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Launch Pad: The Countdown to Writing Your Book
Looking for just the right balance of inspiration, skill building, and a toolbox of writing craft tips?
Join us here for LAUNCH PAD: The Countdown to Writing Your Book!
From the inspiring words of The Story Summit's Amy Ferris to the practical suggestions of award-winning authors, this book, the first in a series of three on writing, publishing, and marketing your book, will help you get it right!
If you're intimidated by the thought of outlining your novel or creating rich and complex characters, LAUNCH PAD has you covered.
If you want to learn the secret to writing a great scene, not only does LAUNCH PAD show you how to structure it like a pro, but it explains how to add the right amount of conflict or suspense, so your readers keep reading.
Each focused chapter brings authors and would-be-authors closer to the creation of a story well told and ready for publication.
The brainchild of entrepreneur, author, and speaker, Grace Sammon, this book series builds on the wildly popular radio show LAUNCH PAD, celebrating book releases and the authors who create them.
With countdown tips, ways to connect directly to the authors, and bonus downloadable planning sheets, LAUNCH PAD delivers a craft book that speaks right to you.
Led by Emma Dhesi, the internationally recognised author, book coach, and podcaster with a lifetime of experience in helping writers like you improve their craft and Grace Sammon, LAUNCH PAD helps you navigate through the emotional rollercoaster of finishing your novel.
Welcome to the LAUNCH PAD. Now, let's get writing!
Join us here for LAUNCH PAD: The Countdown to Writing Your Book!
From the inspiring words of The Story Summit's Amy Ferris to the practical suggestions of award-winning authors, this book, the first in a series of three on writing, publishing, and marketing your book, will help you get it right!
If you're intimidated by the thought of outlining your novel or creating rich and complex characters, LAUNCH PAD has you covered.
If you want to learn the secret to writing a great scene, not only does LAUNCH PAD show you how to structure it like a pro, but it explains how to add the right amount of conflict or suspense, so your readers keep reading.
Each focused chapter brings authors and would-be-authors closer to the creation of a story well told and ready for publication.
The brainchild of entrepreneur, author, and speaker, Grace Sammon, this book series builds on the wildly popular radio show LAUNCH PAD, celebrating book releases and the authors who create them.
With countdown tips, ways to connect directly to the authors, and bonus downloadable planning sheets, LAUNCH PAD delivers a craft book that speaks right to you.
Led by Emma Dhesi, the internationally recognised author, book coach, and podcaster with a lifetime of experience in helping writers like you improve their craft and Grace Sammon, LAUNCH PAD helps you navigate through the emotional rollercoaster of finishing your novel.
Welcome to the LAUNCH PAD. Now, let's get writing!
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2023
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Emma Dhesi
14 books48 followersEmma Dhesi is the Amazon bestselling author of four novels and one non-fiction book.
Her love of reading began with Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, the book that first made her want to be a writer.
She writes stories for women who know life is never simply black and white, and who love characters that feel layered, honest, and real.
Emma’s favourite authors include Lisa Jewell, Jodi Picoult, Kate Atkinson, and Taylor Jenkins Reid - writers who inspire her with their unforgettable characters and twisty storytelling.
With family roots in the Isle of Lewis, Orkney, and the Punjab, Emma brings a mix of cultures and perspectives to her work.
When she’s not writing, she’s often exploring her family history, curled up with a new novel, or chatting with other book lovers.
She loves connecting with readers on Instagram @emmadhesiauthor.
Her love of reading began with Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, the book that first made her want to be a writer.
She writes stories for women who know life is never simply black and white, and who love characters that feel layered, honest, and real.
Emma’s favourite authors include Lisa Jewell, Jodi Picoult, Kate Atkinson, and Taylor Jenkins Reid - writers who inspire her with their unforgettable characters and twisty storytelling.
With family roots in the Isle of Lewis, Orkney, and the Punjab, Emma brings a mix of cultures and perspectives to her work.
When she’s not writing, she’s often exploring her family history, curled up with a new novel, or chatting with other book lovers.
She loves connecting with readers on Instagram @emmadhesiauthor.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 23, 2023
Each chapter was on a different topic and written by someone different. The changes in voice and perspective kept my attention. Each bite-sized chapter was easy to absorb in one sitting. Here are a few chapters that grabbed me:
For years the debate between pansters and plotters has raged. For nonwriters, plotters are writers who outline the entire book before they start writing it. Pansters just start writing and see what happens. Obviously, many writers fall somewhere between the two.
