own author logo without spending a dime. Implement Ten Tips for Clubhouse - the new app indies use to share their secrets Do you know how to effectively kill a character with poison? Learn how to get away with murder. Uncover why hydration is key to imagination — and what apps work Get serious about Scrivener - read the shortcuts that pros use to master this popular tool Read reviews of top first draft books for indie authors Peruse Podcast Picks you need to bookmark and listen to every week Learn the technology tools the top-selling authors use (plus tutorials!) BONUS: Learn what thought-leader Kevin McLaughlin has to say about Amazon's new serialized fiction marketplace, Kindle Vella. Is it the new killer app? Don't miss a single tip. Download this month's e-book version and read today.

June, 2021 -- All About First Draft Styles ON THE COVER Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Jami Albright Vella: KDP Gets Serialous The Writing on the Wall: Getting to Know Scrivener Author Logos: Making Your Mark Devil in the Details: Kill or Cure? The Many Faces of Author Collaboration Indie Author BATTLING THE FIRST DRAFT AND WINNING Strategies for finishing when you think you can't. TACKLING THE FIRST DRAFT ONE DAY AT A TIME Small habits of consistency can mean big results over time. DICTATING YOUR WAY TO A FIRST DRAFT Tell yourself a story and finish in no time! SCRIVENER Breaking down the new features in Windows and new hacks for everyone. REGULAR COLUMNS Dear Indie Annie 10 Tips for: Clubhouse Tech Tools Podcasts We Love Books We Love News Events THE WRITE LIFE Wellness Connecting the Drops: Proper Hydration and Your Imagination Mindset Conquering the Muddy Middle First Draft Puzzle First Draft Tips TYPEWRITER TALES From the Publisher From the Creative Director From the Managing Editors

Middle school misfits are tasked with saving the multiverse in this sweeping space adventure perfect for fans of the Percy Jackson series—now in paperback! When five members of a middle school marching band are accidentally projected into an alternate universe during a field trip to the NASA headquarters, their fates land in the hands of the Multiverse Allied Council: a group of extraterrestrial delegates responsible for preserving harmony across the multiverse. Then Dev, Isaiah, Tessa, Maeve, and Lewis discover that Earth’s destruction is imminent due to an environmental collapse caused by humans. What can they do, when their most formidable skill is marching in formation? Against all odds, the space cadets fight to navigate the multiverse, save themselves from power-hungry forces eager to destroy them, rescue their families, and fight for the preservation of humankind. But forces far bigger than they ever imagined have insidious plans for the multiverse and its inhabitants . . .

Are you a short fiction writer wondering what opportunities are open to you? Are you a long-form fiction writer wondering if short fiction is worth the investment of your time? Short fiction is enjoying a resurgence and provides both independently and traditionally published authors opportunities for creating income and connecting with readers. Matty Dalrymple and Mark Leslie Lefebvre will show you where those opportunities lie and how to take advantage of them. CREATING INCOME Traditional Publishing Market Anthologies & Collections Mechanics of Indy Anthologies Standalone e-books e-book Collections Serials Foreign Language Markets Audio Patron Support Getting Unstuck CONNECTING WITH READERS Offering Your Story for Free Reader Funnel Reader Magnet Video Author Readings Market Research Flash Fiction and Micro-Fiction Chapbooks Bonus Material Custom Story Location-based Apps When the Reader Is an Agent BEST PRACTICES Editing and Proofreading Cover Design Links and QR Codes Being an Active Member of the Community Create Once, Publish Everywhere Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers. She writes, speaks, consults, and podcasts on independent publishing as The Indy Author™. Mark Leslie Lefebvre (as Mark Leslie) has authored numerous horror short stories and edited horror anthologies. He writes, speaks, consults, and podcasts on topics related to writing, publishing, and bookselling. He was the founder of Kobo Writing Life and is the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital.

After 9/11, which triggered a global debate on public diplomacy, 'PD' has become an issue in most countries. This book joins the debate. Experts from different countries and from a variety of fields analyze the theory and practice of public diplomacy. They also evaluate how public diplomacy can be successfully used to support foreign policy.

This monograph examines the nature of active learning at the higher education level, the empirical research on its use, the common obstacles and barriers that give rise to faculty resistance, and how faculty and staff can implement active learning techniques. A preliminary section defines active learning and looks at the current climate surrounding the concept. A second section, entitled "The Modified Lecture" offers ways that teachers can incorporate active learning into their most frequently used format: the lecture. The following section on classroom discussion explains the conditions and techniques needed for the most useful type of exchange. Other ways to promote active learning are also described including: visual learning, writing in class, problem solving, computer-based instruction, cooperative learning, debates, drama, role playing, simulations, games, and peer teaching. A section on obstacles to implementing active learning techniques leads naturally to the final section, "Conclusions and Recommendations," which outlines the roles that each group within the university can play in order to encourage the implementation of active learning strategies. The text includes over 200 references and an index. (JB)

“A frighteningly meticulous villain and a formidable protagonist will have readers breezing through the pages.” —Kirkus Reviews “Airtight. Crucial plot details lock into place in the denouement like the tumblers of a Diebold safe. The characters are clever, real, and enjoyable, but also organic, their emotions genuinely wrought; there is no formula for brilliant writing like this.” —Robert Blake Whitehill, Bestselling Author of The Ben Blackshaw Series When a real estate mogul’s daughter-in-law dies, Philadelphia Detective Joe Booth suspects the woman’s husband. But accusing a powerful man’s son of murder is a risky business, and Booth knows he needs more to convict than the scant evidence he has. Then he finds the one person who might be able to uncover the truth: psychic-for-hire Ann Kinnear. It’s a last-ditch effort to find something – anything – to nail down who did it. But soon, drawn ever deeper into the vision of a dead woman whose ghost cries out for justice, Ann finds herself – and her powers – ensnared in a web of deceit, betrayal, and death among society’s elite. Official interest is waning. The murderer’s tracks are growing cold. But the dead will not be silenced, and Ann will do whatever it takes to solve the case of one woman’s lost life … even if it means endangering her own. A mix of supernatural thriller and psychic suspense culminating in a deadly showdown in a remote Adirondack cabin, THE SENSE OF DEATH is the first book in the popular Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels series. Click “Buy Now” to follow Ann as she pursues the truth that's wrapped in the sense of death! KEYWORDS: supernatural suspense novel series amateur women sleuth senser psychic medium supernatural paranormal ghosts spirits sensing suspense thriller murder crime Philadelphia Pennsylvania Delaware New Jersey