Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Guest Post - Michelle McLean


I want to welcome Michelle McLean to the blog.  Her first book Homework Helpers: Essays & Term Papers is available now.  I got to read some of Michelle's book and she's got a wonderfully informative and warm approach that I think is going to be really helpful to anyone struggling with writing assignments or anyone who just wants a refresher.


I'm going to let Michelle talk now but I'll put up links to her book at the end along with all her contact information.  Thanks, Michelle!


Fiction and non-fiction may seem a world apart, but they have a lot more in common than you may think. Sure, non-fiction books are generally there for more educational purposes, to inform their audiences, maybe even teach them something. But you know, if you are a non-fiction author and you want people to read your book, you still have to make it interesting.

Which is why I have always been confused as to why so many textbooks and guidebooks are so dry, humorless, borrrrrrring. Yeah, they are there to teach you about something, but really, why not jazz it up a bit? Why bog it down with so many huge, unutterable words that only the highest degreed people in that particular field will understand it?

My guess is that a frustrated student isn’t going to get a whole lot of help from a book they have to have a dictionary, translator, and PhD to understand.

I kept this in mind when writing Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers. Yes, it will give you a bunch of rules. And yes, the purpose of the book is to show you how to write an essay or paper. But I worked very hard to make this book as understandable as possible. I want my readers to feel like I’m sitting right next to them, explaining as plainly as possible every single step they need to take. And just in case they are still confused, I have a TON of examples so they can actually see what I’m talking about.
And not just any examples…almost all of the essays samples included in the book are assignments I actually wrote for classes (the rest I wrote specifically for the book). So if you want to see the types of things I used to write about, go check out the example essays :D

Look, the bottom line is everyone out there is going to have to write at least one essay at some point in their lives. It’s unavoidable. Why make it any more difficult than it needs to be? :)

Michelle McLean is a writer and the Chief Editorial Consultant for PixelMags, LLC. In addition to her non-fiction work, Michelle writes YA historical novels and other children’s books. If she's not editing, reading or chasing her kids, she can usually be found in a quiet corner working on her next book.

Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers is a fun, user-friendly book that guides the reader, step by step, through writing a dozen different types of essays, including the dreaded SAT essay. Using straightforward, plain English, this book shows the reader exactly what they need to do, from start to finish, and includes rough draft, edited, and final draft versions of every type of essay discussed. This book also provides chapters that include tips and instruction on researching, proofreading, and citations.

Thank you again, Michelle!  

So where can you get Homework Helpers: Essays & Term Papers?  Here are some links for you:

And you can find Michelle at the following places (as well as on the blog chain!):

5 comments:

  1. Woohoo Michelle! Nice post. And thanks Shaun, for being part of the crew helping to celebrate Michelle's success. Having read a portion of her book so far (I haven't finished it), I love the voice and manner in which she presents everything. It's awesome.

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  2. Michelle is the best! She was the very first agented author to take me under her wing after I started blogging (well, her and Cole together I guess) and through her I've met so many amazing writers, including you.

    Thanks for featuring her Shaun. And thanks for being you Michelle!

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  3. aw, you guys are so sweet :) And thanks for hosting me Shaun!!

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  4. Michelle IS the best. And I thing HH's is going to help a boatload of kids :)

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  5. Great post, i have no words to express in words about this post. Thanks for sharing.

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Keep it clean, keep it classy, and jokes are always appreciated.