Honestly, I’ve had trouble with both. When I plot, I feel kind of trapped and bored, but when I pants I create a mess and revising is a beast. Enter this book and Lewis Jorstad’s chapter which introduced me to “puzzlers.” These are writers that start by writing scenes that inspire them and then puzzle together what would need to happen to get from one of these scenes to the next. Interesting. I’m inspired to play around with this.
Another chapter delves into book coaching. Historically speaking, editors served as book coaches for authors, then editors got too busy to coach and agents picked up some of the coaching. However, nowadays many writers don’t have agents, either because they are new writers and need a great manuscript to get an agent or because they publish independently and don’t need an agent to find them a publisher. This leaves loads of writers slogging through manuscripts with little to no support, especially in the early stages.
Enter book coaches. They’ve been around for a few years (less than a decade maybe). I knew they existed and loosely knew what they did, but it wasn’t until I read this chapter that truly understood the value they could add to my writing life. A book coach is a professional who knows your book and writing and offers brainstorming, problem-solving, organizing, and accountability. They’re also there with needed pushes, ego strokes, and a listening ear. This chapter by Emma Dhesi helped me to see the benefits of hiring a book coach and gave suggestions on how to choose the right one for you.
The chapter on research by Meredith R. Stoddard included ways to get better results when using a search engine. For example, did you know if you put a tilde ~ before a search word the engine will also search for synonyms? I’m going to make a handy little post-it for my desktop with all the symbols and take my search powers up a level.
World-building is a bit of a weakness for me. Now that I’m working on historical fiction (Oh, have I told you that yet? Shhh…that’s new. More on that when I feel more confident the project is a go), it’s important for me to improve in this area. I am grateful for Susanne Dunlap’s concise but thorough overview of the topic.
Likewise, I think lately I’ve been so caught up in the overall story arc that I had lost sight that each scene needed the same arc. Joe Bunting’s suggestion to do a scene audit had me pulling up scenes that I knew weren’t working but couldn’t put my finger on why. Ah ha!
“Show, don’t tell” is a comma adage in the writing world. The phrase is well-meaning–don’t tell the reader the character is afraid, for example, show the reader. However, there are plenty of times when it is better to tell, so the advice can be misleading. I loved Heather Davis’s turn of the phrase “Show and Tell” and her guidance on when to show and how, and when “tell” and how.
This is a fantastic resource!
For years the debate between pansters and plotters has raged. For nonwriters, plotters are writers who outline the entire book before they start writing it. Pansters just start writing and see what happens. Obviously, many writers fall somewhere between the two.
Honestly, I’ve had trouble with both. When I plot, I feel kind of trapped and bored, but when I pants I create a mess and revising is a beast. Enter this book and Lewis Jorstad’s chapter which introduced me to “puzzlers.” These are writers that start by writing scenes that inspire them and then puzzle together what would need to happen to get from one of these scenes to the next. Interesting. I’m inspired to play around with this.
Another chapter delves into book coaching. Historically speaking, editors served as book coaches for authors, then editors got too busy to coach and agents picked up some of the coaching. However, nowadays many writers don’t have agents, either because they are new writers and need a great manuscript to get an agent or because they publish independently and don’t need an agent to find them a publisher. This leaves loads of writers slogging through manuscripts with little to no support, especially in the early stages.
Enter book coaches. They’ve been around for a few years (less than a decade maybe). I knew they existed and loosely knew what they did, but it wasn’t until I read this chapter that truly understood the value they could add to my writing life. A book coach is a professional who knows your book and writing and offers brainstorming, problem-solving, organizing, and accountability. They’re also there with needed pushes, ego strokes, and a listening ear. This chapter by Emma Dhesi helped me to see the benefits of hiring a book coach and gave suggestions on how to choose the right one for you.
The chapter on research by Meredith R. Stoddard included ways to get better results when using a search engine. For example, did you know if you put a tilde ~ before a search word the engine will also search for synonyms? I’m going to make a handy little post-it for my desktop with all the symbols and take my search powers up a level.
World-building is a bit of a weakness for me. Now that I’m working on historical fiction (Oh, have I told you that yet? Shhh…that’s new. More on that when I feel more confident the project is a go), it’s important for me to improve in this area. I am grateful for Susanne Dunlap’s concise but thorough overview of the topic.
