Dear Purposeful Prose,  I’ve recently published my first book, and I shared my success on social media. I’m proud of myself for writing the book, and getting a lot of sales would be great, but I don’t expect much right away. I received a facebook message from a “Susan Carol” ( name changed for the purpose of this post ) that told me my book was incredibly impressive but wasn’t getting a lot of sales. Her company could republish my book with additional editing services, formatting, and cover...

Have you ever had the desire to tell a story in a time that isn’t the one we’re in now? Maybe a whimsical romance set in a fantastical past or a thrilling horror story set in the far future. It doesn’t just make you wonder if the two lovers in Victorian London will find one another or if Lt. Chip Beefsteak will defeat the mutinous faction aboard the massive colony spaceship bound for a new home. It also makes you think more about life and people in those Victorian era places with their lives...

Dear Purposeful Prose, I love using flowing, poetic language. It’s part of my style as a writer. Because of that, I like using a lot of figurative language: metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration, anything. My beta readers don’t like this kind of language as much as I do, and they say it comes off as “stilted” and that it takes them out of the story. I thought this had to do with taste, but I asked a friend who does like poetry, and she agreed. Now, I’m questioning myself. I don’t...