Likewise, I think lately I’ve been so caught up in the overall story arc that I had lost sight that each scene needed the same arc. Joe Bunting’s suggestion to do a scene audit had me pulling up scenes that I knew weren’t working but couldn’t put my finger on why. Ah ha!
“Show, don’t tell” is a comma adage in the writing world. The phrase is well-meaning–don’t tell the reader the character is afraid, for example, show the reader. However, there are plenty of times when it is better to tell, so the advice can be misleading. I loved Heather Davis’s turn of the phrase “Show and Tell” and her guidance on when to show and how, and when “tell” and how.
This is a fantastic resource!
March 20, 2023
"LaunchPad: The Countdown to Writing Your Book," by Emma Dhesi and Grace Sammon, is an anthology for first time novelists. My first novel launched last fall, and I’d have loved to have had this while I was writing.
After a Foreword by Amy Ferris that is as lovely as any poem I’ve ever read (it even had a title, “Words”), the Introduction jumps right into explaining a structured approach for the book. Each chapter is a standalone, and I was impressed with the knowledge of the authors on their topics. Ten concise take away points were listed at the end of each chapter, and I found this especially helpful.
Right out of the chute was my favorite chapter, “Online Research Tools for Writers,” by Meredith R. Stoddard. The gifts she offers for all writers—especially historical fiction authors—are indispensable. I thought I was google savvy, for instance, and there were so many pointers that I never knew existed.
There are twelve of these gem-like sections in the book, and it is impossible to cover them all here. None were disappointing. As the Introduction promised, the themes were those of genre, trajectory, and getting it onto the page. The chapter list includes: book coaches, outlining (or not), POV, scene structure, world-building (not just for sci-fi—thank you Susan Dunlap), character, a new take on “show don’t tell,” grammar and punctuation (priceless), critique groups, and finally the last chapter “Three Things a Publishing Gatekeeper Wants.”
The ten concise points at the chapter-ends are all excellent and are enough to give the reader a fast read-through. But having read an electronic version, I can tell you that you’ll likely want a hardcopy so that you can flip, highlight, and tag pages. I’m ordering a hardcopy right now, for those very purposes.
An e-copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained herein are my own.
After a Foreword by Amy Ferris that is as lovely as any poem I’ve ever read (it even had a title, “Words”), the Introduction jumps right into explaining a structured approach for the book. Each chapter is a standalone, and I was impressed with the knowledge of the authors on their topics. Ten concise take away points were listed at the end of each chapter, and I found this especially helpful.
Right out of the chute was my favorite chapter, “Online Research Tools for Writers,” by Meredith R. Stoddard. The gifts she offers for all writers—especially historical fiction authors—are indispensable. I thought I was google savvy, for instance, and there were so many pointers that I never knew existed.
There are twelve of these gem-like sections in the book, and it is impossible to cover them all here. None were disappointing. As the Introduction promised, the themes were those of genre, trajectory, and getting it onto the page. The chapter list includes: book coaches, outlining (or not), POV, scene structure, world-building (not just for sci-fi—thank you Susan Dunlap), character, a new take on “show don’t tell,” grammar and punctuation (priceless), critique groups, and finally the last chapter “Three Things a Publishing Gatekeeper Wants.”
The ten concise points at the chapter-ends are all excellent and are enough to give the reader a fast read-through. But having read an electronic version, I can tell you that you’ll likely want a hardcopy so that you can flip, highlight, and tag pages. I’m ordering a hardcopy right now, for those very purposes.
An e-copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained herein are my own.
March 14, 2023
This is a great launch pad whether you are just starting to write, or still have lots to learn and REMEMBER, like me.
Author’s Dhesi and Sammon have brought together eleven writers who all share their knowledge – POV, Character Development, Grammar, Plotting, Scene development, and so much more--For my personal review, I took a photo of the Table of Contents.
It is hard to pick highlights to share, as my paperback is already full of stick-it notes highlighting the things I want to refer back to.
Plotting is one of my most challenging things as a writer. As a Pantster, I found Lewis Jorstal’s chapter very helpful for Plotters, Pantsters and Puzzlers (a new one for me).
Stacy Juba’s chapter on grammar and punctuation was well organized and lays it out in simple, easy to review examples.
Finding a book like this is so helpful, and so is finding a great, supportive writers’ group. Linda Rosen provides tips and strategies for finding yours. We introverted writers need help, feedback, and encouragement.
This book offers SO MUCH.
For Emma, Grace and all the authors who contributed, write on! And to you authors out there, get this book, and write on!
Author’s Dhesi and Sammon have brought together eleven writers who all share their knowledge – POV, Character Development, Grammar, Plotting, Scene development, and so much more--For my personal review, I took a photo of the Table of Contents.
It is hard to pick highlights to share, as my paperback is already full of stick-it notes highlighting the things I want to refer back to.
Plotting is one of my most challenging things as a writer. As a Pantster, I found Lewis Jorstal’s chapter very helpful for Plotters, Pantsters and Puzzlers (a new one for me).
Stacy Juba’s chapter on grammar and punctuation was well organized and lays it out in simple, easy to review examples.
Finding a book like this is so helpful, and so is finding a great, supportive writers’ group. Linda Rosen provides tips and strategies for finding yours. We introverted writers need help, feedback, and encouragement.
This book offers SO MUCH.
For Emma, Grace and all the authors who contributed, write on! And to you authors out there, get this book, and write on!
May 1, 2023
It was an honor to contribute a chapter on Point of View (POV) to Launch Pad: The Countdown to Writing Your Book.
On top of that, I'm blown away by the useful tools embedded throughout this book. Each chapter brings perspective from an expert. You'll gain practical advice such as:
- In the chapter on research, learn ways to optimize your google search to look for synonyms, results in specific places, excluding certain words, and how to think about the credibility of your findings
- in the chapter on coaches, writers will learn how to work with and find a book coach, from a coach themselves!
- in the chapter on outlining, learn methods that work for plotter, pantsers or anyone in-between!
- in the chapter on scene building, learn about the six elements of plot and how they play out in each scene
You'll also get ideas on grammar, critique groups, making your stories more suspenseful, world-building, characterization, ways to convey meaning, and pitching agents/editors.
This volume is chockful of actionable strategies for every writer. No wonder it debuted at #1 in its Amazon category!
On top of that, I'm blown away by the useful tools embedded throughout this book. Each chapter brings perspective from an expert. You'll gain practical advice such as:
- In the chapter on research, learn ways to optimize your google search to look for synonyms, results in specific places, excluding certain words, and how to think about the credibility of your findings
- in the chapter on coaches, writers will learn how to work with and find a book coach, from a coach themselves!
- in the chapter on outlining, learn methods that work for plotter, pantsers or anyone in-between!
- in the chapter on scene building, learn about the six elements of plot and how they play out in each scene
You'll also get ideas on grammar, critique groups, making your stories more suspenseful, world-building, characterization, ways to convey meaning, and pitching agents/editors.
This volume is chockful of actionable strategies for every writer. No wonder it debuted at #1 in its Amazon category!
March 20, 2023
Written a book? Thinking about writing a book? Do I have a book for you! Launch Pad: The Countdown to Writing Your Book will take you from the basics – best practices on Internet searching to World Building to Point of View.
I believe in craft books, and there are many available to choose from, but I’ve learned (finally) to be savvy in my choosing. I wish this book had been available when I first started writing. If you want a great craft book, try Launch Pad The Countdown to Writing Your Book by Grace Sammon and Emma Dhesi.
I believe in craft books, and there are many available to choose from, but I’ve learned (finally) to be savvy in my choosing. I wish this book had been available when I first started writing. If you want a great craft book, try Launch Pad The Countdown to Writing Your Book by Grace Sammon and Emma Dhesi.
May 13, 2023
LAUNCH PAD- It's like a 2-day writing conference wrapped up in 1 package- a well-written book!
Filled with practical and hands-on advice, Launch Pad gives you the nuts and bolts to improve your writing style. Whether it be trying search features like the pipe, going on a road trip with a coach, or finding your scene's dilemma, I have added a number of practical and resourceful tips to help enhance my skills.
Filled with practical and hands-on advice, Launch Pad gives you the nuts and bolts to improve your writing style. Whether it be trying search features like the pipe, going on a road trip with a coach, or finding your scene's dilemma, I have added a number of practical and resourceful tips to help enhance my skills.
March 10, 2023
This book is filled with concrete, and excellent advice. I wish I had Landscape when I was writing my first novel. It's great for writers starting out, or those who want to improve their craft. Easy to follow, well written, and chock full of usable information. -- Karen E. Osborne, author of Getting It Right, Tangled Lies, and Reckonings.
April 24, 2023
A phenomenal craft book for writers, those already published and those hoping to be so. A wealth of knowledge in each chapter!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews